The Unfair Advantage - Ash Ali

• The authors argue that the common narrative around startup success being solely due to meritocracy and hard work is misleading. While these factors matter, there are many other significant advantages at play that determine a startup’s success.

• The authors call these advantages “unfair advantages” - competitive edges that provide an upper hand and are not always earned or worked for. Examples could be privilege, education, wealth, intelligence, location, luck, etc.

• The authors have a unique perspective, having been poor immigrants, employees, entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and more. From these experiences, they have identified patterns around what really leads to startup success.

• This book focuses on the founder and their unfair advantages, not just the business idea. Early on, the founders are the business, so their advantages and attributes determine success.

• Success is not just awarded to the hardest workers. It goes to those who develop and leverage their unfair advantages. While society has become more meritocratic, there are still many barriers, and a “level playing field” is an illusion.

• The authors want to present a view of startup success that is eye-opening and honest but also empowering. Everyone has a unique set of unfair advantages they can build on.

• Influential investors focus first on the founders, not the idea, product or traction. At an early stage, the team is what matters most.

• The authors argue we need to relieve ourselves of the myth of pure meritocracy and see that success is more complex, to have a chance at really achieving it.

That covers the essence and main takeaways from the introduction, highlighting the authors’ unique perspective and main arguments around startup success relying on unfair advantages, not just hard work and merit. Please let me know if you would like me to clarify or expand on any part of this summary.

• Evan Spiegel, co-founder of Snapchat, acknowledged that his success was due to luck and privilege.

• Spiegel grew up in a wealthy family and attended prestigious schools that provided connections to influential people.

• Spiegel’s parents were successful lawyers who provided him opportunities and connections. His father’s connections helped him get into Stanford.

• Spiegel met powerful mentors and investors through family connections, including Peter Wendell, a top VC investor. These connections provided Spiegel guidance and access to funding.

• Spiegel credits his privilege and connections for providing him wisdom and experience beyond his years. His connections and mentors gave him confidence in meetings with investors.

• In short, Spiegel was afforded significant advantages and luck through his family connections, privilege, and mentors that helped enable his success with Snapchat. He readily acknowledges he “got really lucky” in life due to these unfair advantages.

The key message is that success is often enabled or amplified by advantages outside of one’s control, like family connections, privilege, access to education, and influential mentors. While hard work and skill also matter, “life isn’t fair” and success depends a lot on the luck of one’s circumstances and opportunities. Unfair advantages, whether by luck or design, can make a huge difference.

• Ash grew up in a very poor, crime-ridden part of Birmingham, UK to Pakistani immigrant parents.

• His family struggled financially. His dad worked in a steel factory and his mom stayed at home to care for the children.

• Ash went to deprived state schools and only got a glimpse of a middle-class life when he went to grammar school. His family couldn’t afford things like school ski trips that his classmates took for granted.

• Ash’s parents worked hard and sacrificed to give their children a chance at a better life through education.

• However, Ash dropped out of college twice, disappointing his parents. He struggled to find a career path and bounced between jobs.

• Ash always questioned the status quo and did things differently than his peers. His contrarian nature and rebellious streak often frustrated his parents.

• However, this same trait led Ash down an unconventional path to becoming an entrepreneur. He stumbled upon internet marketing and found success, eventually co-founding his own digital marketing agency.

• Ash’s story shows that privilege and a prestigious education are not prerequisites for success. With determination and an open and questioning mindset, anyone can forge their own path.

Does this summary accurately reflect the key details and main takeaways from Ash’s entrepreneurial journey? Let me know if you would like me to clarify or expand the summary in any way.

• The author dropped out of college at 17 without clear direction or connections. While his siblings succeeded in higher education, he struggled in school.

• As a teenager, the author started a paper route and other small businesses to make money, demonstrating an entrepreneurial spirit despite lack of role models.

• In 1998 at 19, the author and a friend built an ecommerce shoe website, one of the first in the UK. He became obsessed with making it work, quitting his job and spending long hours building the site. Despite doubts, the site succeeded and they received an award nomination.

• The author was then recruited to work at an agency in London, earning £30,000. Though he felt out of place as a young Muslim man with no degree, he enjoyed success and the perks of a high salary. However, he struggled with imposter syndrome and office politics.

• In 2000, the dotcom bubble burst, and the author lost his job and savings. He felt like a failure and returned home to live with his parents. He realized his success had depended more on relationships and luck than just hard work.

• The author had an epiphany that his initial job and success were not solely due to his own skills but also to being in the right place at the right time. He vowed to work smarter and build more connections going forward.

In summary, despite early struggles in school, the author found success as a teenage entrepreneur and got an opportunity in London’s tech boom. However, the dotcom crash led to job loss and a realization that success depends on external factors as well as individual effort. This shaped his determination to work more strategically from that point on.

• The author considers himself an “unnatural entrepreneur” who had to work hard to develop the necessary skills and instincts. He did not show an early aptitude for entrepreneurship as a child.

• He comes from an immigrant family that emphasized academic achievement and prestigious careers like medicine or engineering. His parents expected him to become a doctor.

• Though he did well in school, he dropped out of medical school after only 6 months because he realized it wasn’t for him. This shocked his parents, who didn’t understand his decision.

• He then graduated with an economics degree but still didn’t know what career path to pursue and felt pressure to get a job after university. He had no interest in becoming a banker, a typical career for economics majors.

• By chance, he came across an ad for a marketing job at Just Eat, an early-stage online food delivery startup. Though it was risky, he decided to take the job to gain experience. He helped the company grow and was rewarded with shares that eventually made him very wealthy when Just Eat had an IPO.

• His success at Just Eat gave him the confidence and financial security to start his own companies. Though entrepreneurship didn’t come naturally to him, he worked hard to develop the necessary skills. He now sees his apparent advantages and disadvantages as part of what has made him who he is.

• Overall, the author’s journey to becoming an entrepreneur was unintentional and gradual. Through a combination of opportunity, hard work, and persistence, he developed into a successful entrepreneur despite lacking an early aptitude or vision for it.

• The author enrolled in an expensive online course to learn how to start an online business and achieve passive income.

• After completing the course, the author struggled to launch their own business due to fear and perfectionism. Instead, the author got a job in sales to gain experience.

• The author learned persuasive skills from working at an investment brokerage firm. The author then got another job at a corporate firm to learn a more consultative sales approach.

