How does Kramer exemplify the entrepreneurial process? How does George's penchant for risk taking prepare him to be a better entrepreneur than Jerry? What important trends for potential entrepreneurial opportunities does Elaine miss? What does Newman's attempt to be entrepreneurial teach us about the disruption of traditional value chains and business models?The Startup of Seinfeld is written by a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship who can't watch an episode of Seinfeld without thinking about its implications for aspiring entrepreneurs. Although not intended to be a how-to textbook for creating a successful startup, this book presents concepts and principles of entrepreneurship and then links the reader to actual Seinfeld clips as a context for their application. A fresh twist on "edutainment," this multimedia approach combines words, graphics, and video to bring the worlds of academia and popular culture together.Get your internet-connected device ready and dive into a realm of entrepreneurship that transforms the greatest show about nothing into?something."This multimedia book is a serious introduction to entrepreneurship, but it's also seriously fun." - William Irwin, editor of Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing"Livengood brings a fresh and innovative perspective to entrepreneurship education . . . I'm all in for this book!" - Diana Kander, author of All-in Startup"This book is a must for every entrepreneur or wannabe. Not just informative, but also clever and fun. A winning combination from a guy who knows his stuff." - Ray Lindstrom, author of FEARLESS! Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur

An instant New York Times bestseller, Dan Lyons' "hysterical" (Recode) memoir, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "the best book about Silicon Valley," takes readers inside the maddening world of fad-chasing venture capitalists, sales bros, social climbers, and sociopaths at today's tech startups. For twenty-five years Dan Lyons was a magazine writer at the top of his profession--until one Friday morning when he received a phone call: Poof. His job no longer existed. "I think they just want to hire younger people," his boss at Newsweek told him. Fifty years old and with a wife and two young kids, Dan was, in a word, screwed. Then an idea hit. Dan had long reported on Silicon Valley and the tech explosion. Why not join it? HubSpot, a Boston start-up, was flush with $100 million in venture capital. They offered Dan a pile of stock options for the vague role of "marketing fellow." What could go wrong? HubSpotters were true believers: They were making the world a better place ... by selling email spam. The office vibe was frat house meets cult compound: The party began at four thirty on Friday and lasted well into the night; "shower pods" became hook-up dens; a push-up club met at noon in the lobby, while nearby, in the "content factory," Nerf gun fights raged. Groups went on "walking meetings," and Dan's absentee boss sent cryptic emails about employees who had "graduated" (read: been fired). In the middle of all this was Dan, exactly twice the age of the average HubSpot employee, and literally old enough to be the father of most of his co-workers, sitting at his desk on his bouncy-ball "chair."

Steve Martin has been an international star for over thirty years. Here, for the first time, he looks back to the beginning of his career and charmingly evokes the young man he once was. Born in Texas but raised in California, Steve was seduced early by the comedy shows that played on the radio when the family travelled back and forth to visit relatives. When Disneyland opened just a couple of miles away from home, an enchanted Steve was given his first chance to learn magic and entertain an audience. He describes how he noted the reaction to each joke in a ledger - 'big laugh' or 'quiet' - and assiduously studied the acts of colleagues, stealing jokes when needed. With superb detail, Steve recreates the world of small, dark clubs and the fear and exhilaration of standing in the spotlight. While a philosophy student at UCLA, he worked hard at local clubs honing his comedy and slowly attracting a following until he was picked up to write for TV. From here on, Steve Martin became an acclaimed comedian, packing out venues nationwide. One night, however, he noticed empty seats and realised he had 'reached the top of the rollercoaster'. BORN STANDING UP is a funny and riveting chronicle of how Steve Martin became the comedy genius we now know and is also a fascinating portrait of an era.

If Owen Chase can't find a way to turn his company around in the next nine days, he'll be forced to shut it down and lay off all of his employees. He has incurred substantial debt and his marriage is on shaky ground. Through pure happenstance, Owen finds himself pondering this problem while advancing steadily as a contestant at the World Series of Poker. His Las Vegas path quickly introduces him to Samantha, a beautiful and mysterious mentor with a revolutionary approach to entrepreneurship. Sam is a fountain of knowledge that may save his company, but her sexual advances might prove too much for Owen's struggling marriage. All In Startup is more than just a novel about eschewing temptation and fighting to save a company. It is a lifeline for entrepreneurs who are thinking about launching a new idea or for those who have already started but can't seem to generate the traction they were expecting. Entrepreneurs who achieve success in the new economy do so using a new "scientific method" of innovation. All In Startup demonstrates why four counterintuitive principles separate successful entrepreneurs from the wanna-preneurs who bounce from idea to idea, unable to generate real revenue. You will likely get only one opportunity in your life to go "all in" in on an idea: to quit your job, talk your spouse into letting you drain the savings account, and follow your dream. All In Startup will prepare you for that "all in" moment and make sure that you push your chips into the middle only when the odds are in your favor. This book holds the keys to significantly de-risking your idea so that your success appears almost lucky. Join Owen and Sam for this one-of-a-kind journey that will set you on the right path for when it's your turn to put everything on the line.

