From Innovation
& Technology Today, "A certain candidate for
continuous referencing and dog-earing to those who buy it.”
From Fortune Magazine, The Customer-Funded Business is named as one "Five not-to-be-missed books."
From Financial Times, “The book will appeal to entrepreneurs and angel investors, who will gain inspiration and insights. Mullins is a good corporate storyteller, which is what makes this book an engaging read.”
From
Entrepreneur Middle East, “The ideas are fresh,
insightful, and very tech-relevant. No matter what sort of
business you’re actually contemplating starting, this is a
book you want to read.”
From
Talk Business, "A truly different, but
comprehensive way of looking at the issue of funding, this
book will set the idea juices flowing.”"
From
Elite Business: “Inspiration aplenty for
entrepreneurs looking to do things their own way. With
analysis, comment and advice, it offers plenty to take off the
page and apply to their own endeavours.”
Named by Fortune as one of "Five not-to-be-missed books
of 2014."
- Verne
Harnish, Fortune Magazine
"...a great book
that any aspiring entrepreneur should read. What it says is such
good common sense that it’s amazing it took so long to be
written.”
- Rowan Gormley, entrepreneur and founder of Naked
Wines
“The
customer is not just king, he can be your VC too! John
Mullins’ brilliance has inspired my own success for many
years and his ideas can drive yours as well.”
– Bernard Auyang, entrepreneur and investor,
International Chairman 2014-15, Young Presidents’
Organization
“Mullins has connected the dots. His
clarity of insight blazes through in the five crisp models
of the customer-funded business. He sharpens our
understanding of how to use the power of market
innovations and customer traction to fund emerging
businesses. A great set of tools for the new and
experienced entrepreneur.”
– Jerry Engel, General Partner, Monitor Venture
Partners, Adjunct Professor Emeritus, Haas School of
Business, University of California Berkeley
“John Mullins’ sage advice for
entrepreneurs and the investors who back them is just as
important for established companies that are trying to
unlock innovation and growth. Customer funding is a
powerful approach that too many businesses have simply
forgotten, or never understood. If you don’t read this
book, you’ll lose out to competitors who do.”
– Mike Harris, Founding CEO of First Direct and
Egg Banking, author, Find Your Lightbulb
“John
Mullins has a critical lesson for entrepreneurs: Not all
money is created equal. When you fund your business with
customers’ cash, rather than investors’, it makes you more
focused, less dependent, and more likely to succeed. (Not to
mention it saves you from a lot of begging.) It’s a message
every entrepreneur – and every new product team – needs to
hear.”
– Dan Heath, co-author of the New York Times
bestsellers Made to Stick, Switch, and Decisive
“This
is THE cornerstone idea for entrepreneurs
– to shun all other avenues first and pursue customers to
fund their venture. This provides a critical forcing
function business leaders need, in order to guarantee they
are creating something truly valuable. After learning this
lesson the hard way (raising angel funds and failing), my
two latest ventures have followed Mullins’ sage advice and
flourished.”
– Verne Harnish, CEO Gazelles, Author of Scaling
Up and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits
“The
Customer-Funded Business should be mandatory reading
for every entrepreneur before even thinking about seeking
angel or venture capital funding. It’s also the perfect
‘what to look for’ guide for the professional angel
investor. I will be giving a copy to every startup that
pitches me!”
– David Rose, Founder of New York Angels, CEO of
Gust, and author of Angel Investing
“As a venture capitalist, nothing is more valuable to me
than getting first-hand market feedback from customers about
their experience with a new “killer” product. The
Customer-Funded Business expertly argues that the best
and usually shortest path to developing that killer product
is by getting customers to pay for it. By following the
precepts of John’s book, and financing a business primarily
from customers willing to be early adopters, entrepreneurs
will have a much clearer and more persuasive blueprint about
how to build the business, and therefore have a far easier
time raising venture capital (and incur less dilution,
too).”
– Bruce Golden, General Partner, Accel Partners,
Forbes Midas List of Top 100 Venture Investors
“I get sent, and buy, a large number of business books every
year. The Customer-Funded Business is simply
one of the best, most informed books I have read in a long
time. Fascinating case histories of customer-funded
companies all over the globe. A must read if you are
considering starting your own business, or funding a new
initiative.”
– David Giampaolo, Chief Executive, Pi Capital,
London
"A book I’d like to give to each of the founders we’ve
backed. In this fascinating survey of successful – and not
so successful – customer-funded businesses, John Mullins
distills the lessons learned into simple rules. A valuable
and entertaining read for anyone seeking to build a capital
efficient business."
– Michael Elias, Founder and Managing Director,
Kennet Partners
“Worth the price of the book for Chapter 8 alone. Most
startups will never have a chance to secure an
institutional investment. Some may never need one.
