The Messy Middle

The Messy Middle

Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture

Summary

"Starting a new venture is like jumping off a cliff and sewing a parachute on the way down. This book is the parachute."
Joe Gebbia, cofounder and chief product officer, Airbnb

How do you make your start-up a genuine success in the long term? While most books and press focus on the more sensational moments of creation and conclusion, The Messy Middle argues that the real key to success is how you navigate the ups-and-downs after initial investment is secured. It will give you all the insights you need to build and optimize your team, improve your product and develop your own capacity to lead covering:
· Coping with uncertainty and conflict
· Playing the long game
· Optimising your team
· Problem solving through the ups and downs
· Adapting your strategy
· When to quit
Building on seven years' of meticulous research with entrepreneurs, small agencies, start-ups and billion-dollar companies, Scott Belsky offers indispensable lessons on how to endure and thrive in the long term.

Reviews

  • This is required reading for founders. Experienced entrepreneurs all know this period Scott refers to as 'the messy middle' and a few of us have worked our way out of it, but this is the first time I've seen an expert-both as a founder and as an investor-break down in such detail just how to endure, optimize, and make it through.
    Alexis Ohanian, cofounder of Initialized Capital and Reddit

About the author

Scott Belsky

Scott Belsky is an American entrepreneur, author and early-stage investor best known for co-creating the online portfolio platform, Behance, Inc. In 2010, Belsky was included in Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business list.

In December 2012, Behance was acquired by Adobe where Belsky became VP of Products, Mobile and Community at Adobe. In February 2016 Belsky left Adobe and joined Benchmark as the firm's sixth general partner. Prior to joining Benchmark, Belsky had been an early-stage investor and active advisor to companies including Uber, Warby Parker, Pinterest, Periscope and Sweetgreen.
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