Founder Vs Investor - by Elizabeth Joy Zalman & Jerry Neumann (Hardcover)

I've been in the startup world for over 25 years, I've worked with plenty of founders and VCs, and I've founded a few of my own companies. I learned a TON reading this. I've already read it twice. Where most venture capital books take either the founder's side or the investor's side, this one cleverly and honestly takes both. It's mostly broken up into "Founder View" and "Investor View" blocks, where the founder (Zalman) will say what she thinks about a topic, and then the investor (Neumann) will provide a counterpoint. Back and forth they go, giving the reader a masterclass on the psychology of founders and investors — why they do what they do, and why they're often nowhere near the same page. What's really surprising about the book is that they're both saying the quiet part out loud. This is the sort of insight you'd get if your two best friends were a serial founder and a veteran VC, but otherwise you'd never get to peek behind the curtain like this. Founders just don't admit that raising money with nothing more than an idea and a deck is "actually pure insanity." VCs don't admit that having a solid business idea with a great team and a clear path to success is a great way to NOT get funded (apparently it's too easy to copy). But this book burns the curtain down entirely, putting all the secrets in your hand, in the hopes that it'll save you from making the same mistakes that other founders and funders have been making for generations. On top of all that, the writing is also excellent. It's straight up fun, and that's not something I'd expect from this kind of subject matter. They're bold, and don't bother trying to be politically correct (or family friendly), possibly to their personal detriment; the VC industry has got to be going a little crazy knowing this is out there, right? I wish these two had a podcast. Ultimately, the dual-perspective format is *amazing*. They don't dumb anything down, or pretend to speak as a unit. Yes, they agree sometimes, but more often than not they don't. And that's okay — the whole point is learning why founders and investors do what they do, not to broker a fictitious peace treaty between them. I'm surprised more books aren't written like this. How many other relationships could benefit from this kind of honesty? Anyway, it's hard not to imagine this becoming one of those legendary texts you find on every successful person's shelf. Every founder, leader, or wannabe founder would be insane not to read it. And I think every VC could learn a thing or two about how to make the most of their investments. Really, anyone working in the startup or business world could pick this up, and, in a few hours, completely level up their business savvy. It's just that kind of book.