different case studies. No one way is right. Pick and choose what’s right for you!
X: Philosophical question: Can entrepreneurship really be taught from a class or a book? Don’t you have to do it, to figure it out for yourself?
JB: You have to experience it for yourself, but there’s a good way to be guided while going through those experiences. Most entrepreneurs fail by making simple mistakes when it comes to product and building the team. I hope this book helps them avoid those mistakes while figuring it out for themselves.
X: Can you give a couple of examples of key mistakes?
JB: Raising funding too early and building a bloated product are big ones. Most people want to add in tons of features and never ship the product. The best thing to do is see what you can put out into the world in 60-day sprints.
X: What do you hope will be the broader impact of your book?
JB: I hope I inspire more people to start startups as well as educate employees at current startups what the whole experience is like. Growing up it was acceptable to be a doctor, lawyer, or banker. My hope is that the same ends up holding true for entrepreneurship and that my book plays a small part in that.
X: The big news for startups this week is the Instagram acquisition by Facebook. What lessons or inspirations do you take from that story? (Some apps aren’t bullshit?)
JB: Ha, apps for content are still bullshit more than ever. It’s really that they built something using where the world was going and had a big vision. Think about it, they don’t have a website. They built only for a world going forward that is socially connected, always on, and mobile.
