Book Review
In her new book, After the Idea: What It Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup, entrepreneurship expert Julia Austin shares battle-tested strategies to help founders and startup joiners build their venture from the ground up.
So you want to start a company. Or you were crazy enough to join a startup. You had a great idea, you built a prototype, and maybe you even raised some money. Now what?
Julia Austin, author of After the Idea: What It Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup, is here to answer that big question. She has both experienced and observed that the differentiator between the startups that succeed and those that fail is operational excellence. A lot of entrepreneurs are great at the idea part but do not anticipate the details required to actually run and scale a new venture.
Drawing on Austin’s extensive experience at renowned startups like Akamai, VMware, and DigitalOcean and the hundreds of founders and startups she has educated, coached, and advised, After the Idea is full of time-tested strategies to help founders, investors, and employees navigate the operational challenges of startup ventures, including customer development, scalability, process optimization, team management, and more. This accessible set of techniques is for anyone determined to turn a great idea into a solid success.
Author Quotes
If you’re building or scaling a startup, you already know it takes more than a good idea. The real challenge lies in what comes after—aligning cofounders, validating your product, building and managing a team, and leading through uncertainty.
Whether you’re stepping into your first startup role, scaling your second company, or teaching the next generation of entrepreneurs, I’m here to help with practical tools, useful frameworks and a whole lot of stories that will guide you along the way.
The entrepreneurial journey is a rollercoaster. Let me help you enjoy the ride.
About the Author
Julia Austin is a seasoned operator who has served in leadership roles at several technology startups. She is on the faculty at Harvard Business School and is faculty cochair of the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. As a certified executive coach, Austin works exclusively with startup founders. She is an angel investor, serves on startup boards, and advises many founders through her work with several accelerators. She has three daughters and lives in New York City.
Why LoA loves it…
As they always say in the world of entrepreneurship, having an idea is the easy part, turning that idea into a viable business reality is a whole other ball-game. In her new book, After the Idea: What it Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup, author and entrepreneur Julia Austin tackles this subject head-on, tapping into personal experience and the insights of other successful business builders. If you have a business that is ready to take the next steps towards scaling, this is a must-read book! — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa