You Don't Need This Book: Entrepreneurship in the Connected Era

By Ben McDougal, Brad Feld and Victor Hwang

You don't need this book.

The entrepreneurial spirit is fueled by action, and we can all do more with less in the connected era. If you commit to the adventure of a lifetime and are willing to endlessly persist, we can each achieve career nirvana while inspiring the world around us.

While the title of this book is true, if y

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pour Over Publishing
• Release date: Mar 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781736635742

Ben McDougal

Ben McDougal is an experienced entrepreneur and energized entrepreneurial ecosystem builder. He is passionate about the art of connection, accelerating entrepreneurs, and evolving ideas into reality. Ben has been inspired by thousands of fellow founders nationwide and wrote this book to help you champion change on the timeline of now. Learn more at BenMcDougal.com.

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FOREWORD

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To Ben, one of the greatest innovation catalysts in America . . . such a pleasure and honor to work with you and see you in action! —Victor

These are the words I wrote in a notebook I gave to Ben during my time serving as the Vice President of Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation.

I used the word innovation in my personal note because Ben has been a champion of positive change on the forefront of entrepreneurship.

Ben has created companies that GO because of his persistence and leadership. He’s become proficient in the artistry of what he calls hobbies that pay. Most important, Ben’s interest in the success of other entrepreneurs is why this book is special.

I also used the word catalyst in my personalized dedication. Ben has transformative energy. He ignites a friendly vibe wherever he goes and uses that power to accelerate fellow entrepreneurs.

Ben and I first met at a 1 Million Cups Organizers Summit. This annual pilgrimage of 1MC organizers is a special time that unites community builders nationwide. It was 2017 and I spontaneously shared our first interaction in my opening remarks to the group that evening. Our discussion stuck out because of Ben’s genuine understanding of how community supports and connects us all.

Years passed, and we continued to share caffeinated conversations. Around the time Ben and I spoke about his interest in this book, I passed him a small collection of poems. One excerpt was in Letters from a Young Poet written by Rainer Maria Rilke. I love the fact that this poetry from 1929 pushed Ben, as a modern author, past his own mental mountain.

Ben’s book powerfully reminds us: everything great is created by people working together. As I co-wrote in the book The Rainforest, human networks generate extraordinary creativity and output. Innovation ecosystems—what we call Rainforests—can only thrive when certain cultural behaviors unlock human potential.

The interdependencies of entrepreneurship have become clear in the connected era. As entrepreneurs work together within a Rainforest, the collaborative mindset nourishes an individual’s entrepreneurial spirit and evolves the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Entrepreneurship thrives through the collective endeavors we share.

Through my work with over three hundred communities, cities, states, companies, and even entire countries, entrepreneurship remains a recognized method to greater economic prosperity. As I’ve led nationwide initiatives and heard from thousands of remarkable entrepreneurs, it’s clear we are all starters. In the manifesto We Are All Starters, I explain how all of us are born with an innate right to start, to make an idea into reality. It’s time to unleash that right in all of us. This means breaking down barriers, and giving people resources to adapt, start and grow. That will help millions of us find alternative incomes, restart closed businesses, make existing companies better, and open new businesses to provide what’s next.

Ben McDougal’s leadership is brewed from the stories of starters. As you enjoy this poetic interpretation, I hope Ben can help catalyze your own innovative work. We are all born to be starters, makers, doers, dreamers. Together, we can and will renew one another.

Victor W. Hwang

Right to Start

January 2021

INTRODUCTION

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Before we embark on this literary journey together, here are a few quick thoughts to guide you through the book. First off, what you’re about to read is brewed to be fun and easy to digest, but reading this book may take longer than you expect. While the page count is deliberately low, the density of this synthesized narrative may slow you down. That’s a good thing! I invite you to take your time with this book. Mark pages that catch your attention, share that tweetable thought, contact me if you have questions, and talk with those around you to turn these words into action.

Structure

This is comprehensive, yet approachable guidance on how to evolve your own ideas into reality. This is not a hardcore research project, and there are deeper dives into every aspect I cover in this book. While the concepts in this book will go wide rather than deep, I spent a ton of time thinking about how to pack everything in while still maintaining a smooth flow. To do so, the chapters in this book are also organized strategically. You’ll encounter each situation at different times and in unique ways throughout your own entrepreneurial journey. Starting the ideation process, understanding the value of community, making a ruckus with side hustles, fueling innovation as an intrapreneur, knowing what to consider if you build a team, researching business ideas, testing the concept, marketing, sales, and learning how to grow a company is a common path. The structure of this book illuminates such a path, while also providing quick tips and tactics you can apply based on the current state of your own situation.

Tone

I’ve removed myself from the primary content and purposefully avoided sharing too many personal examples. This was done to encourage more creativity as you apply the insight to your own unique environment.

Sidebars (which look like this) throughout the book, however, create a little space for me to share a few personal perspectives, fun facts, mistakes to avoid, and contextual examples that lighten the mood.

