Jumpstart: A Technopreneurship Fable Book Review

This book talks about a man who badly wanted to start his own company rather being an engineering manager at the Silicon Valley. Every person has their guts to become the boss. And Rajin was one of those men who wants to build his own. The book justifies how to become one, even if you have less of what being an entrepreneur has.

I learned on the book that it is somehow needed to give up all your plans and dreams in life for the other just to show how you really support that person. Being a risk taker is one of the main characteristics of an entrepreneur. But unlucky enough, some entrepreneurs who became risk-takers achieve pure failures in their ventures. It doesn’t mean that because a person is an entrepreneur, he or she should be a risk-taker, it all depends how he or she can handle the situation. There are lots of what ifs and why ifs in life, especially in this field. Others may also find themselves asking why they did those on the first place. Yet, many people succeed and continue to trust “risk-taking”.

Like Rajin, he became a risk-taker. He risked months of waiting and leaving his job just to meet the CEO of a particular company. But he failed on one thing, he doesn’t have a business plan. I realized that even if you have the most awesome and the most needed product of all time, you should know how to introduce it to the market, what are your strategies and your plans. We should seek other people like mentors who really know what to do.

Bob, whom Rajin met at a bar, helped him and taught him some things he should know about being an entrepreneur. He said that product was not enough to enter the world of business. But also knowing the revenues, capital, the market, the consumers and others.

The book also lectured about determination. Being an entrepreneur is a very difficult task, and it is a no joke at all. Entrepreneurs should be well-determined because a lot of people are expecting him, especially his colleagues and employees.

I like what Bob always teaching Rajin. The most beautiful quote he said was, “This isn’t for the faint of heart, Rajin. If you can’t live with fear and uncertainty, then I suggest you cut cleanly now.” It is not because he was frightening Rajin, but because he really wanted to shove Rajin that he was doing the right thing. He also talked about the money, which all entrepreneurs should not just think of. Bob said that he should be strong and tough and ask himself WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? Because if the reason is strong enough, it can take anywhere you want to go.

I also loved the act of Bob giving boxes of pizzas to their engineers because he said if he want to keep them, and have a culture that values them, sometimes you have to do things for them. An entrepreneur should act his or her employees well so that they could do that in return.

Sometimes, the best ideas come from people you didn’t expect with. For all you know, the solution of the problem maybe in the hands of the newest employees. Share the blessings with your employees, your investors and your community.

I feel disappointed when Bob passed away after a few years of Rajin’s company success. Bob was the major factor why Rajin climb to the pedestal of success, and he wasn’t there. Rajin missed him because he wasn’t on his side by that time. And he wanted to share those moments with his mentor, Bob.

The last pages of the story depicts a young man who was on the half the same of Rajin’s start-up. By that time, he could be a “Bob” to that young man so that he could help and at the same time, do what his friend did to him, to become a successful technopreneur.

The book doesn’t only told about being an entrepreneur. But also being a good friend, taking risks, helping others, and not forgetting what others did, making a part of a person’s history.