How do new technology companies make it to the top and stay there? Not by using traditional methods, if this book is anything to go by. Through an examination of the executives behind some of the top technology companies such as 3Com, Cisco and Yahoo!, Karen Southwick shows that it takes a certain kind of entrepreneur to make it in the high-tech arena. In reading
Silicon Gold Rush you will encounter ideas like mind share--far more important than market share in the early stages of an enterprise--and the "ready, fire, aim" technique which describes how new ventures do their thing as fast as possible, worrying about targeting later rather than earlier. Of course, once the company is up and running, the goals change. To continue the success sometimes a different ethos and another kind of leader is needed, and Southwick spends time looking at CEOs who have decided to quit to ensure the success of their companies. She also looks at that other key component of continued success, finding the right companies for mergers and alliance. There is plenty of food for thought here for those studying or setting up in business. The emphasis is very much on American companies, but the lessons and conclusions apply equally well to us in the UK. The bottom line for wannabe hi-tech entrepreneurs is, it seems, they have to be a mix of maestro, magician, messiah and mother. --
Sandra Vogel
"Silicon Gold Rush is a handbook for information–age entrepreneurs. If you want to avoid becoming roadkill, read this book."–Eric Nee, Silicon Valley Bureau Manager, Forbes
"A great read! Silicon Gold Rush offers the reader insights on what drives Silicon Valley, the most innovative and aggressive center of new business creation in the world." –Tim Koogle, CEO, Yahoo!
"Silicon Gold Rush is a handbook for information–age entrepreneurs. If you want to avoid becoming roadkill, read this book." –Eric Nee, Silicon Valley, Bureau Manager, Forbes
"A terrific book! Silicon Gold Rush captures the energy and urgency of the high–tech world in this clear look at innovative management styles and challenges." –Dave Duffield, President and CEO, PeopleSoft
"The technology industry has produced the greatest explosion of wealth in history, and triggered enormous changes in the way we live and do business. Silicon Gold Rush gives its readers a penetrating glimpse into the world of the high–tech entrepreneur." –Don Valentine, Founder , Sequoia Capital
"Truly an insider′s view to the fast track in Silicon Valley and how fortunes are made and lost, Silicon Gold Rush is a great road map for any budding high–tech entrepreneur." –Katrina Garnett, Founder and CEO, CrossWorlds Software
"Silicon Gold Rush captures the many qualities that are creating the new digital economy." –Ann Winblad, Cofounder, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners
"Silicon Gold Rush gives us insight into the inner workings of the people and companies that have provided the largest legal creation of wealth in history." –David M. Beirne, General Partner, Benchmark Capital
"Cisco, Yahoo! PeopleSoft, and Siebel Systems have all emerged from nowhere. Silicon Gold Rush explains how Silicon Valley continues to turn yesterday′s unknowns into tomorrow′s notable companies." –Michael Moritz, Partner, Sequoia Capital
"Fast–paced and right on target for those who want to know how Silicon Valley really works." –Michael Rothschild, Founder, Bionomics
"Silicon Gold Rush is a must–read for anybody who wants to understand how companies do business in the fastest–moving market in the world." –Geoffrey James, author, Success Secrets from Silicon Valley
