Who is the author of The Startup Playbook?

The author of The Startup Playbook is David S. Kidder.

Entrepreneurship

The Startup Playbook Book Summary - The Startup Playbook Book explained in key points

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The Startup Playbook summary

Name: The Startup Playbook
Rating: 3.8 (239 reviews)
Author: David S. Kidder

David S. Kidder

Secrets of the Fastest-Growing Startups from Their Founding Entrepreneurs

3.8 (239 ratings)

10 mins

Brief summary

The Startup Playbook by David S. Kidder is a must-read guide for aspiring entrepreneurs. The book provides practical advice from successful founders on how to navigate the startup world and convert your ideas into a thriving business.

Topics

Start-Ups Small Businesses Entrepreneurship

Table of Contents

The Startup Playbook
Summary of 5 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 5

What’s in it for me? Let the masters teach you how to succeed with your company.

In the United States alone, over 500,000 companies are started each month! Needless to say, many of these companies will not make it. In fact, most of them won’t. So how do you make sure your company is one of the lucky few? It’s simple. You learn from the ones who have made it.

In these blinks, five founders of highly successful companies share their secrets on how to grow your fledgling start-up business into a successful company. You already know that it’s important to be passionate and dedicated. But, as you’ll see, it takes a bit more than that to succeed with your company.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

how to turn unused resources into new products and services;
how Sara Blakely’s pantyhose ended up on Oprah; and
why the future is all that matters.

Enter the market early and anticipate obvious problems.

You’ve probably heard of the professional social network LinkedIn. But do you know the story behind it? Most people couldn’t tell you how such huge companies get started.

And, contrary to what many people think, the key isn’t to be in the right place at the right time – it’s to be there early.

This is a lesson from Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn. He’s also invested in several successful start-ups, and his secret is to spot a trend before it even starts. For example, when he invests in start-ups, he looks for companies whose value has yet to be fully recognized – a sure sign that a trend has yet to begin.

When Hoffman was starting LinkedIn, many people thought his idea would fail. Newspapers and headhunters already fulfilled the needs of the employment market, so why was his website necessary? Hoffman’s idea seemed bad because it came so early. This made it harder to find investors, but it also greatly diminished competition.

Another reason LinkedIn became so successful is Hoffman’s ability to anticipate solutions to obvious problems.

If you’ve got a great idea, chances are someone else has probably already tried it – and failed. That means you have to figure out exactly why the idea hasn’t already made it big, and what you can do differently to make it work.

For example, when LinkedIn got started, people were skeptical about the value it could offer its first users; with so few members in the network, what was to be gained? This is a typical problem for many start-ups.

Hoffman had a great solution, though. He developed a function that allowed new users to scan their e-mail address books for LinkedIn matches. They would then be shown a list of who was already on the network, as well as options to invite friends and colleagues to join. This network grew quickly, allowing its users to connect with more and more people.

Create mental snapshots of the future, and keep your business model secret.

If you want to succeed in business and life, you need to know where you’re going. Sara Blakely, founder of hosiery company Spanx, knew exactly where that was for her.

How did she know?

Put inefficiently used resources toward creating new products, and react quickly to problems.

Did you know that many people spend less than five percent of their time driving their car? The other 95 percent of the time, it’s just parked somewhere, taking up space. Robin Chase realized how inefficient that type of car ownership was, and so she founded Zipcar – a car rental company that offers cars for an hourly rate.

You too can found a successful start-up by identifying inefficiently used resources and coming up with an efficient solution. Try imagining how we could use what we already have more efficiently, like Chase did.

Nurture enthusiastic long-term customers and healthy, highly motivated employees.

In 1998, Seth Goldman founded Honest Tea, a beverage company that sells organic, fair-trade, low-sugar tea. The company now makes more than $70 million in sales each year. So how did Goldman achieve such phenomenal success?

He realized early on that the company’s success didn’t just depend on him – it also depended on the enthusiasm and engagement of his employees and customers.

Always keep your eyes on future developments, and focus on the customer.

Hosain Rahman knows the value of looking to the future. He founded the wearable technology company Jawbone in 1999, long before wearable tech was a trend. And by cultivating a future-oriented mindset, he learned how to keep his company ahead of the game.

A key principle of the future-oriented mindset is that what worked yesterday won’t work today.

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What is The Startup Playbook about?

The Startup-Playbook (2012) gives you business-building tips straight from the founders of some of the world’s biggest start-ups. By conducting interviews with the founders of companies like LinkedIn and Spanx, the author uncovers what you need to do to make it big.

The Startup Playbook Review

The Startup Playbook (2012) is a must-read for aspiring entrepreneurs looking for practical insights and advice. Here's why this book stands out:

It offers a wealth of actionable strategies that can be implemented in real-world startup scenarios, providing a roadmap for success.
Featuring interviews with industry experts and successful entrepreneurs, it offers valuable perspectives and lessons from those who have been there and done it.
The no-nonsense approach of the book keeps readers engaged and motivated, making it an exciting and informative read for anyone interested in startups.

Who should read The Startup Playbook?

Current and aspiring start-up founders
People interested in running a successful business

About the Author

David S. Kidder is an entrepreneur and writer. Most recently, he cofounded the online marketing company Clickable, and in 2008 he received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

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