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The Monk and the Riddle

In: Business and Management

Submitted By catatp25
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Catalina Torres Perez Section A1 The Monk and The Riddle

1. What was surprising or different about this book relative to what you know about entrepreneurship? When we think about entrepreneurship books, the first thing that usually comes to our mind is a technical book with instructions on what to do and not do in order to become a successful entrepreneur. What I found fascinating about this book is that the author, instead of giving a list of “must do´s”, is able to connect with the reader trough story-telling and personal experiences, and arise key questions that every entrepreneur must answer before and during a business development in order to be successful. In other words, The monk and The Riddle is no about “how” but about “why” and the importance of passion and vision when it comes to be an entrepreneur. Even if the book does give some specifics techniques that any entrepreneur can use to increase its chances of success, the central themes of the book are existential and philosophical. 2. What did the book teach you about different approaches at entrepreneurship and at being an entrepreneur? One important message of the book is the explanation of VCs´ perspective towards business opportunities and entrepreneurship. VCs are driven for risky ideas that have the potential to become leaders, but most importantly, they invest in the team and in the team´s passion. The team needs to have a combination of soft and hard skills, in order to be able to successfully develop and execute the business plan. Furthermore, entrepreneurs need to focus their business plan on solving the market needs and not just a cash-generating approach. However, the most important message that I learned from the book is the need to think differently from a business man in big company, in a company they “work a plan”, when starting a business you cannot stick to a plan, you have to pivot,

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