Today's Internet startup founder is yesterday's rockstar, and with so much media coverage and movies being made about overnight tech billionaires, it should come as no surprise. But while legions of aspiring entrepreneurs quit their jobs or drop out of school to pursue the dream, few are aware that only one in twelve of them will succeed. With so much aspiration and so little forthcoming success, the obvious question is, why?
This book attempts to answer this question. We walk the reader through from the first decision to become an entrepreneur, to launching and tackle the strategic challenges along the way. The book was developed by compiling lessons learned from a decade of startup experience, analysis of industry best-practices, and established academic models. The result is a strategic guide that exposes the many pitfalls of online entrepreneurship, and provides advice for how to avoid them.
Neal Cabage is a technologist and digital product strategist based in Los Angeles California. He has consulted for companies like Macys.com, Disney, AIG, and a number of startups. He has spoken at leading conferences on topics such as market discovery and data-driven conversion optimization.
Neal has successfully founded and sold two online startups, experiencing the full lifecycle of a startup business. He has spent years studying why online products succeed, which led to the development this book. Neal studied Music Technology at New York University and Psychology at the University of Washington, reflecting his interest in the intersection of technology and human experience.