The great majority of startups fail, and most entrepreneurs who have
succeeded have had to bounce back from serious mistakes. Entrepreneurs
fumble key interactions because they don't know how to handle the
negotiation challenges that almost always arise. They mistakenly believe
that deals are about money when they are much more complicated than
that.
This book presents entrepreneurship as a series of interactions between
founders, partners, potential partners, investors and others at various
stages of the entrepreneurial process - from seed to exit. There are
plenty of authors offering 'tips' on how to succeed as an entrepreneur,
but no one else scrutinizes the negotiation mistakes that successful
entrepreneurs talk about with the authors.
As Dinnar and Susskind show, learning to handle emotions, manage
uncertainty, cope with technical complexity and build long-term
relationships are equally or even more important. This book spotlights
eight big mistakes that entrepreneurs often make and shows how most can
be prevented with some forethought. It includes interviews with
high-profile entrepreneurs about their own mistakes. It also covers
gender biases, cultural challenges, and when to employ agents to
negotiate on your behalf.
Aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs should pay attention to the
negotiation errors that even the most successful entrepreneurs commonly
make.