The Art of the Start
Guy Kawasaki · 2004
The Art of the Start (2004) is a book by Guy Kawasaki on Startups. Guy Kawasaki distills two decades of evangelizing at Apple and funding startups into a field-tested, no-fluff playbook for launching anything. It trades grand theory for the scrappy tactics that actually get a venture from idea to traction.
A practical, tactic-rich guide to launching ventures, pitching, and bootstrapping.
Three of the ideas you’ll keep
The Clif summary of The Art of the Start pulls out 8 insights. Here are the first three.
- Start to make meaning, not money. Companies built to change lives, end something bad, or perpetuate something good outlast companies built only to get rich.
- Kill your mission statement and write a three-to-four-word mantra instead. 'Authentic athletic performance' (Nike) is something a team can actually remember and live.
- Don't write a 50-page business plan first. Weave a MAT: list your Milestones, the Assumptions behind them, and the Tasks to hit them, then test assumptions as you go.
The other 5 — and the full 10-minute summary — are in the app.
What’s inside: 10 chapters
The whole summary runs about 10 minutes, read or listened to.
- Make Meaning, Not Just Money
- Write a Mantra, Burn the Mission Statement
- Get Going: Weave a MAT
- Positioning: Niche Thyself
- Pitching: The 10/20/30 Rule
- Bootstrapping: Survive on Less
- Recruiting: Hire Infected Believers
- Raising Capital and Partnering
- Branding and Evangelism
- Rainmaking and Becoming a Mensch
Finish The Art of the Start tonight.
Read or listen to the full summary in about 10 minutes, then keep the ideas with a minute of review a day. Start with the 2-minute quiz — no card required.
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