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Sebastian Ritscher
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WHY STARTUPS FAIL

Thomas R. Eisenmann

A New Roadmap for Entrepreneurial Success

An essential playbook for entrepreneurial success, written by Tom Eisenmann, one of the most honored professors at Harvard Business School.
Why do startups fail? That question hit Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann with full force when he realized he couldn't explain it. And since more than two thirds of new ventures fail, that left a lot of explaining to do.

So he launched a multi-year research project to find out. In WHY STARTUPS FAIL, Eisenmann unveils the results: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. He offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them.

- Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder's talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a startup just as quickly.
- False Starts. Despite the oft-cited advice to "fail fast," and "launch before you're ready," doing so risks wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions.
- False Promises. Success with early adopters is often misleading and gives founders unwarranted confidence to expand.
- Speed Traps. There's lots of pressure on startups to prioritize speed over efficiency and "Get Big Fast." But hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures.
- Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply.
- Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big; as Peter Thiel put it, "they promised us flying cars; what we got was 140 characters." But the bigger the vision, the more things can go wrong

Through fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise--from home furnishings retailer Dot & Bo to the concierge dog walking service Baroo, to the makers of a sophisticated social robot named Jibo, to Better Place, which sought to build a massive network of charging stations for electric vehicles (and more)--Eisenmann shows readers how to spot and sidestep roadblocks on their entrepreneurial journey, and sets them on the fail-safe path to startup success.

Tom Eisenmann is the Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the faculty co-chair of the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. Since joining the HBS faculty in 1997, he's led The Entrepreneurial Manager, an introductory course taught to all first-year MBAs, and launched fourteen electives on all aspects of entrepreneurship, including one on startup failure. Eisenmann has authored over one hundred Harvard Business School case studies and his writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and Forbes.
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Published 2021-03-30 by Currency

Comments

It's no secret that having a great idea isn't enough to guarantee your success as an entrepreneur. I see it all the time on Shark Tank: Even the brightest, most driven founders with the most innovative ideas sometimes find themselves going down the wrong path and facing the decision of whether or not to close their business. Why Startups Fail is the perfect roadmap that each entrepreneurs needs to have in their back pocket to help them avoid those heartbreaking choices and continue to grow their business.

Launching and scaling a startup is like a game of chess: It requires laser focus, relentless prioritization, and contingency strategies galore. I've always wished there was a guidebook to help entrepreneurs avoid common pitfalls on our their way to wherever we're they're headed. Eisenmann has truly helped illuminated a path to success by shining a spotlight on common startup failure patterns. His insights are invaluable, whether you're just getting started, or you're eyeing your endgame.

Q&A With Harvard's Top Entrepreneurship Professor Read more...

Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to put it down. Eisenmann has masterfully explained in a clear, thoughtful way why startups fail in a clear, thoughtful way. This is a must-read for any entrepreneur, investor, or startup team member. By avoiding the biggest reasons companies fail, we will see more entrepreneurial success, which is something society needs more than ever.

UK: Penguin Business UK ; Brazil: Saraiva ; China (simpl.): Citic ; Chinese (compl.): Commonwealth Publishing ; Korea: Business Books & Co.

Whether you're a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.