• Armed with these sales skills, the author quit their job and gave themselves a month to land their first client. With the help of an accountability partner, the author succeeded.

• The author started offering search engine optimization services to generate recurring revenue. After two years of hard work, the author achieved passive income and could travel while the business ran itself.

• While traveling in the Philippines, the author saw impoverished children begging in the streets. This experience made the author realize how lucky they were to have the opportunities and advantages that allowed their success. The author recognized it was not just due to their own hard work.

• The author later partnered with a successful entrepreneur, Ash, to invest in tech startups. From Ash, the author learned about high-growth startups and venture capital.

The key lessons from the author’s story are:

1. Learn skills that will be useful for running your own business, such as sales and marketing skills. Jobs are a great way to gain experience.

2. Finding an accountability partner or mentor can help motivate you and push you outside your comfort zone. This support system is key to overcoming fear and perfectionism.

3. Success is not solely the result of hard work. There are many factors outside of our control, like opportunities, education, connections, and socioeconomic advantages. It is important to recognize your own unfair advantages and privilege.

4. Continuous learning and adaptation are required to build a successful business. The author had to learn SEO, hiring, and more to grow their company.

5. Helping others who are less fortunate can help foster gratitude and humility. Seeing the struggles of the impoverished children gave the author a deeper appreciation for their own situation.

• The authors discuss two opposing views on how financial success comes about: either through hard work and merit (meritocracy), or through luck and random chance (fatalism). In reality, it is a combination of both.

• They use their own stories and Evan Spiegel’s story to show how both hard work and luck played a role. They acknowledge the many privileges and advantages they had that enabled their success. Luck comes in many forms, from being born in a wealthy country with opportunities, to chance encounters and random events.

• Oprah Winfrey’s story is a prime example of overcoming immense disadvantages through a combination of luck and hard work. Her natural talents, early nurturing of those talents, and ability to turn her traumatic experiences into advantages were lucky. At the same time, she put in thousands of hours honing her skills and working to achieve her success.

• Luck is not always positive or “lucky.” Difficult life events and circumstances are also a form of luck, and it’s what we do with them that matters. Oprah’s story shows how we can turn disadvantages into advantages.

• In summary, while hard work and merit do play a role in success, luck and chance also have a huge influence. Both must be acknowledged. Success comes from what we do with the hands we are dealt, whether lucky or unlucky, privileged or disadvantaged.

• Natural talent and innate ability absolutely do exist and play a major role in success and achievement. While hard work and practice are also crucial, talent provides the foundation.

• Success stories like Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, and Warren Buffett attribute much of their success to luck and being fortunate enough to be born with natural talents and abilities that they were then able to nurture through hard work and persistence.

• Warren Buffett in particular cites luck as a huge factor, including being born at the right time and place and having the right genes for his skills. He acknowledges that if he had been born a different gender or race, his success would have been very different.

• Believing that success is solely the result of hard work and merit can be dangerous. It leads to judgment of those less fortunate and ignores the role of circumstance and luck. Life is not fair, and we don’t all have the same opportunities.

• It’s important to accept the role of luck and chance while also believing in the power of hard work. We should avoid worshipping extreme success stories and have compassion for those who struggle. Mild success can be earned, but wild success usually involves luck and circumstance.

• Many people work hard their whole lives and never achieve financial success or stability. At the same time, many incompetent and undeserving people find success. Success and failure are not always deserved or earned.

• Rather than feeling defeated by the role of luck, we should aim to make the most of the opportunities we have. But we should also avoid feeling like failures when we don’t achieve an unrealistic standard of success. We need to define success for ourselves.

• The Serenity Prayer reminds us to accept what we cannot change, have courage to change what we can, and wisdom to know the difference. This balance of acceptance and action leads to happiness and inner peace.

Does this summary accurately reflect the key ideas and themes around luck, success, and circumstance that were discussed? Let me know if you would like me to clarify or expand on any part of this summary.

• Success comes from a combination of luck, hard work, and leveraging your unfair advantages. Understanding your unfair advantages and using them strategically is key to success.

• Unfair advantages are conditions, assets or circumstances that give you a favorable position. They are unique to you and hard to copy. Examples include your skills, talents, connections, expertise, access to networks, location, etc.

• Your unfair advantages are your personal economic moat—they protect you from competitors. Successful people and businesses have strong competitive advantages.

• For startups, the founders’ unfair advantages become the startup’s unfair advantages. Investors evaluate founders to understand the startup’s potential. As companies grow, competitive advantages emerge. But initially, success depends on the founders’ unfair advantages.

• Unfair advantages provide leverage to achieve your goals. They allow you to work smart by multiplying your efforts. Although we all have the same 24 hours, knowing and using your unfair advantages helps you spend time strategically.

• Unfair advantages build on each other and have a snowball effect. The more you stack up and the earlier you do so, the more they multiply together to create new opportunities.

• Understanding and leveraging your unfair advantages is key to success. Those unaware of them can become bitter, as they don’t understand why hard work alone didn’t lead to success. But relying only on unfair advantages leads to a disempowering victim mindset. Balancing both hard work and unfair advantages is key.

• The key takeaway is: identify your unfair advantages and use them strategically to work smart, achieve your goals, and succeed. But don’t stop working hard—combine both for the best results.

In life, you can develop unfair advantages, and the stronger they become, the more success you will achieve. As your unfair advantages lead to success, you enter a positive feedback loop where success builds upon itself.

Malcolm Gladwell refers to this virtuous circle as ‘accumulative advantage’ in his book Outliers. He gives the example of Canadian hockey players born earlier in the year who tend to be bigger and stronger, so get more coaching and practice. This early advantage compounds, leading more of them to become professionals. This ‘relative age effect’ applies in many areas of life.

Success begets more success. A busy restaurant gets more bookings. A hit film attracts more viewers. A bestselling book sells more copies. A popular YouTube video gets more views. The more unfair advantages you have, the more you will accrue.

Unfair advantages offer speed, which is critical for startups and companies trying to innovate quickly. Speed comes from finding and leveraging your unfair advantages.

All advantages come from a base of luck, like your place and time of birth, upbringing, education, relationships, and health. You can develop more unfair advantages by getting an education, building expertise, networking, and changing your mindset.

To find your unfair advantages, use the MILES Framework:

Money - Capital and ability to raise funds Intelligence - ‘Book smarts’, creativity, emotional intelligence Location - Being in the right place at the right time Education - Formal education and expertise Status - Social status, network, connections, personal brand, self-confidence

You don’t need all five. Partner with people who have complementary unfair advantages. Mindset, which you can control, underpins them all.

The MILES Framework helps audit your assets, earned and unearned, to find your unfair advantages. It shows whether to focus on location, education, status or other factors. Know your unfair advantages and develop them to build success.

• Jan Koum, the founder of WhatsApp, did not come from a privileged background but was able to leverage his unfair advantages, such as his expertise in computer programming and strong privacy ideals, to build a successful startup.

• Success is not just about strategies and frameworks. It requires having a combination of money, intelligence, location, luck, education, expertise, and status, which provide real unfair advantages.

• To determine your unfair advantages, first examine your motivation or “why” for becoming an entrepreneur and your personality type. Your “why” is critical to defining success for yourself. While there is no single ideal personality, being visionary and open to new experiences is important. High neuroticism is less suited to entrepreneurship.

• The foundation for success is your mindset. You can change your mindset instantly by looking at situations differently, such as practicing gratitude. Your mindset affects your outcomes, though it is not the only factor. You need both “mind over matter” and “matter.”

• A growth mindset believes that abilities can be developed through hard work and perseverance. Failure is a learning opportunity. A fixed mindset believes talents are fixed and failure is a disaster. Entrepreneurs need a growth mindset.

• With hard work and the right mindset, people can gain leverage and build success, even without certain advantages. The premise is not that lacking certain advantages now prevents gaining them in the future. But having more advantages provides more opportunities, so people should leverage what they have.

A growth mindset believes that abilities can be developed through hard work and perseverance. While useful, it ignores the role of luck and unfair advantages that some people have. A reality-growth mindset incorporates both a growth mindset and an awareness of life’s realities.

A reality-growth mindset has four characteristics:

1. Vision: Having a vision and goals for your life that match your abilities and situation. Don’t have unrealistic expectations of becoming an outlier or achieving unrealistic success. Set incremental and achievable goals.

2. Adaptability: Being able to accept life’s realities and adapt to changing circumstances. Know that you cannot control everything and some goals may be out of reach. Pivot when needed.

3. Action-orientation: Taking action and working hard to achieve your goals while also enjoying the journey. Success is a process, not an end point. Maintain self-belief in your abilities while also being self-aware of your limitations.

4. Unfair advantages: Identifying and leveraging the unique advantages, talents, opportunities, and luck that you have. Everyone has certain unfair advantages they can utilize, even if they are not always obvious. Success comes from maximizing your circumstances, not wishing for different ones.

In summary, a reality-growth mindset incorporates both optimism and practicality. Have dreams and work hard to achieve them while also accepting life’s realities and limitations. Find the right balance of self-belief and self-awareness. Leverage the advantages you have rather than make excuses for the ones you lack. With this mindset, you can achieve enduring success and happiness.

Vision is the ability to see what does not yet exist. It is the first characteristic of a strong entrepreneurial mindset. Vision provides direction and motivation. Even a modest vision can be enough to get started. Vision attracts others and helps navigate challenges.

Resourcefulness is the ability to solve problems quickly and overcome obstacles. Entrepreneurship often involves venturing into unknown areas, so challenges are inevitable. Resourcefulness is key to surviving and thriving.

Constant growth and lifelong learning are essential for entrepreneurs today. Technology and industries are changing rapidly. Successful entrepreneurs constantly expand their knowledge and skills.

Grit and perseverance refer to passion, resilience, and determination in the face of failures or setbacks. Rejection, criticism, and obstacles are common, so grit is required to push through them. Entrepreneurs need thick skin, optimism, and the ability to bounce back from failure.

Money, or economic capital, provides a substantial advantage for entrepreneurs. It reduces financial pressure, allows more time to achieve profitability, and provides more options. Startups monitor their “runway,” or how much time remains before running out of money, and “burn rate,” or how quickly they are spending money each month. More money means a longer runway and more latitude.

In summary, successful entrepreneurs typically have a strong mindset, access to resources, a thirst for continuous learning, and enough grit and perseverance to navigate the challenges. While money is not absolutely required, it provides significant benefits. A compelling vision, resourcefulness, learning, and perseverance can help overcome a lack of money, but the path will likely be harder.

• To assess if you have enough runway time for your startup, calculate how long you can survive without a salary. This is easier if you have a lot of money, but you still need to budget carefully. Having a lot of money does not guarantee success and you can still run out if you miscalculate.

• To extend your runway time, cut costs by reducing spending and living frugally. Be careful not to cut costs in areas critical to your business success though. Raising money by getting investments from family, friends and angel investors (the three Fs) is another option. Having wealthy connections is an advantage here.

• Money acts as a cushion or safety net. Wealthy entrepreneurs can take bigger risks knowing they won’t end up destitute if they fail. For others, failure has bigger consequences. Learning how to fail properly and get back up is key. Success stories of mega-rich entrepreneurs are outliers, not the norm.

• To determine if money is your unfair advantage, calculate if you have 6-18 months of living expenses to focus on your startup. If not, build a low-cost, fast-to-profit business, not a high-growth startup. Other options: cut costs, learn marketing/sales, raise funding.

• Minimize living expenses by budgeting and saving. Marketing and sales skills are always in demand and useful for your own startup. Pitch to investors to raise funding, if you have the experience and credibility. Online courses teach skills that translate into money. Drive for a ride-sharing service in your spare time. Do freelance or consulting work in your area of expertise.

• There are many ways to make and save money. While money provides advantages, perseverance, skill, and a viable business idea are more significant factors in startup success. With determination, you can gain many of the same benefits as those with more money.

• Having a good team and idea (a powerful insight into a problem and a strong solution), you can raise funding from investors. This is the least desirable option in some cases, because investors often become like your boss, and they take big chunks of your business, but for some people with the right hyper-growth startup idea and the right Expertise and Status, it’s a fantastic way to go. Virtually all the big success stories got there through funding.

• Learn to code. There are plenty of free and affordable resources to learn coding. Knowing how to code means you can create your own product for your startup with little cost. Coding is also a well-paid skill you can freelance with. This can provide money to build your startup.

• Freelance. Learn an in-demand skill and freelance to make money in your spare time or as a career. As you freelance to build capital, your startup can be your side hustle until you can focus on it full time.