Style

My favorite author is Seth Godin. The way he bombards readers with knowledge taught me to appreciate (audio) books, and his art has dramatically affected my life. I hope you’ll feel a version of Seth Godin’s style here, as I spent over a year thinking deeply about every word in this book.

Who Am I?

My name is Ben McDougal. I am an experienced entrepreneur, multimedia marketer, and professional entrepreneurial ecosystem builder. I am passionate about the art of connection and accelerating fellow entrepreneurs. This book incorporates a massive amount of experiential knowledge distilled from my own entrepreneurial experiences. While this deconstructed wisdom is a good start, my direct interaction with thousands of inspiring entrepreneurs assembles a friendly voice you can trust. My confidence as an author comes from these people I’ve met, connected with, supported, and learned from. More of my story lands in the closing About The Author section, and I look forward to connecting with you on www.BenMcDougal.com.

Why I Wrote This Book

I wrote this book because humans seek purpose in life, and we often find it in our work. This makes it natural for anyone who is passionate about something to consider ways of turning their ideas into a business. Sharing all that I’ve learned about entrepreneurship is my way of encouraging you to build things you care about. You must work hard when others don’t, but anyone who is persistent and willing to collaborate can be an entrepreneur.

I also wrote this book because I was never taught how to be an entrepreneur. I grew up thinking I needed to earn an expensive piece of paper for permission to build someone else’s dream. My entrepreneurial endeavors have taught me that it’s easy to play it safe, but it’s more interesting to create your own future. I’ve also learned that nobody cares about your great ideas. They care how you make ideas happen.

While the elusive title of my book is technically true, my hope is that this concise collection of consciousness accelerates your work and gives you more ways to champion change on the timeline of now.

We’re in this together, my friend. I believe in you, and I’m your biggest fan. All right, settle in and enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE

IDEATION

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Ideas that you can wrap a business around do not come naturally for everyone. If you’re struggling to generate realistic ideas, you must first learn how to flex your mind. With practice, you’ll soon be firing good, bad, big, small, crazy, and enlightened ideas into the world. You’ll end up with plenty to choose from and more to give others. As you become an idea machine, the hard part will be deciding which ideas to pursue. Let’s hit the gym.

Train Your Brain

If you don’t know where to start, here’s an exercise that will train your brain to become an idea machine. Pick up a pocket-sized notebook that inspires you to write in it the moment you think of an idea. Thought-provoking notebooks can help stimulate the creative practice, and journaling techniques help format blank pages, but size matters too. Find a little notebook that fits in the palm of your hand. Every day, physically write five ideas into this small notebook. No less than five, but more is fine. See how long you can maintain this daily activity.

The ideas need not be world changing; the important part is to write them down the moment they spark. It’s tempting to use technology, like an app on your phone, but pen on paper provides freedom to practice in more clever ways. Go old school and give yourself the blank canvas needed to explore any type of idea. As you thicken your personal idea book, don’t worry about how good or bad each idea is. Dump them on the page and focus your energy on maintaining the daily habit. If you need a few extra ideas to achieve your daily goal, spend a focused moment to think and jot them all down at once. No matter how you reach your daily goal, the momentum of your consistency will soon surprise you. The longer you maintain this daily routine, the more you’ll feel your mind flexing in new ways.

It’s crazy how quickly the mental effects are felt from this simple exercise. Whenever I activate this practice, I love how the abundance of ideas leads to things I can share with fellow founders. I’ll talk more about being a generous idea machine in the Die Empty section, but because these are physical notebooks, I must warn you to check your pockets before you do laundry. I once had a solid idea book that went through the wash. I was able to transfer some of the thoughts into a new idea book, but there was still a sense of loss. Having space to scribble is key, but it’s smart to back things up digitally.

You can also add wrinkles of complexity to continue challenging yourself. To give this a try, think about ideas for a specific person or pick one object and imagine ways to improve it. Focus on a theme. For example, pay attention to very small things that catch your attention. It can be a physical object or the emotion you feel from an interaction. Stay focused on this one experience and let your mind wander. Think about all the simple, complicated, and complex systems this particular item affects. Scribble down all the ways this specific thing could be enhanced, activated, or sold in different ways. If it’s a person, put yourself in their shoes. Come up with different ways that their existing business could thrive in new ways. This might be a warm introduction, a product enhancement, or even a new revenue channel. Targeting a market of interest is also fun. For instance, if you enjoy craft beer, consider different ideas that might provide positive change for your favorite brewery. As you explore different angles, mix themed ideas together and be generous with the amount of ideas you curate. You’ll soon be swimming in a stream of ideas with the ability to make it rain anytime.

The pure quantity of ideas you’ll amass will result in many worth forgetting. That’s the point. Among all the clutter, you’ll find yourself returning to a few sharp ideas. These are treasures to spend more time exploring.

This sounds easy, but just like working out after a New Year’s resolution, it’s easy to burn out. Here’s what will likely happen. You’ll track some cool ideas for a week. Soon after, you’ll start mentally sidelining ideas. You’ll document them all at once for a few more days to maintain your streak. This will feel more efficient, but then you’ll miss a day or two. Before you know it, your idea