Build Something Great!: Your Reference Manual of the Best Tips for Startups

Only 1 out of every 10 funded high-tech startups will succeed with an IPO or a high-value acquisition.

The objective of "Build Something Great!" is to significantly increase the number of startups that succeed. It is well timed as the industry is in the midst of another boom cycle for high-tech startups. It has been written explicitly to help these startups by presenting the best ideas, concepts and knowledge from those in the high-tech business world who have already succeeded.

This book is unique among startup books on the market. Rather than providing details on what most entrepreneurs can figure out on their own, it addresses the critical issues that are elusive to most. It provides valuable advice and practical information to help in decision making and avoiding pitfalls that may lie in the path to success. It captures the keys to success and the mistakes that lead to failure. It makes you think about the important factors in every decision. It provides useful examples, metaphors and illustrations to convey the concepts in a way that is easy to understand.

There are many approaches to guide founders and entrepreneurs of startup companies. The most effective way is to provide great tips that have accumulated over the years. Tips are often offered as keys to success by founders, experienced executives, industry observers, venture capitalists and angel investors. For this reason, this book is written as a set of 50 Best Tips for High-Tech Startups that are easily remembered or quickly referenced. While there are many more valuable tips, the list has been reduced to the best 50 that are most helpful to early-stage companies in a variety of industries. Depending on the material being described, each tip is presented in several different sections that include thumbnails, details, key points, takeaways and additional notes as appropriate. With this format, the manner in which the material is absorbed conforms to the reader’s circumstances: whether at an airport, on a plane, at work, in a coffee shop or on the beach.

Tips are organized into several major stages and associated activities of a startup: getting the company started, building the product, getting funded, building the team and running the company. The authors have applied these tips through their experience as professors, entrepreneurs, startup advisors and angel investors. They have seen successful application of the tips as well as consequences when tips are not followed.

This book is intended primarily for first-time entrepreneurs, but reviewers have indicated that the content is useful at all stages of a startup because of the breadth and depth of the topics covered. Phrases such as “terrific”, “a potential game changer” and “innovative” have been used by reviewers in their feedback comments. Furthermore, they believe it will be a handy reference book to keep on the shelf for all management and employees so that everyone is working from the same playbook. It is a “must-have” book for any high-tech entrepreneur who wants to be successful.

Learn more at the website www.BuildSomethingGreat.biz.

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David Overhauser, Ph.D., began working with startups in 1980. He has been involved in over 20 startups in a variety of roles over 35 years, including engineer, Vice President, Founder, Board Member, investor, consultant and business advisor. He has also worked at IBM, AT&T, Texas Instruments and Cadence Design Systems. He was also an Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering at Duke University, where he founded the Design Automation Technology Center. Dr. Overhauser has published 3 books, over 40 technical papers and has been granted 13 patents. He holds degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. He is a member of IEEE and the Band of Angels, has held several leadership positions in Boy Scouts, and is an endowment trustee for Alpha Phi Omega, a national service fraternity.

Resve Saleh, Ph.D., began his professional career working in a startup in 1979. He was Founder of 4 startups, including Simplex Solutions where he served as CEO for one year, VP Engineering for 3 years and Chairman of the Board of Directors for 5 years. Subsequently, he was involved in 6 startups as a consultant, advisor or investor. In his 10 years in industry, he worked at Mitel, Tektronix, Toshiba, Nortel and Cadence Design Systems. He served in academia for 20 years in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Saleh was Assistant and Associate Professor at the University of Illinois, Visiting Professor at Stanford University and Full Professor at the University of British Columbia where he established the System-on-Chip Research Laboratory. He has published over 120 journal and conference papers, 4 books and was granted 1 patent. He received multiple awards and distinctions, including the prestigious Presidential Young Investigator Award (1989) and IEEE Fellow (2006).