• Poverty makes startup entrepreneurship very difficult. Meeting basic needs and having financial security are necessary before starting a business. Many advocates support universal basic income to provide financial security so people can be creative and aspirational.

• Money can be an advantage or disadvantage. Having little money can drive creativity and resourcefulness. Having a lot of money can breed complacency and wastefulness. Necessity often spurs invention.

• There are many types of intelligence: IQ, book smarts, street smarts (including emotional and social intelligence), and creative intelligence.

• IQ testing shows a broad correlation between higher scores and life success but does not determine individual outcomes. IQ does not measure emotional, social or creative intelligence. While IQ can be an advantage, it is largely out of our control and not very useful for individuals.

• Real leverage in entrepreneurship comes from developing and applying other types of intelligence. Insight, in particular, can be a key advantage.

IQ tests do not measure important abilities such as social and emotional intelligence, creativity, and self-awareness. Business success depends heavily on relationships, teamwork, and adding value to others. An IQ number does not define a person. Believing you can become smarter actually makes you smarter.

Book smarts refer to theoretical knowledge and a preference for learning through reading and formal education. Although school performance is not determinative, a passion for learning and continuous improvement can help in business. The Collison brothers, who founded Stripe, are examples of startup founders who leveraged book smarts.

Street smarts are learned through experience, not schooling. They encompass people skills, emotional intelligence, common sense, and the ability to detect dishonesty. Emotional intelligence—the ability to understand and influence emotions—is key for attracting partners, employees, customers, and investors.

Three elements of street smarts are:

1. Social and emotional intelligence: Asking good questions, building trust, being assertive.
2. Common sense: Knowing whom to trust and approach, sensing trends and demand.
3. Bullshit detection: Detecting dishonest intentions and incentives.

Nikola Tesla demonstrated the importance of street smarts. Despite his brilliance, he died penniless due in part to a lack of business and social skills.

Creative intelligence involves connecting disparate ideas in new ways. While often thought of as an innate ability, creativity can be developed and improved. It is key for innovation, problem-solving, and gaining a competitive advantage. Vision, imagination, and curiosity help cultivate creativity, as does exposure to diverse ideas. When we break from routines, creativity emerges.

In summary, a successful business requires more than raw intellect or technical skills. Social, emotional, and creative intelligence are equally if not more significant. Overall success depends on continuous learning and progress in all these areas.

• Creativity and coming up with unique insights are key to entrepreneurial success and growth. It involves connecting ideas from different domains and perspectives.

• Innovation is a skill that can be developed. One way is to expand your knowledge into different areas. This helps you think more broadly and laterally.

• Steve Jobs took a calligraphy class in college which later inspired the design of the Mac. Interdisciplinary learning can lead to groundbreaking ideas.

• Business used to be about incremental improvements but now requires more radical creativity as AI cannot match human creativity. This is a competitive advantage for startups and careers.

• Insight involves seeing below the surface to understand elements others may miss. It could be insight into a market, trend, need, gap, inefficiency, or problem. Insight is what investors look for.

• Focus on understanding the problem, not just your solution. Talk to potential customers to gain insight. Experience the problem yourself for the deepest insight. Working in an industry can provide insight into pain points that could be solved.

• Tristan Walker founded Walker & Co to serve people of color with shaving products. He grew up disadvantaged but got an opportunity at an elite school. He worked on Wall Street but lost his job in the recession. He discovered Silicon Valley and startups, interned at Twitter, and worked at Foursquare, gaining experience. Mentored at Andreessen Horowitz, he started Walker & Co with insight into an underserved market.

• Key lessons: Develop your creativity. Gain insight into problems by learning broadly and from experience. Look for opportunities, make connections, and persevere despite setbacks. Mentorship and experience at leading companies can be invaluable. With insight, hard work, and the right opportunities, disadvantage need not limit success.

• Tristan Walker struggled for months to come up with a startup idea. His key insight came from identifying a need he had personally - as an African American man, existing shaving products did not cater to his needs. This ‘unfair advantage’ of solving his own problem led to his success.

• Will Shu, founder of Deliveroo, also identified a gap in the market based on his own needs. However, he worked hard to gain further insight by spending 9 months riding around as a delivery driver to understand the challenges from all perspectives - restaurants, riders and customers. This hard-won insight was key to Deliveroo’s success.

• Intelligence and insight can be an unfair advantage, but you need various forms - emotional and social intelligence as well as creativity. You can assess these in yourself, get feedback from others and work to improve them.

• However, intelligence and insight can also be a barrier, as they may make you foresee too many obstacles. Naive optimism is often needed to become an entrepreneur. Insight based only on your own experience may be misleading. Validating your ideas is important.

• Location and luck - being in the right place at the right time - also matter for success. Location increases your chances of luck. Successful entrepreneurs often attribute part of their success to luck and location.

• Location impacts opportunities, access to talent and resources, cost of living and quality of life. The rise of remote work and globalization have made location less important for some types of business, but still crucial for others like retail or logistics.

• You can choose a location for your business or make the most of your existing location. Analyze locations based on your priorities like talent, industry cluster or cost of living. Be willing to relocate for the right opportunity.

• To increase luck, expose yourself to more opportunities, meet new people, try new things, build key relationships and make your own luck through hard work and perseverance. Luck favors the open-minded and resilient. Success is where luck meets preparation.

• Location is extremely important for both individuals and businesses. Where you are geographically situated can be a major factor in your success or failure.

• For businesses, being in a prime location where there are lots of potential customers passing by is key. This is why businesses tend to cluster together, even when they are competitors. The benefits of location outweigh the downsides of competition.

• Some famous business clusters are Silicon Valley for tech startups, Hollywood for film, Savile Row for tailoring, and Wall Street for finance. These have become synonymous with their respective industries.

• Silicon Valley in particular shows how location clusters can lead to a virtuous circle of success. It had the right ingredients: funding, talent, knowledge spillover, and a culture of ambition. This led to huge tech companies and many startups locating there, which in turn attracted more funding, talent, and knowledge.

• Startup hubs with top universities, funding, talent, and an entrepreneurial culture have emerged all over the world, from London to Berlin to Beijing to Bali. Being in one of these hubs provides unfair advantages.

• However, the benefits of clusters do fade over time. Costs go up, crowding increases. Startups then look for new, cheaper locations. This has happened with Silicon Valley and Silicon Roundabout in London.

