What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know

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Two startup company founders and angel investors go inside eighteen companies founded by Harvard Business School graduates, uncovering surprising lessons for success and unexpected pitfalls essential for aspiring entrepreneurs.

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Conventional “wisdom” holds that the most successful entrepreneurs in the world are born with a genius for starting companies, experience one lightning-bolt moment of inspiration after another, follow a tried-and-true process to scale to a billion dollars, and attract deep-pocketed investors at every turn.

The real story is a bit more unconventional—and much more interesting.

Would-be-entrepreneurs Catalina Daniels and James Sherman, hungry to study and apply the best practices of startups to their own ventures, studied the nuts-and-bolts of entrepreneurship as classmates at Harvard Business School. Years later, after successfully founding and exiting several companies, and as angel investors in start-ups, they were surprised to realize that their experiences greatly differed from what they had been taught in school. HBS provided a world-class education in the basics. But there was so much they learned the hard way—working in the trenches—that, looking back, they wished they’d known before starting up.

Inspired, Daniels and Sherman interviewed eighteen HBS graduates and entrepreneurs about their experiences founding companies such as Blue Apron, Rent the Runway, Gilt, and AdoreMe, probing them about what they discovered along the way and what they wish they had known beforehand. The authors bring these insights to life by showcasing the founders in their own words and giving readers the experience of chatting with these remarkable entrepreneurs over a cup of coffee. No other book has unearthed advice from so many HBS entrepreneurs. The result is wisdom that challenges assumptions, destroys preconceived notions, crystalizes hunches, and articulates perceptions with a depth possessed by few people in the world.

Starting a business is hard. Seventy percent of startups today fail after their seed round, and less than ten percent achieve success for founders and investors. Faced with such a daunting threshold, aspiring entrepreneurs need all the advice, wisdom, and inspiration they can get. Smart Startups is written for them—a timeless record of essential knowledge that can help them avoid failure and achieve success.

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Endorsements

Robert Rosenberg

author of Around the Corner to Around the World: A Dozen Lessons I Learned Running Dunkin’ Donuts and CEO of Dunkin’ Donuts for thirty-five years

“Smart Startups will dramatically improve your odds of success. It covers the critical steps from launching a business to scaling it to, finally, how and when to exit. The hard-won, real-life experiences disclosed make this book essential reading for all who have ever harbored the notion of starting a business.”

Keith Ferrazzi

#1 New York Times bestselling author and executive team coach

“Like sitting down with eighteen of the smartest founders in the business and having them candidly share everything about their startup experience; Smart Startups is a lifesaver for every entrepreneur.”

Murat Aktihanoglu

cofounder and managing partner of ERA, New York City’s leading technology accelerator and early-stage venture capital fund

“Smart Startups is full of inspiring and useful advice for entrepreneurs who want to accelerate their success and avoid making mistakes. It is an essential reference that is a pleasure to read.”

William A. Sahlman

Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

“By digging deep into the stories of HBS founders and what they learned the hard way, Catalina Daniels and James Sherman enhance our wisdom about entrepreneurship. With this unique insider’s look at eighteen startups, they help you boost your chances of success and avoid mistakes.”

Patricia Nakache

general partner, Trinity Ventures

“Jump into the trenches and learn from eighteen entrepreneurs who have ‘been there, done that.’ Smart Startups is a great read for anyone who seeks to go down the path of entrepreneurship—it’s snappy, engaging, and filled with colorful quotes.”

About the Authors

Catalina Daniels

Catalina Daniels graduated from Harvard Business School and the Free University of Brussels (BA, MA). She spent seventeen years at McKinsey & Company, where she was a partner, before leaving to become an entrepreneur and angel investor. As a venture partner at Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA), she mentors U.S. entrepreneurs and helps non-U.S. entrepreneurs expand in the United States; she also sits on multiple boards. A Belgian national, she splits her time between New York and Europe.

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James Sherman

James H. Sherman graduated from Harvard Business School and Stanford University (BA, MA). He started his career at Bain & Company, working in media with Time Inc. and Pearson. In 1997, he launched the internet division for Martha Stewart Living. He then became a serial internet entrepreneur, launching three ventures, including an internet strategy consulting firm, Shermans Travel Media, and an e-commerce firm. An angel investor and mentor to entrepreneurs, he sits on the board of HBS Alumni Angels New York. He lives in Manhattan and Bellport, New York.

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