24 Steps to Success! Disciplined Entrepreneurship will change the way you think about starting a company. Many believe that entrepreneurship cannot be taught, but great entrepreneurs aren’t born with something special – they simply make great products. This book will show you how to create a successful startup through developing an innovative product. It breaks down the necessary processes into an integrated, comprehensive, and proven 24-step framework that any industrious person can learn and apply. You will learn: Why the “F” word – focus – is crucial to a startup’s success Common obstacles that entrepreneurs face – and how to overcome them How to use innovation to stand out in the crowd – it’s not just about technology Whether you’re a first-time or repeat entrepreneur, Disciplined Entrepreneurship gives you the tools you need to improve your odds of making a product people want. Author Bill Aulet is the managing director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship as well as a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. For more please visit http://disciplinedentrepreneurship.com/

The process of user-centered innovation: how it can benefit both users and manufacturers and how its emergence will bring changes in business models and in public policy. Innovation is rapidly becoming democratized. Users, aided by improvements in computer and communications technology, increasingly can develop their own new products and services. These innovating users—both individuals and firms—often freely share their innovations with others, creating user-innovation communities and a rich intellectual commons. In Democratizing Innovation, Eric von Hippel looks closely at this emerging system of user-centered innovation. He explains why and when users find it profitable to develop new products and services for themselves, and why it often pays users to reveal their innovations freely for the use of all.The trend toward democratized innovation can be seen in software and information products—most notably in the free and open-source software movement—but also in physical products. Von Hippel's many examples of user innovation in action range from surgical equipment to surfboards to software security features. He shows that product and service development is concentrated among "lead users," who are ahead on marketplace trends and whose innovations are often commercially attractive. Von Hippel argues that manufacturers should redesign their innovation processes and that they should systematically seek out innovations developed by users. He points to businesses—the custom semiconductor industry is one example—that have learned to assist user-innovators by providing them with toolkits for developing new products. User innovation has a positive impact on social welfare, and von Hippel proposes that government policies, including R&D subsidies and tax credits, should be realigned to eliminate biases against it. The goal of a democratized user-centered innovation system, says von Hippel, is well worth striving for. An electronic version of this book is available under a Creative Commons license.

Workbook for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Curious about entrepreneurship, but not sure where to start? This workbook is designed in by LaunchX to guide people of all ages and backgrounds through the process of founding a company. LaunchX has worked in collaboration with MIT on developing materials and programs for aspiring entrepreneurs for over 5 years, including having an online course with enrollment in the hundreds of thousands. Unleash Your Inner Entrepreneur will provide you with inspiration to explore an entrepreneurial path and tools to overcome the initial challenges of building a business. From developing new business ideas and doing market research to designing and testing your offering and pitching, this course follows LaunchX's successful approach to entrepreneurship that leverages MIT's Disciplined Entrepreneurship, lean methodologies, and design thinking. Activities will challenge you to get you to get into the community to make a real impact. No previous business or entrepreneurship experience needed. Embark on your entrepreneurial journey now! Learn more about LaunchX at our website: http: //launchx.com

The essential companion to the book that revolutionized entrepreneurship Disciplined Entrepreneurship Workbook provides a practical manual for working the 24-step framework presented in Disciplined Entrepreneurship. Unlocking key lessons and breaking down the steps, this book helps you delve deeper into the framework to get your business up and running with a greater chance for success. You'll find the tools you need to sharpen your instinct, engage your creativity, work through hardship, and give the people what they want—even if they don't yet know that they want it. Real-world examples illustrate the framework in action, and case studies highlight critical points that can make or break you when your goal is on the line. Exercises and assessments help you nail down your strengths, while pointing out areas that could benefit from reinforcement—because when it comes to your business, "good enough" isn't good enough—better is always better. Disciplined Entrepreneurship transformed the way that professionals think about starting a company, and this book helps you dig into the proven framework to make your business dreams a reality. Delve deeper into the 24 steps to success Innovate, persevere, and create the product people want Internalize lessons learned from real-world entrepreneurs Test your understanding with exercises and case studies The book also includes new material on topics the author has found to be extremely useful in getting the most value out of the framework including Primary Market Research, Windows of Opportunity and Triggers. The book also introduces the Disciplined Entrepreneurship Canvas to track your progress on this journey. Starting a company is a serious undertaking, with plenty of risk and sacrifice to go around—so why not minimize the risk and make the outcome worth the sacrifice? Author Bill Aulet's 24-step framework is proven to build a successful business; the key is in how well you implement it. Disciplined Entrepreneurship Workbook helps you master the skills, tools, and mindset you need to get on your path to success.