• Location also refers to your environment and who you surround yourself with. We are strongly influenced by the people around us. Surrounding yourself with ambitious, entrepreneurial people, offline or online, can have a big impact on your own mindset and success.

• In summary, location and environment are hugely powerful in shaping opportunities, attitudes, and outcomes. But they are not static, and the most advantageous locations and environments are constantly changing.

• Location can be an important ‘unfair advantage’ for startups and businesses. Choosing the right location can provide access to talent, funding, resources, and status.

• For James Caan, having an office in an prestigious location like Mayfair in London gave his young company credibility and status through association. This helped him land clients and funding.

• For Huda Kattan, moving to Dubai, where there was strong interest in and demand for the makeup style and products she offered, allowed her to build her brand and business. Her success there led to global fame and success.

• Jeff Bezos chose Seattle as the location for Amazon in order to have access to tech talent, lower taxes, and faster shipping and distribution of products.

• Basecamp founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson have embraced having a remote workforce in separate countries. They have turned this into a key part of their company culture and success. By avoiding the pressures of Silicon Valley, they have built a profitable, sustainable company.

• Luck tends to be more predictable and controllable than most people realize. Those who work hard, gain experience, build strong networks, and persistently chase opportunities tend to get ‘luckier’. Success is often the result of skill and hard work, not just randomness.

In summary, choosing the right location and environment for your business or startup can provide access to key resources and advantages that significantly impact your success and growth. With hard work and persistence, you can also generate more opportunities for ‘luck’ to strike. Success is more often the result of preparation meeting opportunity, not just randomness.

• Timing is essential for startups. You need to catch the big waves of societal and technological shifts. Being too early or too late can lead to failure. The ideal is to target a small but growing market.

• According to research, timing accounts for 42% of the difference between startup success and failure. The idea itself only accounts for 28%. Team and execution rank second at 32%.

• You can increase your luck by having the right mindset. Believe you are lucky and you will experience more good fortune. See opportunities and act on them.

• Nintendo succeeded by grasping a historic moment. Strict anti-gambling laws in Japan were easing, allowing them to introduce their popular Hanafuda playing cards. They were able to deliver a game into a game-starved market.

• Deliveroo succeeded through location and timing. Founder Will Shu started in wealthy Chelsea, London, where people wanted delivery from high-end restaurants. Although he conceived the idea in 2004, he waited 9 years to launch until the technology (tablets, tracking) and market were ready.

• Location influences your unfair advantage. Important factors include amenities, transport, lifestyle, housing costs, crime rates. Start where your customers and talent are. Some places foster more creativity and success.

• Successful people make their own luck by maintaining an optimistic and open mindset. Look for opportunities and say yes more. Meet new people and build connections. Luck comes from circumstances, but you can create the right circumstances.

• To increase your luck:

› Adopt an abundance mindset. Believe in possibilities and opportunities.

› Take more chances and say yes more. Be open to new experiences.

› Build your network. Meet new people and make genuine connections.

› Notice opportunities and act on them. Even small actions can lead to big results.

› Maintain an optimistic and resilient attitude. Your mindset influences outcomes.

› Show up more. Increase your odds of chance encounters and opportunities.

› Make the most of the resources around you. Use what you have access to.

› Help others. What goes around comes around. Generosity breeds generosity.

• Location is important for a business and can provide an unfair advantage. But location is also often out of our control, so we should consider how to make the most of the location we have, or consider moving locations if needed. Things to consider about location include: proximity to similar businesses, access to talent, ease of finding for customers, productivity, networking, costs, etc.

• You can increase your luck by:

1. Maximizing chance opportunities - be observant, proactive and open to new encounters and conversations. Extroverts may be naturally better at this, but introverts can work at it too.

2. Trusting your intuition, especially when you have experience. But be aware of unconscious biases. Also, some things in business are counterintuitive, so don’t rely only on intuition.

3. Expecting to be lucky. Having an optimistic mindset makes you more likely to notice opportunities. Look for times you’ve been lucky in the past.

4. Turning bad luck into good luck. You can’t control events, but you can control your reaction. See bad events as learning opportunities or a chance to pivot to something better. Focus on gratitude rather than lack.

• Take more action - do more, meet more people, blog, get feedback, etc. This increases your chances of getting “lucky.”

• A good location and luck can be double-edged swords. A “hub” location may be very expensive. A “bad” location may provide cost advantages and unmet needs. Too much early luck could stunt growth by preventing struggle or follow up success. Lack of luck inspires determination and hard work.

• In summary, while location and luck can provide advantages, they need to be managed properly. You can work to improve a poor location or create your own luck. Early struggles often lead to greater long term success. The keys are having the right mindset, taking action, and making the most of your situation.

• Education provides knowledge, networks and signaling benefits. Knowledge refers to learning skills and facts. Networks refer to connections with like-minded, driven people. Signaling refers to the status and credibility that comes with a good education.

• Formal education at top schools and universities provides an unfair advantage, especially for signaling and networking. Many successful entrepreneurs attended elite schools.

• However, the education itself can provide a strong technical unfair advantage, especially for fields like computer science, biology and engineering. People with specialist knowledge from their education can apply that to solve important problems.

• Examples of entrepreneurs with a technical education advantage include Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google co-founders with PhDs in computer science) and Demis Hassabis (DeepMind co-founder with degrees in computer science and neuroscience).

• While formal education has its benefits, it is not the only path to gaining knowledge and expertise. Self-education and lifelong learning are also valuable. The key is using your education and intelligence to gain expertise in valuable and meaningful areas.

• In summary, education and the knowledge and skills it provides are extremely valuable. But the precise path to gaining that education is less important than what you do with it.

• Developing expertise is a self-taught process where you learn primarily through practice and experience. You start by gaining enough theoretical knowledge to get started, but then you build real expertise through applying that knowledge and learning from the results.

• Expertise provides an unfair advantage because it allows you to achieve vastly superior results to most people. It comes from focused, consistent learning and practice in a specific domain.

• Institutions like universities are often too slow or broad to help you build deep expertise. You can gain expertise through reading, online courses, mentors, and hands-on experience. The key is taking action to apply your learning.

• To determine if you need more education, consider if you have the necessary skills and expertise to achieve your goals. While formal education has value, learning by doing and practising is the best way to build real expertise.

• There are many ways to build expertise, including learning online, reading books, finding mentors, and gaining hands-on experience. Offering your services for free is a great way to gain valuable experience. Teaching what you know also helps solidify your own expertise.

