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Finding Fertile Ground
Book

Finding Fertile Ground

Identifying Extraordinary Opportunities for New Ventures

Scott A. Shane
Wharton School Publishing, 2004
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Scott A. Shane’s excellent book focuses on technology entrepreneurs - no discussions of starting your own hair salon or sushi restaurant here. In fact, he notes that the original title specified "technology entrepreneurship" rather than entrepreneurship in general, though this is a valuable contribution to entrepreneurship literature. Most works on entrepreneurialism emphasize the personality characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs, common wisdom says, are hard driving, charismatic and visionary. Shane turns sharply away from this "entrepreneurial cult of personality," and presents a strong case that what really counts is picking the right industry to enter in the first place, and then proceeding correctly. getAbstract.com strongly recommends this to entrepreneurs because it guides them to the industries, strategies and perspectives that are likeliest to work. It indeed plows fertile ground.

Summary

Choosing Wisely

The next time you walk through a crowd, consider this: four out of every 100 people you pass are starting their own companies. In fact, business owners are 13% of the nonagricultural work force in the U.S. Being an entrepreneur, it seems, is as American as apple pie.

The good news is that more new organizations are being formed in the U.S. than ever before. The bad news is that most of them will fail, four out of 10 in their first year. Only one in four will survive eight years, and most of the owners will make less than they would working for someone else.

If you hope to be a long-term entrepreneur, perhaps the most important decision you will make is what industry to enter. Restaurants and retail businesses experience a very high incidence of failure, but companies that specialize in technology-related fields have a much greater chance of success.

Ten Commandments of Entrepreneurial Entry

Entrepreneurs considering a start-up in a high tech field should heed these 10 rules:

Rule No. 1: "Select the Right Industry"

The first rule of success for starting a new business is choosing the right industry. New firms do far ...

About the Author

Scott A. Shane, Ph.D., has written more than 50 articles on innovation management and entrepreneurship, as well as several books on entrepreneurship. He is a professor of economics and entrepreneurship at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and previously taught at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

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