phildini, while reading rated The Companion: 5 stars

The Companion by E. E. Ottoman
New York, 1948 After years of trying to break into New York City's literary scene, Madeline Slaughter is emotionally and …
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New York, 1948 After years of trying to break into New York City's literary scene, Madeline Slaughter is emotionally and …
The conclusion to the long hunt of centuries, the fulfillment of an ancient family pact: what awaits, at the end …
Spiral City finds itself trapped in a vicious cycle of crime, corruption, and violence.
With the heart of the city …
"The Emperor needs necromancers.
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.
Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more …
After forty years of being madly in love, Ana and Zeno are finally retiring and giving their romance a chance …
Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak …
Another delightfully humorous and sweet fantasy graphic novel adaptation of a Neil Gaiman short story, brought to you by the …
To be a warlock in this age is to trade in powers and promises and poisons, to bind demons and …
I'm so so glad I read this book before getting serious about starting a company. The advice within is solid, and makes the best possible case for taking angel investment and exiting early, rather than taking VC.
The only reason this isn't a 5-star review is due to the author obviously needing an editor, and having some structural issues such that some sections felt irrelevant. But it's a business book, the bar is low and this clears it handily.
Do recommend!
Look, the thing you have to understand about this book is that the guy who wrote it comes from a time where Silicon Valley venture capital was even more explicitly a boy's club. I'm not saying it's not today, I'm saying there are at least some signs of progress along equity and equality lines.
If you can get past the Hawaiian dude-bro attitude that is authentic to Guy Kawasaki, what you'll find is a pretty concise, easy-reading volume of intensely practical startup advice. It's written for a startup scene circa 2004, but it still feels shockingly relevant today.
If you have no desire to run a startup, don't read this book. If you want just the best advice from the book, here's my take on it: phildini.dev/key-insights-from-the-art-of-the-start
If you do want to start a startup, then, with a sigh, I encourage you to think about reading this book.