• You don’t need expertise in everything. Choose areas that interest you and are in demand. Find co-founders or lean on others for domains outside your expertise. Insight into a problem is valuable even without the technical skills to solve it.

• DeepMind, a London AI startup, built expertise in machine learning and then used that to achieve exceptional success, ultimately leading to a $400 million acquisition by Google. Academic backgrounds provided an advantage, but expertise came through practice.

So in summary, expertise provides an unfair advantage and is best developed through deliberate practice and experience, not just knowledge or education alone. Build it in areas you care about, and use it as a platform for exceptional outcomes and success.

• Status refers to your social standing and perceived credibility. It is about how others see you based on outward signs like your age, gender, appearance, occupation, networks, etc.

• There are two types of status: outer status which is determined by society, and inner status which is self-perception.

• Outer status is associated with power and influence. Higher status commands more attention and respect. Ways to signal higher status include prestigious job titles, attending elite universities, material displays of wealth, etc.

• Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu defined three forms of capital that comprise status: economic (money and assets), cultural (social class, tastes, and behaviors), and social (networks and connections).

• How people perceive you and your status is often unfair and riddled with biases. But you can work to improve your status by building up forms of capital, especially your expertise and networks.

• All elements of the MILES framework, including expertise, leadership, excellence, skills, and networks can help boost your status. Status is deeply tied to most areas of life and social interaction.

• Some key takeaways: Focus on developing valuable skills and expertise. Build strong networks and connections. Don’t be constrained by perceptions of status based on things like age, appearance or gender. Look for ways to increase your credibility and perceived ability to add value.

• Your location and address can convey status. For example, James Caan used a prestigious Mayfair address to suggest success and influence.

• Your education and the institutions you attend also signal your status. For example, the Collison brothers attending Harvard and MIT increased their status and networks, even though they dropped out.

• Your wealth and displays of money increase your status. For example, when Ash got a Porsche, people reacted to him differently. However, flashy displays of wealth are not always effective and some high-status people downplay them.

• Unfortunately, status is linked to bias and prejudice. People may make assumptions based on attributes like race, gender, age, religion, sexuality, accent, name, and socioeconomic class. These attributes can disadvantage some but also provide unique insights. For example, Sara Blakely’s experience as a woman gave her the insight to create Spanx.

• Your status as an “outsider” can provide insights that benefit you. For example, Tristan Walker’s experience as an African American helped him identify an unmet need and build Bevel.

• The culture and subculture you belong to determine what conveys high or low status. For example, formal business attire may increase your chance of getting a bank loan but decrease your chance of getting startup funding in Silicon Valley. Signals of status depend on the group.

• Belonging to a culture or subculture helps build relationships through shared interests and values. For example, Melanie Perkins learned to kitesurf to network in the male-dominated tech industry, even though she didn’t enjoy it.

In summary, while status is linked to unfair advantages and disadvantages, it depends greatly on the culture and context. Both “insiders” and “outsiders” can leverage status for opportunity, and status is a double-edged sword. The key is understanding how status works in your particular culture and using that to your advantage.

• Imposter syndrome refers to feelings of being an intellectual fraud. Despite evidence of success and competence, individuals feel like they do not deserve their achievements and that they will eventually be found out as imposters.

• Up to 70% of people experience imposter syndrome at some point. It is especially common among high-achieving individuals like entrepreneurs.

• Imposter syndrome stems from distorted beliefs about yourself and unrealistic expectations for what it means to be competent. With awareness and effort, these beliefs and expectations can be challenged.

• Some strategies for overcoming imposter syndrome include:

• Recognizing your achievements and the effort that went into them. Don’t dismiss compliments and praise.

• Accepting that you will never feel fully competent and that some self-doubt is normal. No one has it all figured out.

• Focusing on growth and progress, not perfection. Compare yourself to your past self, not to others.

• Talking to others about your feelings. Share experiences of success and failure. Find common ground.

• Remembering why you’re there. Connect your work to your key motivations and values.

• Practicing self-care. Imposter syndrome can be exacerbated by anxiety, lack of confidence, and burnout. Take a balanced approach to work and life.

• Many highly successful people, like Maya Angelou, continue to experience signs of imposter syndrome throughout their careers. But they work to cultivate self-belief and stay focused on meaningful pursuits.

• You do not have to eliminate feelings of being an imposter completely to achieve great success. With self-awareness and the willingness to push past self-doubt, imposter syndrome need not hold you back. You deserve to be where you are - don’t forget it.

• Kylie Jenner leveraged her celebrity status and social media following to build a successful cosmetics business.

• She started with lip kits and built Kylie Cosmetics into a $800 million company in just a few years.

• Her status gave her an unfair advantage in gaining attention and customers. But she also showed business acumen and vision.

• Status can be an unfair advantage if you have it, but you still need competence and hard work to succeed.

• Developing confidence and inner status is most important. Work on liking yourself and building self-esteem.

• Be aware of any status you have and use it appropriately in pitching or networking. But don’t brag, as that lowers your status.

• If you lack status, don’t despair. Focus on your other strengths like mindset, education, insight, and location. And build your inner status.

• Everyone deals with imposter syndrome and self-doubt at times. Push through it by getting outside your comfort zone and building a sense of self-confidence and resourcefulness.

• Status helps determine your role, e.g. networking for business, expertise for technical. But inner status is key for any leader or founder.

• Successful startups need self-confident founders and a strong management team. Status and competence together are powerful.

• Success as an entrepreneur is difficult and risky. While social media shows the highlights, the reality is challenging.

• Your “why” or motivation for starting a business is key. It could be escaping a limited lifestyle, freedom and flexibility, pursuing your ideas, social impact, money or status. Your motivation needs to align with both your “lower self” and “higher self.”

• Define your own success and don’t rely on society’s measures like money or status. Focus on things within your control like your actions, values and goals. Success should be based on happiness, fulfillment and growth.

• Be aware of the difference between society’s symbols of success and actual success. Don’t confuse the two.

• The practical steps to launching a startup include:

› Define your motivation or “why” › Choose co-founders and build a team › Develop an idea into a product › Create a business model and financial plan › Build a minimum viable product › Launch and get customer feedback › Iterate and improve based on feedback › Market your product › Raise funding if needed › Scale your business

• Even if you join a startup as an early employee instead of founding your own, this advice is valuable for choosing the right company and opportunity. The rewards can be huge if you pick a successful startup.

