The Intelligent Entrepreneur

By: Bill Murphy Jr.

Narrated by: Fred Berman, L. J. Ganser

Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Written with the cooperation of Harvard Business School, here is an instructive and inspiring book for anyone who dreams of starting a highly profitable business.

In 1998, three Harvard Business School graduates - two men and one woman - turned down six-figure salaries at big corporations, bet on themselves, and launched their own new companies. By their 10-year reunion, their audacity had paid huge dividends. They'd made many millions of dollars, created hundreds of jobs, and left their mark on the world.

The three entrepreneurs: Marc Cenedella (TheLadders.com), Marla Malcom Beck (Bluemercury.com), and Chris Michel (Military.com, Affinity Labs).

Based on dozens of interviews with highly successful entrepreneurs, Harvard Business School professors, and HBS alumni, The Intelligent Entrepreneur tells the compelling and instructive story of how these three young founders developed ideas, assembled teams, built ventures, and achieved their dreams. Along the way, they learned that starting great companies requires much more than a ferocious work ethic or good timing. Their hard-won insights distilled into 10 key rules that will help anyone become a successful entrepreneur. What they teach you at Harvard Business School is that intelligent entrepreneurship can be learned. In that spirit, Bill Murphy Jr. uses a unique combination of vivid storytelling and lucid instruction to tell would-be entrepreneurs how to improve their odds of creating dynamic, lasting businesses.

This audiobook includes an exclusive roundtable discussion with Marc Cenedella, Marla Malcom Beck, and Chris Michel.

©2010 Bill Murphy (P)2010 Audible, Inc

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner - Best Business/Educational Audiobook, 2011

"This is an excellent, thought-provoking overview of entrepreneurship... that uses actual cases to describe the challenges of starting a business and realizing success." ( Booklist)

"Narrators Fred Berman and L.J. Ganser split the narration, chapter by chapter, with one delivering the true-life accounts of three entrepreneurs who attended HBS while the other delivers the theoretical lessons to be learned from attending HBS." ( AudioFile)

A case study in life and business for us novices.

Wonderfully shares the background, struggles, growth and success of 3 very different real life entrepreneurs. I especially enjoyed the back story pre-Harvard, the obvious benefits of attending (as well as the obvious minor flaws of the institution) as well as the different path the 3 took after school. There was a good balance between the highs of success and the lows of the climb upward. The book achieves it's goal of convincing you that entrepreneurship can be learned. PS I listen at 2 or 3X so the 'performance' was fine for me but I cannot judge what normal speed sounded like. A case study in life and business for us novices.

What Entrepreneurs Needs to Hear!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Intelligent Entrepreneur to be better than the print version?

I loved the voices on this audio product. I bought the book to read it also after hearing about 3/4 of it! Excellent authority on the narration!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved all the people in the book.

Which scene was your favorite?

Learning about each start up was amazing and gave us an insight into the lives of these entrepreneurs.

Any additional comments?

I really like how the author took us on a journey. At first I was like

Inspiring stories and great format

This book acts as an introduction to the case study method by letting you follow the journeys of 3 entrepreneurs from HBS. Well researched and we'll thought out. Great listen that will get you inspired.

Expand Your Thinking

For a non-Harvard Business School type, it helped me see a much bigger picture. Worth the read for those who want to build a business.

Must Read for Young Entrepreneurs:

This very detailed and approachable study of three Harvard School of Business alumni is a must read for anyone interested in what distinguishes those truly successful in entrepreneural startups from the majority for whom success is more alluring. It takes much more than just getting an education at Harvard, but rather a character and mind set that may not necessarily be intuitive. This book will provide concrete and tangible milestones from which to compare your own startup or enterprise difficulties.

This book is approachable and entertaining. The profiles are of real people with varied backgrounds. The diversity of the personalities and cisrcumstances in this study is what makes this book so important.

A must read

If you are fascinated by what makes entrepreneurs get to where they are this book is for you.
It was not dry with alot of facts and theories, a stories that take you along for the ride of what it takes to be successful. Well researched and interesting subjects. I just loved it.

Good, although with some criticism

The author gives several interesting examples of successful entrepreneurs and their stories. It is somewhat unbelievable, however, what is claimed they achieved. I think they may have had some limited success in their first five years, although not the radical achievement of "selling a cosmetics business for $100 Million." I suspect these people may actually be HBS professors or affiliated with the faculty in some way.

Awesome story

What did you love best about The Intelligent Entrepreneur?

The book highlights real practical issues that entrepreneurs face.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The stories for all three characters was enjoyable.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Real insight to real practical problems.

Relevant book

I was able to relate to many parts of the book. I recommend strongly to any entrepreneur on first, second , or many ventures or start ups.

Thank you

Great Listen! Super stories. Recommended.

This audio book was a great listen. The author detailed the lives of a handful of entrepreneurs, who made it big, after attending the prestigious Harvard Business School. Learning about the trials and tribulations is helpful and should be used as a resource for any individual considering starting their own business.