Bringing hard data to the way we think about entrepreneurial success, this bold call to action draws on the latest scientific evidence to dispel the most pervasive startup myths and light a path to entrepreneurship for those eclipsed by the hype. When you think of a successful entrepreneur, who comes to mind? Bill Gates? Mark Zuckerberg? Or maybe even Jesse Eisenberg, the man who played Zuckerberg in The Social Network? It may surprise you that most successful founders look very different from Zuckerberg or Gates. In fact, most startup origin stories are very different from the famous "unicorns" that have achieved valuations of over $1 billion, from Facebook to Google to Uber. In The Unicorn's Shadow: Combating the Dangerous Myths that Hold Back Startups, Founders, and Investors, Wharton School professor Ethan Mollick takes us to the forefront of an empirical revolution in entrepreneurship. New data and better research methods have overturned the conventional wisdom behind what a successful founder looks like, how they succeed, and how the startup ecosystem works. Among the issues he examines: Which founders are most likely to succeed?Where do the best startup ideas come from?What's the most foolproof way of securing the funding needed to take a company to the next level?Should your sales pitch really be something out of Hollywood?What's the best way to grow and scale your company and create a thriving culture that won't hinder expansion? Mollick argues that entrepreneurship is too important, both for society and for the individuals who start companies, to be eclipsed by the shadows of unicorns. He shows we can democratize entrepreneurship—but only by following an evidence-based approach that puts to rest the false narratives that surround it.

This book focuses on the steps a new business owner must take in the first 100 days of starting a business to establish a lasting and successful enterprise. If you’re thinking of opening up your own business, you’ll need this book. This is a hands-on book that focuses on the tasks that you or any new business owner must complete in the first 100 days of launching a business. Think of it this way: Imagine you’ve conceived a business idea, written a business plan, raised seed capital, and are set to launch your business on October 1. Now, what would you actually do on October 1, October 2, October 3, and so forth? How would you set your priorities? How would you know which tasks are the most urgent? Although the answers to these questions vary depending on the business, there are a set of key activities that all businesses must accomplish to get their businesses off to a good (and legally proper) start. This book provides examples that include securing proper business licenses and permits; setting up a bookkeeping system; negotiating a lease; buying insurance; entering into contracts with vendors; recruiting and hiring employees; and making the first sale. Broader issues such as developing a business model and building a brand will also be touched upon, but the primary focus of this book is getting you focused on the practical issues that you’ll need, as a new business owner, to accomplish, and accomplish correctly, and to get your business off to a good start. To help you prioritize and track the activities that must be completed at the onset of a business, this book will teach you how to set up a “First 100 Days Plan,” with the template (titled First 100 Days Plan) included in this book.

Are you a founder searching for customers to grow your B2B startup? Fast Forward will help you find, win, and keep customers. This detailed guide on B2B sales tells you how to grow your revenue from zero to 1 million, 10 million and 100 million. The authors share more than 40 years of successful operating experience as startup founder, senior executive, board member, mentor, and investor in startups. Fast Forward outlines their insider’s perspective on market segmentation, pricing, contract negotiation, sales process, customer conversations, pipeline management, reporting, sales organization, and customer success. Fast Forward also features exclusive advice from more than 30 top-tier B2B startup founders and CEOs, including: Moritz Zimmermann (Hybris, now SAP) - Neil Ryland (Peakon, now Workday) - Peter Carlsson (Northvolt) - Bastian Nominacher (Celonis) - Erez Galonska (Infarm) - Veronika Riederle (Demodesk) - Jonas Rieke (Personio) - Matt Robinson (GoCardless) - Nicolas Dessaigne (Algolia) - Jörg G. Beyer (LeanIX) - Firmin Zocchetto (Payfit) - Avinoam Nowogrodski (Clarizen) “This book demystifies the sales journey, breaking it down into clear phases, and is packed with hands-on, pragmatic advice. To save time and avoid mistakes, read this book.” - Bastian Nominacher, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Celonis