Building on Bedrock

by Derek Lidow

From Startup Leadership author, global CEO, and entrepreneurship expert Derek Lidow comes the new, foundational guide to entrepreneurial success.

Here’s an astounding fact: Over half the working population will try their hand at being an entrepreneur during their working career.

We all dream about achieving some combination of the fortune, fame, and control over our lives we associate with successful entrepreneurs. Those are admirable aspirations in a society that counts on entrepreneurs to innovate and create new jobs. Our work-driven culture encourages us to take the entrepreneurial bait, but how can you know whether being an entrepreneur will end as a dream come true or a nightmare from which you cannot wake?

Building on Bedrock helps answer that question. Based upon research, but told through the stories of American entrepreneurs Sam Walton, Walt Disney, Estée Lauder, Ray Kroc, and others, Building on Bedrock will help you understand the elements most essential to taking the entrepreneurial leap. Was it luck, talent, passion, charm, a rich uncle, or something else that was the key to this person’s success? Which might be the key to your success?

What you learn may surprise you.

Genres: Business

288 pages, Hardcover

Published January 23, 2018

About the author

Derek Lidow is a global CEO, startup coach, writer, and researcher. He founded iSuppli, a leading market research firm, which he sold in 2010 for $100 million to global information leader IHS. He currently teaches entrepreneurship at Princeton University and is the author of two books: Startup Leadership and Building on Bedrock. Lidow is also a frequent media commentator in outlets such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes, The Economist, Nikkei, Reuters, and Taipei Times.

Reviews

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The key decisions and activities that were behind the development and growth of many self-made U.S. entrepreneurs’ businesses, such as Wal-Mart and Walt Disney, is the focus of this book.

The author aims for this ‘foundational guide’ to entrepreneurial success to encourage the reader and presumably prospective entrepreneur with a mixture of success stories, quality analytical information and a bit of enthusiasm for good measure. It is not going to be the only book you will need to set up a business – far from it – but it is more than capable of setting the fuse alight and getting you thinking about treading on the entrepreneurial pathway.

It is a credible mix, with an understandable U.S. bias, that may correct some misunderstandings and act as a positive catalyst for the brave. To this reviewer, at least, many of the stories were already familiar – but this is not a problem – as it was still a pleasant, enjoyable and informative read when all elements are considered as one. For those where all of this would be ‘virgin territory’, it is easy to appreciate just what an impact it may provide. It even had some ‘laugh out loud’ moments and I won’t ruin the stories, but when you discover a ‘donkey-watermelon mix’, for example, you will know what I mean and that particular story doesn’t end there!

The book is capable of servicing many audiences with different information at the same time. It is equally a good book that you could travel with, being entertained and informed along the way, in a hardly arduous manner. By the end, you may be enthused or disabused about entrepreneurial activity, for the time being at least, but you will be better informed and have a much-better understanding about what has made some big companies tick in the process.

A few small niggles exist in this reviewer’s mind about the style and design that could be off-putting for some, but the content is good and worth a bit of additional perseverance if it should become an impediment. A likeable and recommended read!

[William Yip · Rating 4 out of 5]

The number of typos increased in the second half of the book; the repetition also slightly increased. Overall, the book gave great insight for those looking into entrepreneurship. He discussed high-risk and low-risk entrepreneurs and the differences in their management styles and how they approach funding and expansion. He gave good overviews of how famous people started, operated, and expanded their businesses including Sam Walton and Este Lauder. He gave good advice that entrepreneurs are dissimilar to each other since their products and services are unique, the only reason a business can continue to exist if it makes people happy to the point they'll give money, that a minimum level has to be reached in core the skills of running a business, and that entrepreneurship is a risky and hard endeavor so only those with a strong reason and motivation should start businesses.

[David Siu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book that summarized lessons on how to build a business the old fashioned way. It was useful in offering a framework for readers to decide which business building route one could consider. What didn't make it a 5 star review was parts on his own journey. For some reason, those stories felt self serving and they made his ideas less convincing and objective.

[Ewelina Kurtys · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great book about the importance of building on solid foundations.