SHORTCUT YOUR STARTUP — Speed Up Success with Unconventional Advice from the Trenches

by Courtney & Carter Reum Hardcover, 246 pages (2018)

Authors are twin brothers who quit Goldman Sachs to launch their own specialty Vodka called Veev which they later sold for over $70 million. Both graduates of Columbia University and Harvard Business School, they now run M13 a VC advisory that helps scale businesses.

The Reum brothers ask entrepreneurs probing questions on their end goals, idea or product, the market, consumer behavior, trends, funding, timing, and strategy. They support their assertions with data and examples of successful start up strategies.

The Reums stress investigation, testing, analysis, and insight at every stage of the startup’s growth. Extensive knowledge of your business, your product, the market, and your customers are the keys to great success.

“The deeper and better your insight, the better your business will be. Often an insight is something fundamental about a group of people’s proclivities, desires, or pain points.”

Truly distinct in their approach, the Reums offer counterintuitive advice. Collaborate rather than compete with established companies and other startups, if given the chance. Focus on milestones rather than time frames. Don’t grab every new opportunity that comes along. Divide your time between creating and managing. Focus on incremental improvements. Develop an authentic relationship with your consumers. “Deepen before you broaden [your market].”

After learning the basic business essentials, this advanced level advice combines the authors’ perspectives as an investor and an entrepreneur with an academic slant. They offer the latest technology tools and resources to help startups achieve liquidity and longevity. This is an invaluable guide for every entrepreneur in any industry, not just tech startups, to avoid the unforeseen pitfalls and little-known mistakes that ruin good companies or good ideas. The Reums care and want you to succeed. And that’s what you want you want in a mentor.

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