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The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs drive the future, and the last several decades have been a thrilling ride of astounding, far-reaching innovation. Behind this transformative progress are also the venture capitalists - who are at once the investors, coaches and allies of the entrepreneurs. William H. Draper III knows this story first-hand, because as a venture capitalist, he helped write it....more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
January 4th 2011
by Palgrave Macmillan
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As I wrote in my previous post on a few Indian tech start-ups, I just read The Startup Game by Bill Draper. In general, that kind of books is of average quality, this one is much above the average, though this is just my personal feeling. I like what is written and here my summary.
Bill Draper is one of the fathers of venture capital and belongs to a interesting genealogy. His father was a grandfather of VC and his son is currenlty an active investor
More in the chapters of my book about venture c...more
Bill Draper is one of the fathers of venture capital and belongs to a interesting genealogy. His father was a grandfather of VC and his son is currenlty an active investor
More in the chapters of my book about venture c...more
I like the stories about specific companies, though there wasn't enough on failures- the failure to success rate for each venture is maybe about 5-10 to 1 but the coverage in this book reverses that ratio.
Overly positive and un-self-critical attitude of entire book is wearisome, maybe a book written by a journalist instead of this borderline auto-biography would be more balanced.
The chapters that weren't about venture capital or lacked detail weren't very good. There are probably a million diff...more
Overly positive and un-self-critical attitude of entire book is wearisome, maybe a book written by a journalist instead of this borderline auto-biography would be more balanced.
The chapters that weren't about venture capital or lacked detail weren't very good. There are probably a million diff...more
Highly informative for someone without deep industry knowledge about VC. Highly informative to learn about the key traits VCs look for, to understand the relationship between VCs and their fundees, and the startup space. It dwelt more on the biographical and philosophical than I expected, but I enjoyed the heavy emphasis on strong moral fiber and ethics within business. In particular, I was interested in the last chapter on the Draper Richard Foundation.
If you are looking for how to be an entrepreneur or venture capitalist this isn't the book for you, but if you are looking for intimate details and enriching stories in the lives of some of the greatest entrepreneurs and venture capitalists then this is where to get it. It is very much an autobiographical book which I found interesting, but I can see where some people might be looking for the keys to success and be disappointed.
A neat story from the family that founded venture capital (father), that launched the first international VC fund (writer) and launched the first international VC network (the son) - PLUS interesting journeys into some of the history of the 20th century - such as the Berlin Lift, Marshal Plan. One of the few books in this category that would interest my business colleagues AND my Dad !!
Mar 18, 2011
Nadine Brown
added it
3/18/11 finished. Read first 8 chapters; skimmed rest. Gained insight into Draper's character, networking vital in vc/startup environment; traits of good leader other things vc's look for. Better understand funding rounds.
Can not wait to share info in next interview, of course, to impress. :)
Just skimming for networking ideas.
Can not wait to share info in next interview, of course, to impress. :)
Just skimming for networking ideas.
Jan 13, 2011
Phyllis
added it
Just finished reading my Uncle Bill's new book and it was quite fun! If you or anyone you know is an entrepreneur, this is a good combo business book/memoir. And if you're interested in great stories of the financial founding of Silicon Valley, he's the one to tell the stories. Enjoy!
Fabulous insights from one of the most eminent venture capitalists who also is a terrific storyteller. This book is replete with sage advice on characteristics to seek when selecting a business partner, appraising leadership talent, and common mistakes to avoid.
There are some memorable quotes sprinkled throughout the books and some of my favorites are listed below.
* Mark Twain: "Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is."
* Japanese proverb: "Vision without action is a daydream. Action...more
There are some memorable quotes sprinkled throughout the books and some of my favorites are listed below.
* Mark Twain: "Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is."
* Japanese proverb: "Vision without action is a daydream. Action...more
Half autobio, half insights into startups. The part that I liked the most was on social ventures.
great first-person view of the world of venture capital financing
Mar 12, 2011
Richard Bravman
added it
Inspiring and instructive.
The author's tone is so smug and self-congratulatory that the book is unreadable. Would not recommend under any circumstance
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