The non-technical guide to building a booming tech-enabled
business

Thinking of starting a technology-enabled business? Or maybe you
just want to increase your technology mojo so you can do your job
better? You do not need to learn programming to participate in the
development of today's hottest technologies. But there are a
few easy-to-grasp foundation concepts that will help you engage
with a technical team. Starting a Tech Business explains in
practical, actionable terms how to

* formulate and reality test new ideas

* package what you learn into frameworks that are highly
actionable for engineers

* understand key foundation concepts about modern software and
systems

* participate in an agile/lean development team as the
'voice of the customer'

Even if you have a desire to learn to program (and I highly
recommend doing whatever unlocks your 'inner
tinkerer'), these foundation concepts will help you target
what exactly you want to understand about hands-on technology
development. While a decade ago the barriers to creating a
technology-enabled business required a pole vault, getting started
today only requires a determined step in the right direction.
Starting a Tech Business supplies the tools prospective
entrepreneurs and business enterprises need to avoid common
pitfalls and succeed in the fast-paced world of high-tech business.
Successful execution requires thoughtful, evidence-based product
formulation, well-articulated design, economic use of systems,
adaptive management of technical resources, and empathetic
deployment to customers. Starting a Tech Business offers
practical checklists and frameworks that business owners,
entrepreneurs, and professionals can apply to any tech-based
business idea, whether you're developing software and
products or beginning a technology-enabled business. You'll
learn:

1. How to apply today's leading management frameworks
to a tech business

2. How to package your product idea in a way that's
highly actionable for your technical team

3. How to ask the right questions about technology
selection and product architecture

4. Strategies to leverage what your technology ecosystem
has to offer

5. How to carefully define the roles on your team, and then
effectively evaluate candidates

6. The most common disconnects between engineers and business
people and how to avoid them

7. How you can apply process design to your tech business
without stifling creativity

8. The steps to avoid the most common pitfalls tech
founders encounter

Now is one of the best times to start a technology-enabled
business, and anyone can do it with the right amount and kind of
preparation. Starting a Tech Business shows you how to move
a product idea to market quickly and inexpensively--and to tap
into the stream of wealth that a tech business can provide.

ALEX COWAN is the founder and CTO of Leonid Systems, a software company providing solutions to the world's largest communications providers. He has worked with companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100s, improving their competitive advantage in a fast-changing high-tech landscape. He lives in Aptos, California, and can be reached at www.alexandercowan.com.

PRAISE FOR STARTING A TECH BUSINESS

"Alex's book deploys decades of the best ideas towards a practical, immediately usable recipe for building technology-based businesses. I particularly liked Alex's list of challenges entrepreneurs face across the life of the venture, with playful names like The Lawn Gnome of Indolence, The Hydra of Operational Readiness, and The Whale of Scale, to name a few. I also liked the case study that Alex used throughout the book showing exactly how to use the tools in each chapter. This is a big book. But don't be daunted. It dives into the detail that is missing in most other entrepreneurship books to show you how to do it." —TOM KOSNIK, Professor, Stanford University

"Some books on high tech flirt with the details, but this one goes all the way. Alex shows how attention to a highly manageable set of specifics dramatically increases the effectiveness of a tech venture."—JAN LINDNER, former CTO, Sierra Online Games (a division of Vivendi)

"Readers of this book will steer clear of many, many bumps on the road to success." —SCOTT HOFFPAUIR, CTO, BroadSoft

"Starting a Tech Business is both a primer for first-time entrepreneurs and the book experienced execs should keep handy too." —MARK VOGL, Executive Director, Bay Area Video Coalition

Starting a technology-enabled business is cheaper and easier than ever before. Starting a Tech Business supplies the tools prospective entrepreneurs and managers need to avoid common pitfalls and succeed in the fast-paced world of high-tech business. Get practical checklists and frameworks that business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals can apply to any web-based business idea. You'll learn how to move a product idea to market quickly and inexpensively—and to tap into the stream of wealth that a tech business can provide.

The non-technical guide to building a booming tech-enabled business

Thinking of starting a technology-enabled business? Or maybe you just want to increase your technology mojo so you can do your job better? You do not need to learn programming to participate in the development of today's hottest technologies. But there are a few easy-to-grasp foundation concepts that will help you engage with a technical team. Starting a Tech Business explains in practical, actionable terms how to

• formulate and reality test new ideas
• package what you learn into frameworks that are highly actionable for engineers
• understand key foundation concepts about modern software and systems
• participate in an agile/lean development team as the 'voice of the customer'

Even if you have a desire to learn to program (and I highly recommend doing whatever unlocks your 'inner tinkerer'), these foundation concepts will help you target what exactly you want to understand about hands-on technology development. While a decade ago the barriers to creating a technology-enabled business required a pole vault, getting started today only requires a determined step in the right direction. Starting a Tech Business supplies the tools prospective entrepreneurs and business enterprises need to avoid common pitfalls and succeed in the fast-paced world of high-tech business. Successful execution requires thoughtful, evidence-based product formulation, well-articulated design, economic use of systems, adaptive management of technical resources, and empathetic deployment to customers. Starting a Tech Business offers practical checklists and frameworks that business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals can apply to any tech-based business idea, whether you're developing software and products or beginning a technology-enabled business. You'll learn:

1. How to apply today's leading management frameworks to a tech business

2. How to package your product idea in a way that's highly actionable for your technical team

3. How to ask the right questions about technology selection and product architecture

4. Strategies to leverage what your technology ecosystem has to offer

5. How to carefully define the roles on your team, and then effectively evaluate candidates

6. The most common disconnects between engineers and business people and how to avoid them

7. How you can apply process design to your tech business without stifling creativity

8. The steps to avoid th…