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04/23/2002

When the Story is the Product

It’s a good thing that the Son-of-Sam law doesn’t apply to businesses. This law basically holds that criminals can’t profit from books or movies about their crimes. And if a ridiculous, gimmick-y piece of schlock could be considered a product crime, then this law would certainly apply to John Lusk and Kyle Harrison. But the good news is that these two young entrepreneurs have written an engaging book about a very stupid product. The Mousedriver Chronicles (Perseus, $24.00) shares the long trek these two MBAs took in commercializing a PC mouse that looks like a the head of a driver golf club. Their travails reveal that even the goofiest of gadgets requires serious work and planning to become profitable. The two reveal, in colorful first-person prose, that going to market required tracking down countless leads, contracting marketing in the far East, working the trade shows, dealing with unexpected crises, and always maintaining a positive attitude in the face of the weird setbacks that bedevil any startup. They demonstrate that entrepreneurship is really a process—a long, drawn-out exercise in persistence, in which you learn to succeed by continually pressing on from where you are. These two displayed resourcefulness, fun, and enterprise in their company and book. Learn from it. By the way: word has it that they’ve been approached by television and movie producers for rights to the book. For more, visit their website.

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THE BOOK

Read or print the Intro and Chapter 1 .

Read some book reviews at Inc, 1-800-CEO-READ, and the Miami Herald.

Read the publisher's press release.

Visit the companies that Tom discusses in the book

Hear a recent lecture by Tom on the Startup Garden

STARTUP RESOURCES

Read about other books and web sites about starting your own business.

TOM'S WRITING

Just Managing – articles that Tom wrote for The Industry Standard and some Business Articles written for Inc., Fortune Small Business, Harvard Management Update, and other places.

ABOUT TOM/CONTACT

BUY THE BOOK

To buy directly from me, simply go to Paypal and send 15 bucks to Tom@startupgarden.com. I'll take care of the rest. If you have any questions, email me at that address.