Lessons From the Edge Survival Skills for Starting and Growing a Company

by Matthews, Jana; Dennis, Jeff; Economy, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780195168259
• ISBN10: 0195168259
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-09-04
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Entrepreneurs often struggle with many aspects of business: planning and financing company growth, creating a company vision, recruiting, leading, and managing people, as well as personal costs. In Lessons from the Edge, more than 50 business owners and entrepreneurs offer a wealth ofreal-life stories--in their own words--that provide rare insights about keeping a company healthy and growing. Here is a unique collection of first-person accounts by entrepreneurs who describe their mistakes in business and the lessons they have learned as a result. The stories cover a wide range of experiences from the trials and tribulations of partnerships, to the loss of key customers, theft,finding and retaining employees, and the personal cost of living on the edge. The authors have drawn on interviews with more than 50 entrepreneurs, all of whom are under 45 years of age and are founders or presidents of companies with revenues over $1 million and growing rapidly. They volunteered toshare their stories, describing why they lost or almost lost their companies, what they did wrong, and the lessons they have learned. Their narratives are full of mistakes, failure, courage, moments of realization, and timely moves that saved the day. Every company owner will find these accountsinsightful, compelling, and occasionally gut wrenching, especially because most face similar challenges and live with the reality that they too could fall off the edge. This instructive and inspiring book brims with lessons for all business owners about courage, persistence, and survival. Lessons from the Edge is an essential read for both established and prospective entrepreneurs.

Author Biography

Jana Matthews, an international expert on company growth, founded Boulder Quantum Ventures to help CEOs, entrepreneurs, and their top teams unlock their growth potential. She frequently works with the Young Entrepreneurs Organization, Babson College, the Kauffman Center and the Edward Lowe Foundation. She is the co-author of Leading at the Speed of Growth, Building the Awesome Organization, and five other books. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.
Jeff Dennis is a life-long entrepreneur. As the co-founder of Flagship Capital Partners, he has been involved in start-ups, acquisitions and financings for a variety of businesses. His current entrepreneurial project is Secutor Capital Management Corporation. Through his association with YEO and the Kauffman Center, he has created a series of "Lessons from the Edge" seminars. He lives in Toronto.
Peter Economy is Associate Editor of Leader to Leader magazine and co-author of Leadership Ensemble: Lessons in Collaborative Management from the World's Only Conductorless Orchestra and the best-selling Managing For Dummies among others. He lives in La Jolla, California.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
Leadership
Section-at-a-Glance	p. 15
Overview	p. 17
Individual Profiles
The Price of Distraction: Ken Wolf	p. 22
Right Moves, Wrong People: Douglas Mellinger	p. 26
Stealing the Company Blind: Frank Nemiroff	p. 30
You Gotta Believe: Marx Acosta-Rubio	p. 35
Riding the Roller Coaster: Mark Moses	p. 39
Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later: Joshua Schecter	p. 44
Back To Where It All Began: Bob Kirstiuk	p. 49
Losing a Partner: Charles Tetrick	p. 55
Inheriting Problems: Anne Bain	p. 60
Building a Business or Building a Company: Kevin Daum	p. 63
Wrap-up	p. 67
Top Ten Lessons in Leadership	p. 70
People
Section-at-a-Glance	p. 73
Overview	p. 75
Individual Profiles
Brewing up a Perfect Business: Sam Boyer	p. 79
Aiming for the Fairway: Craig Pollard	p. 83
When Disaster Strikes: Damon Gersh	p. 87
Always Behind the Curve: Howard Getson	p. 92
No Systems, No Results: Alex Rusch	p. 95
Picking the Wrong Guy ... Again: Paul Hickey	p. 100
Wrap-up	p. 106
Top Ten Lessons in People	p. 108
Partnerships
Section-at-a-Glance	p. 111
Overview	p. 113
Individual Profiles
Starting with a Bang, Ending with a Whimper: Jeff Dennis	p. 119
Get it in Writing: Julie Pearl	p. 124
A Matter of Interpretation: David Dash	p. 127
Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Peter Davies	p. 130
Getting Conned: Mike Meek	p. 134
Always Knows Where the Exits Are: Greg Ferguson	p. 137
Selling Yourself Short: Tina Holden	p. 141
Wrap-up	p. 144
Top Ten Lessons in Partnerships	p. 146
Money
Section-at-a-Glance	p. 149
Overview	p. 151
Individual Profiles
Surviving the Dot-Com Explosion: Sanjay Parekh	p. 159
When Good Money Chases Bad: Niv Ben-Haim	p. 163
Making the Right Moves: Tim Riley	p. 167
Diversify Your Investors: Robert Kulhawy	p. 171
Putting Your Eggs in One Basket: Lance Stendal	p. 175
On the Outside Looking In: Michael Beirne	p. 178
Swimming Against the Current: Kirsten Knight	p. 183
He Offered to Loan Me My Money: David Schulhof	p. 187
Caught in the Act: Bill Kimberlin	p. 193
Getting Thrown a Curve Ball: Greg Levin	p. 199
Feeling the Burn: Derek Harp	p. 204
Wrap-up	p. 209
Top Ten Lessons in Money	p. 212
Personal Issues
Section-at-a-Glance	p. 215
Overview	p. 217
Individual Profiles
Losing Your Company, Losing Everything: James Fierro	p. 220
The Young and the Restless: Parvinder Singh	p. 225
The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Bill Lee	p. 229
An Inside Job: Louette Glabb	p. 233
Learning to Shift Gears: Isaac Rosenberg	p. 237
Merging Without Looking Both Ways: Laura McCann	p. 241
Out of the Ashes: Barrett Ersek	p. 245
Wrap-up	p. 250
Top Ten Lessons in Personal Issues	p. 251
Conclusion	p. 253
Index	p. 259
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