• Have realistic expectations about the difficulty but focus on the potential rewards and impact. With hard work and some luck, you can build a successful business.

The type of startup you choose will have significant impact on your lifestyle and work-life balance. There are two broad types:

1. Lifestyle startups:

• Focus on sustaining a certain lifestyle or income.
• Usually don’t need external funding.
• Turn a profit rather than burning through money.
• Serve a limited, often local or niche market.
• Examples: dental practice, restaurant, clothing store, software agency.
• More likely to succeed but less likely to make you extremely wealthy.
• Not binary: can succeed at various levels, rather than just hugely succeed or completely fail.

2. Hyper-growth startups:

• Focus on rapid growth through technology and scaling.
• Usually need significant external funding to fuel growth before turning a profit.
• Often ‘burn through’ money for a long time before becoming profitable.
• Serve a large, global market.
• Examples: Facebook, Google, Netflix, Airbnb, Uber.
• More likely to either hugely succeed or completely fail. Very binary.
• Require an intense work ethic and little work-life balance, at least in early stages.

To assess a startup, consider:

• Your goals and lifestyle preferences. Lifestyle startups may suit those wanting a better work-life balance. Hyper-growth startups suit those wanting huge success.
• Your unfair advantages. Align these with the demands of the startup. Technical skills suit hyper-growth startups. Local network suits lifestyle startups.
• The startup’s unfair advantages. Hyper-growth startups often have technical expertise, funding, and access to large markets. Lifestyle startups have local knowledge and niche expertise.
• The lifestyle and work demands of the startup. Be prepared to commit fully to a hyper-growth startup. Lifestyle startups offer more balance.

The summary outlines the key differences between lifestyle and hyper-growth startups to help you determine which type aligns best with your goals and unfair advantages. The criteria provided can help assess both the startup you want to work for as well as one you may want to invest in.

• Ideas are overrated. Execution is what really matters.

• Most successful startups are not completely new ideas. They are usually twists on existing ideas or applying an idea that exists in one market to a new market.

• Timing and luck play a big role. Google and Facebook succeeded not because of unique ideas but because of good timing and execution. They built on existing concepts but had key insights and strategies that allowed them to gain traction.

• Execution involves factors like:

› Having the right founder personalities and mentors › Following the right strategies to gain traction like Facebook did › Building infrastructure and technology to properly handle growth like Facebook did › Adapting to new technologies like broadband and smartphones which Facebook leveraged

• Many successful companies were not the first to have their idea. Dropbox, Spotify, and Amazon succeeded by executing well on existing ideas, not by being first.

• Ideas are abundant. The conversion rate of ideas into successful startups is close to zero. Execution is the key differentiator.

So in summary, while ideas are important, execution is far more important for startup success. Successful founders are able to gain insight into how to properly execute an idea and build key strategies and infrastructure to gain traction. Timing and luck also play a role. And most successful startups are executing on ideas that already exist in some form, not coming up with completely new concepts.

• Successful businesses are usually not the first in their industry or have a completely new idea. Execution and leveraging unfair advantages are more important.

• Being first actually has disadvantages like educating the market, dealing with failures, and having your ideas stolen by larger companies. Examples include PalmPilots, Meerkat, and Snapchat.

• To get a great idea, have insight into a problem and a solution. Ideas come from interdisciplinary thinking, looking at problems from new perspectives, and applying solutions from one area to another. With practice, generating ideas can become easy.

• Focus on who has the problem, not what the problem is. People often don’t realize they have a problem or need a solution. Look for pain points and inconvenience.

• “Scratch your own itch” by solving a problem you have. You have insight as the target customer. Look at problems you and others experience and see if they’re painful enough to solve.

• Don’t start with a solution and look for a problem. Talk to potential customers to truly understand their problems and needs. Speaking with people directly is the best way to find unmet needs.

• In summary, successful startups execute well on ideas, insight into customer problems is key, look for pain and scratch your own itch, and talk to customers. Leverage your unfair advantages.

• Gain unfair advantages by working in certain industries to gain insight and expertise. Use that to identify needs and create solutions. Or partner with someone who has the necessary expertise.

• The founders themselves are the unfair advantage of early startups. The startup idea and target market must fit the founders. Success depends on choosing the right idea for the founders, not just the right idea.

• Examples:

Jan Koum of WhatsApp knew network reliability and focus. He found co-founders to complement his skills.

Louise Broni-Mensah of Shoobs had insight into urban nightlife from her background. She gained technical expertise from her career in investment banking.

• Mismatch between founders and product can lead to failure. Rocket Science Games’ founders weren’t gamers so they made unfun games.

• It’s very difficult to succeed as a solo founder due to the strain and stress. A co-founder provides support. For hyper-growth startups, co-founders are almost essential.

• Co-founders should fill the roles of creator/visionary, communicator/marketer, and technician. Two co-founders often work well: one commercial and one technical, with one also as visionary.

• Use the MILES Framework to determine what you’re missing and who can provide it: Money, Insights, Expertise, Status. If technical expertise is core, don’t outsource it.

• Finding the right co-founders is key to success. Ask what you lack and who can fill those gaps.

• You have the least leverage or advantage in areas where you lack key skills or connections, such as fundraising, networking, and communication. Successful startups often have co-founders or early hires who fill these gaps.

• To find a co-founder, network extensively. Go to relevant events, join online communities, and build genuine relationships. Look for people you connect with and already trust. Be very careful in choosing a co-founder, as conflict is a top reason startups fail.

• To grow your network:

› Have an authentic desire to help others. Offer value however you can, even in small ways like a smile or introduction.

›Increase your status by developing expertise and accomplishments. People will perceive more value in connecting with you.

›Network broadly at first, then focus on depth. A large network is useless if the connections are weak. Reach out regularly to strengthen relationships.

›Use online networks like LinkedIn, but focus on in-person networking. It’s the most powerful way to build trust and rapport.

• To find mentors:

›Identify potential mentors a couple of steps ahead of you. Don’t aim too high.

›Get their attention through a concise, value-adding message. Explain how you can help them.

›Seek ways to help them before asking for help. Add value however you can.

›Act normal around them. Don’t be overly deferential or try too hard to impress them. Build a genuine, mutually valuable relationship.

› Be patient and consistent. Mentorship takes time. But the payoff of guidance and connections can be huge.

