Zero Gravity: Riding Venture Capital from High-Tech Start-Up to Breakout IPO

Summary

The Internet is a wild ride. High-flying Internet companies seem to operate on their own set of rules—outside the natural laws of gravity that apply to most businesses. It's an environment in which perception is more important than profits, and "mind share" is greater than market share. This is Zero Gravity, and it's what all Internet start-ups aspire to.

But how do garage entrepreneurs and Internet junkies make the transition from that first caffeine-induced idea to blockbuster IPO and instant millionaire status? The answer is venture capital, which has funded nearly every successful start-up.

This book by noted Internet-stock analyst Steve Harmon provides an insider's edge and a savvy look inside the topsy-turvy culture of venture capital and Silicon Valley start-ups. It delivers valuable guidelines from top venture capitalists, such as John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins, Ann Winblad of Hummer Winblad, and Esther Dyson of EDVenture Holdings—the leaders who make the rules in cyberspace.

Zero Gravity also contains advice and lively anecdotes on business growth and Internet company etiquette from luminaries such as Jerry Yang of Yahoo! and Jeffrey Bezos of Amazon.com. It provides the contacts you need in tandem with the know-how it takes to operate successfully in the frenetic, high-stakes world of Internet business. This is the little black book for anyone interested in what's really going on in this news-making industry.