John Mullins shows entrepreneurs another path employing
proven Customer-Funded Business alternatives. Even if you
plan on eventually scaling with venture capital, customer
funding can be a smart path to experiment and prove your
business in advance.”
– Randy Komisar, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield
and Byers, Lecturer, Stanford University, author, The
Monk and the Riddle
“A timely reminder not to see your customers only as a
source of credibility when you are starting out but as a
valuable source of funding – particularly in the early
days. Packed with good anecdotes and inspirational tales
of entrepreneurial success (and failure), John Mullins
nails it again!”
– Richard Gourlay, Managing Director, Sussex Place
Ventures
“Hits the nail on the head. Customer funding isn’t just
another source of capital for starting or growing your
business. It is – by far – the most intriguing source
available. Mullins shows why, and he shows five ways to
obtain it, too.”
– Tom Byers, Professor and Director, Stanford
Technology Ventures Program, Stanford University,
co-author, Technology Ventures
“There are many books aimed at helping you develop the
perfect pitch to ensure you get investment. But
entrepreneurs start businesses, not investment vehicles.
This book is a grand journey through many ways that we can
build these businesses using other people's money or
shifting our business model. And importantly - keeping the
valuable equity to ourselves. Do not raise equity
investment until you have read this book and considered
every other option.”
– Dale Murray, Co-founder Omega Logic, British
Angel Investor of the Year 2011
“Happiness is a positive cash flow. I remind my
students that venture capitalists (and most angels) don’t
typically fund new businesses, they fund businesses that
are poised to grow rapidly. The five models that
John highlights can help entrepreneurs launch and validate
their businesses when other sources of capital are scarce
and expensive.”
– Andrew Zacharakis, The John H. Muller, Jr. Chair
in Entrepreneurship, Babson College
“Very accessible, thorough, and will no doubt be useful to
aspiring (or struggling) entrepreneurs. The models
are a great analytical tool which the case studies bring
to life.”
– Amar Bhidé, Schmidheiny Professor, The Fletcher
School, Tufts University, author, The Venturesome
Economy and A Call for Judgment
“With
The Customer-Funded Business, John once again
provides us with a fantastic book. If someone is looking
for inspiration on how to keep their cash requirements to
a minimum and de-risk their investment - this is the first
book they should pick up and read.
– James King, Founder and Chairman, Find Invest
Grow (FIG)
“Truly engaging. ‘Ring the cash register and sit on the
float – and avoid running out of money and going out of
business’. John Mullins convincingly guides entrepreneurs
to dump their PowerPoint slides and look to their paying
customers as their ‘first ports of call’. Early stage
investors might want to think in similar fashion!
– M.S. Rao, Professor, S P Jain Institute of
Management and Research
“Essential reading for any budding entrepreneur – a
revolutionary approach to funding a new venture. A fresh
perspective on funding and scaling ambitions.”
– Jim Hall, Executive Director, Entrepreneurship
Centre, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
“Professor Mullins breaks down the myth that the key to a
successful business is to raise venture capital first. His
prescriptions for finding the right customers and getting
them to fund your business are a great step-by-step guide
to raising venture capital – build the business first and
the investments will follow!”
– Bill Earner, Partner, Connect Ventures
“Practical and pithy, and a must read for an entrepreneur,
full of pragmatic insights relevant to any entrepreneur or
business executive.
– Sunita Singh, Co-founder and Senior Director,
National Entrepreneurship Network, India
“A truly fascinating book, long overdue. John Mullins has
brought out a completely new paradigm in financing
businesses. A lot of business failure will be avoided if
entrepreneurs really understand the message and practice
it.”
– Kavil Ramachandran, Thomas Schmidheiny Professor
of Family Business and Wealth Management, Indian
School of Business
“John Mullins has done it for the third time. After
The New
Business Road Test and Getting to Plan B,
he has produced yet another book for entrepreneurs,
investors and educators that is based on rigorous research
and at the same time engaging and practical. He shows how
entrepreneurs can postpone raising costly venture funding
by obtaining funding from customers in the early stages of
their businesses."
– Rama Velamuri, Professor of Entrepreneurship,
China Europe International Business School, Shanghai
“A timely and healthy antidote to the almost universal
focus on financing issues in starting new ventures.
Mullins argues very convincingly that for most non-tech
start-ups, seeking external financing not only is
extremely time consuming and only rarely works, but often
is counterproductive to developing sustainable businesses
serving real customers’ needs. Mullins builds on his
evidence-based approach to entrepreneurship successfully
demonstrated in his previous best-sellers The New Business
Road Test and Getting to Plan B and provides
would-be entrepreneurs with well-thought-through tool kits
and real-life case stories.”
