SMART PEOPLE SHOULD BUILD THINGS

A small-business guidebook promoting entrepreneurialism over a corporate career.

Yang, the founder of Venture for America, a program steering new college graduates toward startup businesses, believes in the power of innovation and venture development. In his first book, which could be perceived as a thinly veiled promotional vehicle for his nonprofit organization, the author clearly advances the idea of new business-building rather than universities’ robotically funneling top grads toward traditional high-profile arenas like financial institutions, law firms or management consultancies. “I meet seniors in college all the time,” writes Yang, “and they have a very vague idea of what roles are available to them beyond the obvious ones and little sense of how the economy functions.” On the other hand, he writes, there are unlimited possibilities in startup businesses once candidates gain training and on-site experience. Yang generously shares his own personal journey: being raised “conscious of money,” spending uninspiring years in law school, then creating a succession of influential companies that made him a millionaire at age 34. His success story of finding fulfillment in the nonprofit sector after overcoming the harsh realities of student loan debt and fleeting job satisfaction forms the foundation of the book’s principles of entrepreneurial team building, dedication and earnest product development. Yang firmly believes initiatives like Venture for America stimulate new graduates to build startup businesses rather than becoming individual contributors in what is often a creativity-stifling corporate world environment. This enterprising outlook expands employment options and opportunities in nontraditional job sectors, as well. The author’s use of business statistics and bullet-pointed lists of his own lessons learned are enlightening and frequently surprising and moves much of his pro-entrepreneurship slant from conventional wisdom into fact-based guidance for the “young, hungry talent” he hopes will help rebuild the American economy.

A galvanizing amalgam of personal history, acquired business wisdom and mentorship.