Prospective entrepreneurs may think they know everything there is to know about starting a business in Silicon Valley. They can draw up business plans, have meetings with venture capitalists, maybe even get funded and actually launch a start-up. However, in The Monk and the Riddle, Silicon Valley sage Randy Komisar reasons that’s only half the equation for success. And it may not be the important half. Komisar has worked with a number of companies–Apple, LucasArts Entertainment (the gaming division of George Lucas’s empire), and WebTV among them–and has come to a rather startling conclusion: if you can’t see yourself doing this business for the rest of your life, don’t start it. In other words, he wants to see passion and purpose in business, not just spreadsheets and a by-the-numbers business model.
To illustrate, Komisar takes the reader through a hypothetical Silicon Valley start-up, with an eager entrepreneur named Lenny trying to get funding for an online casket-selling business. As Komisar helps Lenny find the real purpose of the business, the passion behind the revenue projections, he reflects back on his life as an entrepreneur. Komisar emerges as a master storyteller, the kind of guy you’d feel honored to share a bottle of wine with. And you believe his conclusion: “When all is said and done, the journey is the reward.” It’s great if you’ve made billions on the journey, but the important thing is that you do something you can truly throw yourself into. –Lou Schuler
Customer Reviews
Very painless, fun read:
I definitely got what I had wanted from this book. Randy Komisar’s book not only introduces us readers to the world of VC’s, but also colorfully illustrates the advice we’re always given as kids: Do what you’ve wanted to do all your life, now.
Komisar proves, through the world of Silicon Valley, in the better faster cheaper business, that people are still forgetting to do what they want, and instead, switch tracks to the Deferred Life Plan. Bad idea. Luckily, in the midst of this entire crash and burn of multitudes of aspiring yet bound-to-fail businesses, Komisar proposes a simply put solution to this entire mindset! Find your passions, find your life goals, and ask yourself one simple question (which I won’t put down here, for the sake of minimizing the spoilers some of which I may’ve already spilt). READ THE BOOK!
Recommended to me:
This book was recommended to me while reading another book. It is very useful if you like business. I tell others who have great business ideas to read it first then get back to me.
Great advice for young adults:
I have never read a book that gave better advice to someone entering the workforce. I read it then sent a copy to my brother, who just graduated from college. It helps you find the right path for your life.
Entertaining and Educational:
Randy Komisar is one of Silicon Valley’s superstars and very much the real deal. The Monk and the Riddle is a light read that is both entertaining and educational. For anybody interested in the valley, start-ups or just good writing, I strongly recommend picking up a copy.
Very readable:
This book is ideal for reading inside a plane for a medium trip. It is a book that can be finished in a day. It is not stuffy and dry as some business books would be. The Monk & The Riddle is basically the introduction to the content of the book and towards the ending, we would get the gist of what the author meant to convey to us. The message is plain simple, do what you feel is right rather than what you think is right. Follow your passion rather than follow what is perceived to be a good money maker because if the love ain’t there, it ain’t going to work. It is simple, succinct and relevant but still, there are many people who yearn to get lucky in the Silicon Valley. I guess that the bust at NASDAQ few years back gives the people a reality check that fundamentals are still the backbone and foundation of the economy. An enjoyable to read and a book that affirms us all that simplicity is good!
