DBC - “The Intelligent Entrepreneur” by Bill Murphy Jr.

Druid's Book Club

Quick Take: An in-depth story of three successful entrepreneurs and ten entrepreneurial lessons gleaned from their experiences. Overall, I enjoyed this book.

Longer Take:

Not the best entrepreneurship book I have read, but I found it an enjoyable read overall.

The Intelligent Entrepreneur tells the true stories of three entrepreneurs from the Harvard Business School class of 1998 who started fours businesses within ten years of graduating. The author then details ten rules of intelligent entrepreneurship from their experiences.

Several reviewers have criticized this book as a 300-page advertisement for HBS. Because the three interviewees all attended HBS, there is bound to be a bunch of such propaganda. But I did not find it took away from the quality of the story.

Definitely not a strategy book. The author combines long stretches of telling the entrepreneurs stories with the lessons he felt would help someone looking to take the same journey. Written to teach mainly soft skills and enable the reader to learn from other's experiences.

Some of My Favourite Quotes:

"…anyone who is willing and eager to learn the rules of successful entrepreneurship can enjoy a great advantage."

"…get over the greatest myth about entrepreneurship – the false notion that all you really need is the one truly great idea."

"…to become a successful entrepreneur, you've got to make a total commitment to the goal."

"Read about the great entrepreneurs and their successes. …But read them with a grain of sale, and remember that no matter how shiny their legend, these men and women are more like us than they are different."

"People want to believe. They want to believe in you. They want to believe in your company. And your job is to simply give them the opportunity to believe."

"…there will always be luck, both good and bad. The key is persisting long enough to take advantage of the good fortune that does come your way."

"…recognize that you're choosing a way of life that very few others have the guts to pursue."

Top Entrepreneurship Lesson: Some ties bind successful entrepreneurs together. Learn those skills and attributes, and you increase your chances of finding success.