A Good Hard Kick in the Ass

Praise

“Adams strips the facade off the star-struck ’90s. This tell-it-like-it-is guidebook contrasts business fundamentals with the get-rich-quick frenzy that hypnotized so many would-be entrepreneurs. A must read for every potential entrepreneur!”
—Mike Turner, founder and CEO, Waveset Technologies, Inc.

“This book encapsulates everything I wish I’d known the first time I ventured into entrepreneurial territory. It really nails the issues you need to focus on as you build a company from the garage to a prominent position in the global marketplace.”
—Jimmy Treybig, founder and former president and CEO, Tandem Corporation

“The fundamentals Adams covers in this book are the tenets all companies should be built on—startups and Fortune-class companies alike. Now that we’re out of the days where companies were valued as a multiple of expenses and anything that used the Internet was funded, A Good Hard Kick in the Ass should be memorized by everyone in business.”
—Shelby H. Carter, Jr., venture capitalist, cofounder of SynOptics and Vital-Signs, and former vice president of Xerox Corp.

“Like a great coach, Adams focuses on the basic skills that winners execute with passion and losers ignore at their own peril.”
—Bruce Roberson, director, McKinsey & Company

“Entrepreneurial eagerness, energy, and effort do not always lead to success. Rob Adams’s book imparts a great deal of wisdom that can help aspiring entrepreneurs avoid the myriad woes that plague some of the most recent ventures. I recommend the book for anyone willing to take a hard look at what it really takes to be successful in the world of startups.”
—William A. Sahlman, cochair, Entrepreneurship and Service Management Unit, Harvard Business School

“A Good Hard Kick in the Ass belongs on everybody’s business bookshelf. Whether yours is a tech company, a big-company spinout, or a small local endeavor, you need Rob’s straight-shooting, practical advice about what really matters—and why your entrepreneurial instincts probably need adjusting.”
—Gerald Taylor, former president and CEO, MCI

“After being a high-tech entrepreneur for the past few years, I thought I knew it all. Rob’s book taught me that you never stop learning—you can always pick up something new from others’ experience. Not only is this book fun to read, it also imparts some real gems of knowledge.”
—Glyn Meek, founder and CEO, Triactive


From the Hardcover edition.