– Søren P. Hovgaard, Head of Entrepreneurial
Development Unit, External Associate Professor, Department
of Economics, University of Copenhagen
“A paradigm-shift in the way we think about startup
funding. While "lean startup," "bootstrapping," and other
methodologies have had their day in the startup spotlight,
reading this book makes me realize that the next decade
belongs to customer-funded businesses. And this book shows
the way. Starting up, as well as angel investing, has more
madness than method. But the five customer-funded models,
as well as the "John's Business Angel Checklists" at the
end of each chapter, distill the process down to its
essentials.”
– Ajeet Khurana, Top-15 Angel Investor, India,
2013
“ The
Customer-Funded Business gets it. Great practical
advice for those seeking to crowd fund their ventures. I
recommend John’s book to those wanting a grounding in
customer-funded business that is also deeply
entrepreneurial in spirit. I can’t wait to put this book
into action!”
– Norris Krueger, Entrepreneurship Northwest,
Fellow, Max Planck Institute
“Spot on for the entrepreneur as well as the angel
investor….and even the business professor. Mullins’
wisdom, experience and knowledge of entrepreneurs come
through on every page. Particularly insightful to me
were the “John’s Business Angel Checklists” at the end of
Chapters 2 – 7. This book should be one that every
entrepreneur takes time to read so that they build their
business on solid and sustainable ground.”
– Keith Williams, Senior Vice President Member
Experience, Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO)
“John and I came to very similar insights from over a
decade of very different kinds of research into what
successful entrepreneurs have learned to do well.
This book captures beautifully what an expert entrepreneur
I studied told me, "Treat your first customers as your
partners – they are your earliest investors and your best
salespeople." The compelling stories in this book
invite you and inspire you to learn how to do that.”
– Saras Sarasvathy, Isidore Horween Research
Associate Professor, The Darden School, University of
Virginia
“Two of the most critical tasks that you as a startup
CEO/Founder have to do are hire the right people and keep
your company appropriately financed. While venture finance
can accelerate the growth of businesses where appropriate,
many times a company can benefit from other, more
independent forms of funding their growth, particularly in
the very early stages. Applying the concepts and tools in
this book will likely make your company that much more
attractive to an investor, for the investment capital they
give you will be used to accelerate growth, rather than
just provide financial subsistence.”
– Carlos Eduardo Espinal, Partner, Seedcamp
“A very timely book. Investors are thin on the ground and
entrepreneurs have to turn to alternative and even better
sources of investment. Entrepreneurs are asked to prove
the merits of their ventures and what better way than
through customers. John’s gift for writing makes this an
easy read and reminds us that “cash is king”.
– Dr Shai Vyakarnam, Director Centre for
Entrepreneurial Learning, University of Cambridge, Judge
Business School
“Whether you are starting up a business in a garage or
doing as I did, building one overseas on behalf of a large
North American firm, this book is a relevant and
compelling read. You are left in no doubt that Cash is
clearly still King! John gives you the tools as well as
his practical ‘business angel checklists’ coupled with
captivating anecdotes to challenge and ultimately help you
choose the right funding model for your business.”
– Peter Moores, CEO and Country Manager UK,
Raymond James
“Another great book that gets to the heart of building
companies. I wish more entrepreneurs understood the
significance and freedom that cash generation can bring to
young, fledging businesses. It puts an entrepreneur in the
driver’s seat. As a venture capitalist, I dream of
entrepreneurs that are able to independently validate
their product or service with the market, lay down early
traction and are constrained only by capital to take their
companies to the next level. John’s book provides a
comprehensive framework for thinking about how to generate
cash and become self-sufficient as an entrepreneur.
– Hussein Kanji, Founding Partner, Hoxton Ventures
“Throughout my 30 years in business, finding quality books
which get to the heart of key issues for both
entrepreneurs and investors has been a rarity. The
Customer-Funded Business does exactly this,
providing excellent, straightforward advice along with
real life examples. John has been there and done it in the
business world. His knowledge and experience are clear to
see.”
– James Caan, author, Start Your Business in
Seven Days and The Real Deal
“John provides a vital sanity check for inexperienced
founders. Time chasing investors is often better spent
creating (and realising) customer value".
– Dave Chapman, Vice-Dean for Enterprise,
University College London
“John Mullins' expertise is giving us forehead-slappingly
new insights into taken-for-granted ideas. In this age of
Kickstarter, we all think we know all about customer
funding, but in this book John shows us Kickstarter is
only one of five ways to get customers to fund our
businesses. With great stories and great style, John takes
what we all know and makes it fit together in new and
powerful ways.”
– Jerome Katz, Coleman Professor of
Entrepreneurship, Saint Louis University