Does this help summarize the key points? Let me know if you have any other questions.

•Start small by taking small risks, not investing too much money upfront. Bootstrap your startup instead of fundraising immediately.

•Validate your idea by speaking to potential customers and getting feedback. Don’t fall in love with your idea - look at the data to see if people actually want to buy or use your product.

•Iterate and improve your idea based on customer feedback. Be willing to pivot if needed. WhatsApp and Instagram are examples of successful pivots.

•Focus on building your minimum viable product and talking to customers. Start as a side hustle while keeping a full-time job if possible.

•Consider freelancing to support yourself in the early days. There are many opportunities to make money online by selling your skills.

• Watch your cash flow and runway. Startup founders often simplify their lives to lower expenses. Build up savings so you can pay bills for a few months with no income.

•The early stages are about idea validation and learning, not making significant money. But aim to get some traction and your first sale, even without a profit, to learn.

•Have a scientific mindset. Don’t assume your solution will automatically be loved. See if people will actually pay for your product or service. If free, see if they use it regularly.

•Idea validation is an early stage. You may not have built a full product yet or be making money. The key is figuring out if the idea has potential before investing too much.

Does this summary accurately reflect the key points about idea validation and the early stages of building a startup? Let me know if you have any feedback or want me to clarify or expand on any part of the summary.

To build a lifestyle business, start by focusing on your minimum viable product or MVP. This means building a very basic version of your product or service that solves your customers’ main need. Don’t worry about perfectionism or extra features. Get customer feedback and iterate.

For growth, focus first on ‘growth scrapping’ - manually finding your first customers one by one through networking, social media outreach and word of mouth. Provide amazing customer service. Measure growth through sales and retention, not just vanity metrics like social media followers.

Once you achieve product-market fit and customers love your product, then focus on ‘growth hacking’ - running experiments to accelerate growth. Growth hackers focus on growth through optimizing the product, marketing, and sales. They track progress through a ‘North Star Metric’ that measures the core value to customers. Growth hacking uses both traditional marketing and unconventional experiments to drive growth.

The key is starting basic, getting real customer feedback, and iterating quickly. Don’t spend too long building in secret. Get your product in front of customers, focus on their needs, and improve from there. With hard work and persistence, you can build a successful lifestyle business.

• Growth hacking is using rapid experimentation across marketing and product development to find the fastest ways to grow a startup. It requires a test-and-learn mindset.

• Growth hacking was key to the success of companies like Airbnb, Hotmail, and Just Eat. However, the specific tactics those companies used likely won’t work today. The growth hacking mindset of constant experimentation is key.

• The fundamentals like having a great product and product-market fit are most important. Only then should you focus on growth hacking and scaling.

• If seeking funding, focus on fundamentals: have a great team and product, fast growth, and know your numbers. Do research to target the right investors. Get warm introductions. Pitch clearly and specifically, answering key questions like:

1. What does your startup do?
2. What problem does it solve?
3. What is your solution? How does it work?
4. Who is your target customer?
5. What is your business model?
6. What is your competitive advantage?
7. What is your marketing and growth plan?
8. What are your key milestones and metrics?
9. How much funding do you need and how will you use it?
10. What is your vision for the company?

• Fundraising often follows a path from founders’ savings to bootstrapping to friends/family, to grants/competitions, angel investors, VCs, and eventually IPO or acquisition. Consider your options and fundraising needs carefully.

• Building a great company and product is the goal, not just raising money. Choose funding sources and amounts that fit your vision.

Here is a summary of the key insights:

1. Identify the problem: Melanie identified a major pain point for school teachers and students in designing yearbooks. She also spotted the opportunity to disrupt the desktop design software market dominated by Microsoft and Adobe.

2. Start small and bootstrap: Melanie and Cliff started by solving a smaller, more manageable problem - designing school yearbooks. They bootstrapped the company using loans from friends and family and a small bank loan. This allowed them to get started and gain experience.

3. Leverage your network: Melanie and Cliff relied heavily on support from their friends and family. Melanie’s mom even let them use her living room as an office. This social capital was crucial in the early days.

4. Get lucky: Melanie met an investor, Bill Tai, through a chance encounter at an awards ceremony. This lucky break opened the door to Silicon Valley and venture capital funding.

5. Do your homework: Although lucky to get the meeting with Bill Tai, Melanie researched Silicon Valley and startups to prepare. She was then able to pitch him her bigger vision for Canva.

6. Persistence pays off: Despite an initial disappointing meeting with Bill Tai, Melanie persisted and he eventually invested and made key introductions. Melanie’s persistence and vision ultimately won him over.

7. Bring on key talent: Bill Tai insisted that Melanie and Cliff bring on a strong technical co-founder before he invested. They were able to do this, securing a key role and skill set for the startup.

8. Think big: Although starting small, Melanie always had the vision to disrupt the design software industry. She was able to convey this vision to Bill Tai to gain his support and investment. Think big, act small.

In summary, Melanie stacked multiple unfair advantages to build Canva into a hugely successful startup. These included leveraging her network, getting lucky, being persistent, bringing on key talent, starting small but thinking big, and doing her homework. By combining these, she was able to overcome her initial lack of status and experience. A very inspiring story!

• Melanie lacked technical knowledge and connections but was determined to find a technical co-founder for her startup idea.

• She hustled for 3 months in San Francisco, attending conferences, networking, and cold calling to find a co-founder.

• Though an introvert, Melanie pushed herself out of her comfort zone through her determination and grit to achieve her goals.

• She faced constant rejection from potential co-founders and investors but persevered for over a year before finding a co-founder and raising funding.

• Investors wanted “patterns of success” like prestigious schools and work experience that Melanie lacked, making fundraising difficult.

• Melanie’s key unfair advantages were her intelligence, insight into the design software problem, determination, and vision.

• After launching, Canva grew quickly into a billion-dollar company despite the challenges.

• Melanie’s story shows how hard work and the right mindset can overcome a lack of unfair advantages. Success came from her vision, traits, and perseverance.

Summarize: very single one.

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Acknowledgements

There are many people we are grateful to, especially our families. We would like to thank those who directly helped with this book, including Todd Brison, Imran Dean, Louisa Dunnigan, Kizzy Thomson, Byron Cole and Bianca Miller-Cole. Thank you to our friends, and all those listed below, for helping our entrepreneurial and publishing efforts.