Introduction.

1.0 My Dot-Com Life Begins.

Brainstorm: Who Knows What Could Happen If You Raise Your Hand?

Brain Trust: Take Responsibility, by Heidi Roizen.

2.0 Nature or Nurture? A San Francisco Upbringing.

Brainstorm: All the Fuss About “Passion”—and How to Tap into Yours

3.0 The First Axiom of Business: Find a Need and Fill It.

Brainstorm: The Fringe-Thoughts List: Where Most Great Ideas Develop.

Brainstorm: Feedback, Feedback, Feedback.

4.0 Comcate Is Born: The Nuts and Bolts of Starting a Business.

Brainstorm: The Business Plan Myth 28

Brainstorm: Why Some People Get More Stuff Done (and Start Real Businesses).

5.0 First Meeting with a VC (It’s All About the Network).

Brainstorm: The Power of Mentors.

Brainstorm: When to Ask a Dumb Question.

Brain Trust: Taking Mentor Relationships to the Next Level, by Brad Feld.

6.0 Signing Up Early Customers: Selling the Sizzle and the Steak.

Brainstorm: Asking Questions: There’s a Right and a Wrong Way.

Brainstorm: I Have a Strategic Plan. It’s Called Doing Things.

7.0 Confronting Failure . . . and Bouncing Back.

Brainstorm: Building Resilience—A Transferable Quotient.

Brainstorm: How to Create and Leverage an Advisory Board.

8.0 Hiring an Interim CEO: My First Big Mistake.

Brainstorm: Three Sure Ways to Maximize Luck.

9.0 The Hunt for a COO: Recruiting a Top Team.

Brainstorm: The Art of Courtship.

Brainstorm: How to Overcome Fear of Failure.

10.0 Life as a Road Warrior: Making Memorable Sales Pitches.

Brainstorm: Presentations—Worthy of Obsession.

Brainstorm: Pricing in an Early-Stage Company.

Brain Trust: Life Is a Sales Call, by Jeff Parker.

11.0 I’m a Sophomore: Balancing Work, School, and Life.

Brainstorm: Redefining the Entrepreneurial Lifestyle: Sleep, Nutrition, Exercise.

Brainstorm: Being a Corporate Athlete.

Brain Trust: A Life That Works, by Chris Yeh.

12.0 A Silicon Valley Life: Building Me, Inc.

Brainstorm: Networking 101.

Brainstorm: Networking 202.

Brainstorm: Every Cold Call Can Be Warm—Rich First-Time Interactions.

Brainstorm: Creating and Projecting Brand "Me."

13.0 The Product Development Process: Cheap, Good, or Fast?

Brainstorm: Dare to Be Mediocre: Good Is the Enemy of Perfect.

14.0 It’s a Frugal, Frugal World: Bootstrapping Through the Inevitable Cash Squeeze.

Brainstorm: Asking for Money Versus Asking for Advice.

15.0 The Long, Hard Slog: Achieving Scale.

Brainstorm: A Relationship-Based First Business.

Brainstorm: Getting More Good Revenue and Less Bad Revenue.

Brain Trust: Keep Slogging Away, by Carol Rutlen.

16.0 Fulfilling the Mission, One Customer at a Time.

Brainstorm: Make Meaning: What Gets You and Your Employees Up Each Day?

17.0 The Road Ahead: Leaders of the Flat World.

Brain Trust: How to Think About the Future, by Sean Ness

18.0 What Will You Be Shouting When You Reach the Grave?

Brainstorm: Entrepreneurs Are Optimists.

Brain Trust: Let Your Heart Guide You, by Timothy J. Taylor.

Appendix A: What’s Next.

Appendix B: A One-a-Day, One-Month Plan to Becoming a Better Entrepreneur.

Appendix C: Ben’s Reading List.

Acknowledgments.

Endnotes.

The Author.