Ben McDougal
You Don’t Need This Book: Entrepreneurship in the Connected Era
ISBN: 978-1-7366357-1-1
Every entrepreneur’s story has a starting point. Maybe it was a cup of coffee with a friend who was building a business. Perhaps it was a pitch competition in college or a Startup Weekend. In my case, it was reading through the social media posts of a couple of good friends with whom I’d built things while I was in undergrad and grad school. They were heavily involved in this thing called “entrepreneurship,” and helped run some event called 1 Million Cups. I showed up one Wednesday morning just to see what all the fuss was about. At that point, I was hooked.
Seven years later, I had the chance to read You Don’t Need This Book: Entrepreneurship in the Connected Era by fellow 1 Million Cups evangelist and entrepreneurial ecosystem builder Ben McDougal. Formerly the lead organizer and emcee for the Des Moines 1 Million Cups chapter, Ben now works with 1MC organizers throughout the Midwest. He also works with the Techstars Iowa Accelerator in Des Moines and has a couple of tech startups he’s founded over the years. As we’re both working to move the Iowa entrepreneurial ecosystem forward, Ben and I have worked together over the years, most recently to organize the first-ever Startup Weekend Iowa Online back in April.
If you’re a new entrepreneur or interested in making your community more business and collaboration-friendly, you do actually need this book. This is the instruction manual I wish that I’d had seven years ago when I started my journey through the entrepreneurial ecosystem here in eastern Iowa. When I attended my first few ecosystem events, I had absolutely no idea what was going on – a real feeling of “you don’t know what you don’t know.” What questions should you ask? Which books should you read? What on Earth is an “ecosystem builder?” This book truly felt like the mentor you need but have no idea how to obtain at the very beginning of your journey.
While the book isn’t terribly long, it’s packed full of information on a number of topics crucial to getting an idea off the ground as well as how to begin to navigate your way around the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Ben covered everything from customer research, through sales and marketing, and how to hang in there when the going gets tough – one of the biggest hurdles you will face as an entrepreneur. There have been entire books written on the topic of the middle of the journey, usually thought of as the “least interesting” part of the process. It’s really fun to start a venture, and it’s a blast celebrating an IPO or a large exit. I’m glad that a book that works a type of “instruction manual” for entrepreneurs spends so much time discussing the different parts of the business grind, the work you have to put in before you get to have the big party at the end.
Ben did a great job bringing in other sources on community building and business development. There were contributions from Brad Feld and Victor Hwang, two of the most prominent ecosystem builders in the United States. I’ve reviewed three of the books referenced routinely in the community builder sphere: Startup Communities and The Startup Community Way by Feld, and The Rainforest by Hwang. I didn’t have a chance to read any of these books until several years into my entrepreneurial journey, and I don’t think I would have appreciated the entirety of those works years ago. The way the information is distilled in You Don’t Need This Book makes those books more approachable, and should be follow-up reads for anyone who reads Ben’s book.
Overall, 10/10, would strongly recommend for anyone interested in entrepreneurship or looking for an instruction manual on how to become part of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. If you are new to the world of startups, small businesses, entrepreneurship, or community development, this is a good resource to use as you begin your quest. The entrepreneurial ecosystem can be a huge, confusing place, and if you’d like to have a guide to help you find your way through the expanse, you do need this book.