These days it seems quite trendy to be an "entrepreneur". Silicon Valley culture and the TV series has made it seem glamorous, in the US at least. This book takes a refreshing look at the realities of choosing this path in Australia, encouraging you to trust in your abilities; once you pass the enclosed test. Then providing invaluable advice from someone who has actually walked the path (Paul) and some perspective from someone who is just starting out (Jen). 

This book is inspired by Jen's quest to start a scalable and global software business based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is a collection of the wisdom that Paul has acquired through the hard work of actually building a scalable and global software business in Melbourne. The first part of the book is dedicated to determining if YOU have the requisite skills and personality required to be successful on your path to entrepreneurship. The second part of the book tackles all those "little" details that you have to deal with when you run the show and which you probably don’t know but you have to learn FAST.

About the Authors vi
Dedication vii
Foreword - Jennifer Fein viii
Introduction - Paul Boxer x
Part 1 Can You? Should You? 1
Chapter 1 - Is This Really for Me? 2
The 'Life' of a Typical Employee 2
Your Personality - What it Takes 7
Confirming You Have What it Takes 13
Your Circumstances - Financial and Social Situation 15
Ready to Launch 19
Part 2 Practical Tips to Get Started 21
Chapter 2 - What Type of Business 22
Researching and Networking with Other Entrepreneurs 23
The Challenges with Being the First 23
Naming Your Company, Business or Product 24
Chapter 3 - Who's Coming With Me? 26
Pitching Your Idea 26 Managing and Sharing Equity 27
Your First Partners 28 Protecting Your Ideas - Intellectual Property 30
Theft and Betrayal 34
Chapter 4 - Funding 37
Initial Funding 37
Working Part-time to Fund the Start-Up 37
Once You're Up and Running 37
Budgets 38
Equity 38
How Funding Works 39
How Equity Splitting Works 39
Seven Sources of Funding 40
1.Your Own Money 40
Other People's Money 41
2. Family and Friends (F&F) 42
3. Crowd Funding 45
4. Business Angels 47
5. Government Grants/Tax Incentives 48
6. Venture Capitalists 53
7. IPO - Public Market 53
Minimising Dilution 54
Planning Your Funding 54 Exit Strategy 55
Chapter 5 - Initial Market Research 57
Best Case - Filling a High Demand Niche 58
Worst Case - "Build it and They Will Come" (and Blunder
around for years) 58
One Good Way - Find the First, Tame Customer 59
B2C versus B2B 60 Path to Market 63
Market Research 63 The "Just 1%" Myth 64
Pricing 64
Chapter 6 - Getting Down to Business 66
The First Day 66
Home Office 66
Office Space 67
Incubators and Accelerators 68 Sentient Inception 70
Start-up Organisations 71
Chapter 7 - Setting up the Company 72
Corporate Structure 72
Setting up the Company 77
You Now Own a Company! 79
Acronyms You'll Encounter Setting up Your Company 80
Chapter 8 - Financials for Start-ups 82
Keeping Separate Finances 82
Financial Documents (Financial Reports) 83
Chapter 9 - Tax for Start-ups 89
Chapter 10 - Legal Docs for Start-ups 91
Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) 91
Other Legal Documents 91
Conclusion - Jennifer Fein 94
Appendix 1 - Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement 98
Appendix 2 - STAR Questions 101
Appendix 3 - Entrepreneurship Questionnaire 103
Appendix 4 - Entrepreneurship Quiz 111