“If I was going to start a new business today I would be sure to study and pay close attention to Kevin Ready’s new book, Startup. His wisdom, experience, and his self-effacing and honest writing make this a real gem for aspiring entrepreneurs and business people of all kinds.” —Bob Beaudine, author of The Power of WHO Startup: An Insider's Guide to Launching and Running a Business is for people who are excellent at something—product or web development, writing code, marketing or selling anything—but who are now toiling for others. Yet they have long had a dream: to take that special skill set and use it, on their own terms, in a startup business. This pattern is romanticized by the media in the form of the “tech entrepreneur”—the guy brainstorming with buddies in a garage who ends up selling his startup for millions. But what is the reality behind stories like that one? For that matter, what mental processes, frames of reference, hard knocks, and lessons learned make up the “back story” behind any startup success? This book not only reveals the actual experience of entrepreneurship, but it provides readers with a set of universal entrepreneurial skills and tools they can use to build a business. Author Kevin Ready has made this journey, and more than once. He earned his MBA—Master of Bruise Acquisition—through numerous encounters with “situations,” problems, black holes, bad employees, sea monsters, not enough money, and other karate chops to the organizational body. Startup illustrates in detail the lessons he learned the hard way—so you don’t have to. Backed up by stories of both his successes and failures, Ready helps readers learn shortcuts to help them do what eight out of 10 entrepreneurs can’t: Build and sustain a successful start-up. Illustrates the entrepreneurial journey from start to finish Helps readers decide—or not—to start a business Provides dozens of lessons learned and other takeaways budding entrepreneurs can put to use today

A young entrepreneur and sociologist shows readers how to reach personal fulfillment using the same strategies that power Silicon Valley's greatest startups. As an entrepreneur, Anna Akbari learned that one of the best things about startups is their ability to “pivot” quickly—basically a euphemism for failing and starting over. And she quickly found that personal success is no different. It’s not just about developing and following the right process but also having a good idea. And that demands rigor and daily maintenance—far beyond a few positive affirmations. Like any Silicon Valley startup, the business of life is not as glamorous as its Instagram account would make it seem. What do you do when planning is not an option? When control is out of your reach? You isolate the small stuff, experiment constantly, and use the results to lay a more sustainable foundation for the future. You validate your idealized vision by testing it out in bite-sized increments. You see what sticks, integrate, and move forward. And inevitably, you experience a series of failures along the way, but those failures are key to your next success. Living a start up life is about maximizing flexibility and measuring on-going results, not avoiding failure or reaching one particular end goal. It's about embracing defeat, analyzing it, and failing up. In Startup Your Life, Akbari shows that after all, it's often the stumbles that pave the way for real happiness.

An accessible guide to handling the unforeseeable consequences of becoming an entrepreneur in today and tomorrow's economy The spirit of an entrepreneur is often characterized as one of unbridled passion and a sense of fearlessness. But what about the consequences of choosing to become an entrepreneur? The occupational hazards associated with this endeavor range from maintaining focus, balancing work with your personal life, and finding good partners to burnout and boredom. Despite the abundance of entrepreneurial guides written, few focus on the essential aspect of dealing with the unexpected personal and professional costs of starting and financing a business. This new book will help you answer these tough questions. Engaging and informative, this book skillfully examines what usually goes wrong on the road to entrepreneurship, revealing what business owners regret and what you can do to address these issues. Along the way, it provides an overview of the personality traits and qualities that make success in entrepreneurship more likely, and also explores how the weight of wearing the entrepreneurial hat can affect you. Covers the seven principal obstacles that can arise at any level in the entrepreneurial game Filled with the valuable insights of an author who has experience as an entrepreneur and as a corporate attorney representing hundreds of entrepreneurs over his twenty-six year legal career Touches on issues associated with everything from the nerve-wrecking start-up phase to the disenchanted later stages when success does not necessarily guarantee personal or professional contentment If you're looking for a better way to manage and minimize some of the most prominent problems you'll face as an entrepreneur, look no further than this book.

A comprehensive guide to writing, selling and performing all types of comedy. Includes comments, advice, gags and routines from top comics.

Make the leap and become an entrepreneur today Are you living for the weekend? Are you dissatisfied at work? Are you itching to do something that is important to you? How can you avoid the pitfalls that many first-time entrepreneurs have fallen into? How do you explore whether entrepreneurship is right for you without giving up your day job? Employee to Entrepreneur is your guide to leaving your job behind and building something for yourself. Author and employee-turned-entrepreneur Steve Glaveski, shows you how to navigate the challenges, find the entrepreneurial success that is right for you and become a better person along the way. Employee to Entrepreneur combines storytelling with a step-by-step framework to teach you how to effectively explore and leverage entrepreneurship to gain freedom, fulfillment and financial security. understand what you want to do by first understanding yourself explore if entrepreneurship is right for you without giving up your day job avoid the common pitfalls faced by first-time entrepreneurs fund, test and prioritise your ideas in a fast and cost-effective way develop the mindset to succeed in your business. If you’re ready to leave your cushy employee life behind and build a business and a life you believe in, reading this essential guidebook is your first step to making it happen.

The #1 New York Times bestseller that examines how people can champion new ideas in their careers and everyday life—and how leaders can fight groupthink, from the author of Hidden Potential, Think Again, and the co-author of Option B “Filled with fresh insights on a broad array of topics that are important to our personal and professional lives.”—The New York Times DealBook “Originals is one of the most important and captivating books I have ever read, full of surprising and powerful ideas. It will not only change the way you see the world; it might just change the way you live your life. And it could very well inspire you to change your world.” —Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of Lean In With Give and Take, Adam Grant not only introduced a landmark new paradigm for success but also established himself as one of his generation’s most compelling and provocative thought leaders. In Originals he again addresses the challenge of improving the world, but now from the perspective of becoming original: choosing to champion novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battle conformity, and buck outdated traditions. How can we originate new ideas, policies, and practices without risking it all? Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt; how parents and teachers can nurture originality in children; and how leaders can build cultures that welcome dissent. Learn from an entrepreneur who pitches his start-ups by highlighting the reasons not to invest, a woman at Apple who challenged Steve Jobs from three levels below, an analyst who overturned the rule of secrecy at the CIA, a billionaire financial wizard who fires employees for failing to criticize him, and a TV executive who didn’t even work in comedy but saved Seinfeld from the cutting-room floor. The payoff is a set of groundbreaking insights about rejecting conformity and improving the status quo.