University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Get Backed, Get Big, Get Bought
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Get Backed, Get Big, Get Bought

Plan your start-up with the end in mind

Colin Barrow
Capstone, 2009
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Entrepreneurship expert Colin Barrow promises that selling your company is the path to big bucks. The problem is that first you have to start a business and make it successful. Barrow details all the ins and outs of this lucrative practice, from writing your business plan and securing funding to expanding your company and preparing an “exit strategy.” He tailors his information to businesses in the U.K., but most of the principles apply universally. Thus, getAbstract recommends Barrow’s practical guide as informative, encouraging reading for any entrepreneur with the next great business idea. Heeding his sound advice could help you follow in the footsteps of Bebo founders Michael and Xochi Birch, who in 2008 sold their popular networking site to AOL for £417 million.

Summary

“Get Backed”

Most people who start new businesses want to become rich, yet few achieve that goal. Often, those who end up squeaking by lack this “magic formula” for success: “Value = Problem x Scalability x Money x Barrier to Entry.” Translation: The value of your start-up is a product of the size and importance of the customer problems it solves, the scalability of its business model, the amount of funds you put into it and the difficulty competitors will have in copying you. Here is how this guiding formula works in the real world:

  • Recognizing a problem – Tim Waterstone decided to open a new kind of bookstore in the U.K. that targeted three major customer problems. First, he saw that book buyers required extended store hours so they could shop after work. Second, he recognized the need for better merchandising, so he adapted a model from a U.S. bookstore, sprinkling catchy titles throughout the shop. Third, he met the need for knowledgeable staff by seeking “literate young graduates” as employees.
  • Determining scale – Waterstone had enough home equity to secure funding to open a single bookshop. But his business vision...

About the Author

Colin Barrow teaches entrepreneurship at numerous business schools and has published books and other publications on the topic.

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