How to be The Startup Hero: A Guide and Textbook for Entrepreneurs and Aspiring Entrepreneurs

by Tim Draper

I hope that this book will inspire you to act. To make that move. To fulfill your vision. I want to take you closer to your goal, whether that be starting a billion-dollar unicorn, building a revolution, or just helping you better understand that change of any kind starts with you. You can be the Startup Hero. Startup Heroes are the ones that drive progress, and whether you bring us to another planet or make your neighborhood a nicer, happier place, you can become a Startup Hero. This book is the first step. It helps you take that first step. The step will be different for everyone. It might be to call that customer. It might be to draw up a design concept. It might be to talk to your boss. With this book, I hope to guide people to think big, drive change and go full speed ahead. I am giving them a pledge to do their work for good, and I am giving them some of the tools they need to accomplish their goals. This book is hard. It takes you through a variety of activities, questions, stories and challenges (even puzzles and poems) working both the right and left side of your brain and all the parts in between. The activities I propose are challenging and sometimes even embarrassing. The questions I ask are probing and provoking. The stories I tell are used as examples to guide you toward what I call Startup Heroism. So, why would you read this book? Well, I have worked for 30 years for entrepreneurs. I have supported, funded and coached Startup Heroes all my working life. And I have tested the concepts of this book on the students at Draper University and they have come out to be some of the most interesting, dynamic, and motivated people the world has ever seen. In fact, we have had about 1000 students from over 60 different countries come through the program at this writing, and they have started more than 300 companies! I wrote this book so that some of the thinking that I applied to Draper University could be spread wider, in hopes that these messages would reach other potential Startup Heroes (maybe you) who might make an impact on the world, be proactive about their work, or at the very least, improve their lives. So, I implore you. Read this book, try this book, do this book, play this book, absorb this book, experience this book. It might surprise you. It might thrill you. It might drive you. It might kill you. At the very least, I hope it will give you a perspective on how real progress is made, and at the very best, it might just change your life.

Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship

365 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 18, 2017

Reviews

[D.B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Occasionally interesting, frequently bizarre. Draper isn’t an interesting or creative thinker, but he’s willing to turn off his brain entirely with predictable results.

An example he gives of a good company vision statement is to “make data ubiquitous”. What does that mean???

When discussing business concepts his examples are totally bonkers. Hotels where the rooms move so bathrooms can be shared! Or hotels where the carpet in rooms is on a conveyor belt so the underside can be cleaned! Make airplanes but shaped like volley balls?? Make rockets that propel themselves into space using electromagnetism instead of rocket fuel.

It’s asinine.

[Gebo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. I really didn't get much out of this book. The vast majority of the book is about Tim Draper and associates, not really how to be a startup hero in the abstract. Draper mostly just shares his personal experience and his cringe worthy slam poetry (or rap, it's not really clear). Book should be called Startup Heroes Tim Draper Knows. There are some nuggets of wisdom, hence the three star review, but the vast majority are in the first few chapters--the ones before the poetry... But as the book drags on, you'll likely find Draper less and less sympathetic and more and more a trust fund kid (with a dad who does almost the same thing as him) who managed to spread the risk as a venture capitalist. He happened to be at the right place at the right time with the right money a few times. He also thinks he invented viral marketing and a few other things.

[Atleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have gone one more round towards product market fit

As it stands, the books isn't just a guide and a textbook, it is also (trying to be) memoir, War of Art, Seth Godin, collection of quotes and probably a bit more.

Probably more suitable for airport paperback use; grab it, jump around, skim a bit, read a bit, underline some stuff, pick it up a month later and read some more.

[Herval Freire · Rating 1 out of 5]

An ego trip. That’s pretty much it.

[Juan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not get anything beneficial from the book at all. I do like the image of Tim Draper, however this book talks basically about him and only him, in some way it feels like a biography. There are some interesting stories in the book e.g e-mail/skype... But I feel most of it was a way to sell a book with 0 aspects on how an start up would operate...
On the other side, the Bitcoin story was the most interesting and one of the reasons I ended up reading this book. Furthemore, Tezos ($XTZ) is mentioned in the book, when I read the book I did not know there was some conection between them. It was interesting as the price of Tezos back when I read the book was under $1 and now it is under $2.50 which is amazing and shows how wise is Tim Draper.

[Yara · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're an aspiring entrepreneur, this book will give you the inspiration and tools necessary to take the first step in starting your own venture. If you're already deep in the startup game, this book will provide you with the valuable perspective of a seasoned venture capitalist and entrepreneur.

How to be the Startup Hero takes you into the mind of Draper, founder of VC Draper Fisher Jurvetson and an early investor in billion-dollar success stories, including Hotmail, Skype, Baidu, and Bitcoin.

Equal parts biographical, instructional, playful, insightful, empowering, and optimistic, Draper distills 30 years of industry wisdom into an engaging read.

[Kike Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the book itself is not the best read you will have this year, the ideas found inside are simply priceless. This is one of those books that instantly make you want to go out and change the world.

[Stephen Inoue · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me months to finally clear thru this book. The praise for Trump, Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos fraud) and the blaming of regulatory banking rather than big tech buying out startups for the death in IPOs had me questioning why I wanted to learn more about Draper or his startup University.

[C Bryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I mean, there are some interesting aspects of this book, but he mostly just rambles. Like blah blah blah blah blah. If someone synthesized this into key points it would be a page or two. Reading the remaining 358 pages is just filler nonsense crap. Find a synopsis.

[Jpreethi+Groktestus2]

Good

[Aliona Rotaru · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good motivational book to read if you plan to start a new business which includes innovation.

[Anastasia Prosina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of a few books I haven't finished because of how poor the content is. There are much better business books out there. This one is more about the ego of the author.

[Simon Rycraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Draper is a legend! The book gave several insights on investments i had no clue he was involved in. His influence on venture capital and tech have and continue to be amazing.

[Billy Stern · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone that thinks they might have an entrepreneurial bone in their body, start with this book. Tim Draper wants to change the world. He understands how and why the world works the way it does. He cares about the future and wants to equip you to build it.