Never Bet the Farm: How Entrepreneurs Take Risks, Make Decisions--and How You Can, Too

Two leading entrepreneurs destroy common myths–and misconceptions–about business start-ups

In Never Bet the Farm, Anthony Iaquinto and Stephen Spinelli turn much of the so-called expert advice for entrepreneurs on its head. The authors–both highly successful entrepreneurs–refute the idea that there is an ideal entrepreneurial "type," and show that luck can be as important as a business plan in many enterprises. Above all, the authors emphasize that entrepreneurship is a career, not a one-time event. If budding capitalists learn to prepare for the worst, they can better take advantage of good fortune, especially when luck and planning point to success. Outlining 15 key principles for every smart start-up, this book provides the antidote for unrealistic expectations and defeatism.

Anthony Iaquinto (Tokyo, Japan) has started three businesses, including a language school and two restaurants. Previously a professor at Nanzan University, he helped found an MBA program, based on the American MBA model, at Tokyo’s Aoyama Gakuin University. Stephen Spinelli Jr. (Boston, MA) is cofounder of Jiffy Lube International. He is currently Vice Provost at Babson College and holds the John H. Muller Jr. Chair in Entrepreneurship. He is also Director of the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship.