Books Startups How to Build Fund and Sustain a Business

Books: Startups: How to Build, Fund, and Sustain a Business

I’ve been involved in over 50 companies, including some amazing new ones, since 1995. I’ve written at least one book a year and usually two books.

I’m particularly excited about this one because I started working on it at the end of last year. Tim Wolters, my long time friend and long time partner at Foundry Group, has started work on it and is putting the finishing touches on it. I’m psyched because it’s going to be a real treat.

Startups: How to Build, Fund, and Sustain a Business is the second book I’ve written for FG Press after my last book Venture Deals: Beers, Deals, and Rock Stars. Tim and I wrote it together, after which he did some research on me and I, and then he did some research on me and the companies I’ve funded. And, when he got the information, he wrote a book.

Tim and I have had a great time working together on this book. He’s a super writer and I love his style. And, he’s super focused – constantly digging into the nitty gritty of what really matters and how to work on it.

We’ve all worked on the same set of companies for a long time. We’ve owned the same startups, co-founded the same companies, and have done business together for a long time. We have very different styles, but we all have a core set of skills.

This book is just like Venture Deals. It’s a profile of the companies each of us have built and is a history of how we have funded each other, how we have worked together, and why we are friends. Tim runs the book tour with me and we do a talk and Q&A around it.

Tim’s a master at putting together a super long-form book that spans multiple years. He does it with a style typical of many of my mentors – very well done, with plenty of back and forth, and with plenty of surprises along the way.

The only other book I’ve read in 2016 that I think is as good as Startup: How to Build, Fund, and Sustain a Business is “How to Build a Great VC Fund” which is an excellent introduction to seed stage investing and the ins and outs of seed stage investing.

If you are a VC and want a quick refresher on what might be on your Kindle, grab a copy of Startup: How to Build, Fund, and Sustain a Business.