Cambridge Business Association
Better, Stronger, Faster
Book

Better, Stronger, Faster

Build It, Scale It, Flog It: The Entrepreneur's Step-by-Step Guide to Success in Business

Brad Rosser
Infinite Ideas, 2009
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Eye Opening
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

Don’t believe that most entrepreneurs are brash adventurers who act without thinking, mindlessly hitching their wagons to any bold, new enterprise. It certainly is not true for serious businesspeople who succeed over the long haul. They are the brilliant strategists who think 12 moves ahead. And what are those moves? Entrepreneurial aspirants can find out by reading this rollicking good book by serial starter-upper Brad Rosser. A former McKinsey & Co. consultant, Rosser worked closely with famously successful moguls, including Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group) and property tycoon Peter Beckwith (PMB Holdings). getAbstract finds that Rosser’s smart, savvy book provides the necessary know-how to get a business up and running – and all in his signature Aussie-style combination of bonhomie and brio.

Summary

Case Study: How Not to Ask for Start-Up Funding

Like prisoners heading to their own executions, two men dragged themselves into the office of a venture capitalist, hoping that he would fund their new enterprise. They carried two cartons of disgusting brown liquid, which they unceremoniously plopped down in the middle of the financier’s desk. He stared at the cartons, wondering if the noxious-looking fluids might burn right through his desk.

After a nervous silence, one of the men managed to say that the liquids were special energy drinks for pets: “Woofit” for dogs and “Meowit” for cats. The men looked immensely pleased, as if they had developed a cure for cancer. But they could not explain the market for their new products, who the customers would be or why anyone would buy energy drinks for pets that, by and large, possess ample energy. The men left without a penny.

An atypical case? Not at all. Most start-up firms do not stay in business over the long term. And few that survive are ever sold for a profit. Why? The answer is simple: Most entrepreneurs do not think strategically about what their start-ups require for a successful future. They kid themselves ...

About the Author

Brad Rosser is an entrepreneur. His latest commercial creation is the BetterStrongerFaster Group. Rosser worked for McKinsey & Co., Virgin Group and Bond Corporation.

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