A start-up unfolds in a predictable pattern; the more aware entrepreneurs are of this pattern, the better able they will be to capitalize on it. Author Howard Love calls this pattern the start-up J Curve: The toughest part of the endeavor is the time between the actual start of a new business and when the product and model are firmly established. The Start-Up J Curve gives entrepreneurs the tools they need to get through the early challenges so they can reach the primary value creation that lies beyond.
Love brings thirty-five years of start-up experience to this comprehensive guide to starting a business. He outlines the six predictable stages of start-up growth and details the activities that should be undertaken at each stage to ensure success and to avoid common pitfalls. Instead of feeling lost and confused after a setback, start-up founders and investors can anticipate the challenges, overcome the obstacles, and ride the curve to the top.
Howard Love has been starting companies for more than thirty years, even prior to his graduation from Colgate University in 1983. He has founded or co-founded over fifteen companies and invested in over fifty early stage start-ups. He has led several of these companies himself as well as advising many others. He has served on numerous public and private company boards and is currently on the boards of directors of FlexJobs, Dealbase, HotelTonight, 10 Foot Wave, and Knowingly. Mr. Love also owns and operates LoveToKnow, a digital media publisher that he started in 2004. LoveToKnow’s primary media properties are LoveToKnow.com, YourDictionary.com, and GolfLink.com. He has lived in Silicon Valley for the past twenty-five years with his wife, Harriet, and three children. For more information, visit howardlove.com.