“As a venture capitalist, board member, and startup advisor, Amiel Kornel has seen plenty of startups win big — or die trying. Spinning Into Control shares with you everything he has learned about how an entrepreneur can combat the chaos that’s characteristic of nearly every startup, and put his or her company on the right path.”
“Amiel provides a compelling contrast to mainstream guides for entrepreneurs. He charts a course for, primarily, the founder as product visionary. He acknowledges that, for many startups, the path to success is winding, and often recursive. But it’s also a voyage of discovery and improvisation with, one always hopes, a fruitful ending. The book deeply resonated with my own experience as venture investor and serial entrepreneur. Recommended reading alongside more conventional treatises.”
“Amiel Kornel has been playing every role in the startup world for thirty years. Here he shares what he’s learned—that while principles—‘lean’, ‘minimum viable product’, etc.—can be useful, the successful entrepreneur is a resilient artisan, never in equilibrium, always learning, even (or especially) from failure. The book teaches the skills, and the mindset, of benefitting from the many sources of feedback available to the startup. Not only does the advice ring true (the book contains plenty of examples) but it will be especially useful to new entrepreneurs who fear that not getting it right the first time is doing it wrong.”
“Anyone involved in realizing startup projects — from independent, bootstrapping entrepreneurs to managers of corporate venture accelerators — will discover actionable insights that help them hone their craft. While much has already been written on entrepreneurship, Spinning Into Control breaks new ground by calling on founders to blend art with science. With empathy for the hard work of venture incubation, it spotlights the one skill most required, but often least developed, in the venturer’s toolkit, namely improvisation.”
“What a fresh and natural look at what it takes to be successful as an entrepreneur. This book will help educators like myself teach ‘real-world’ entrepreneurship — as a craft that mixes both art and science. It also will enable a better understanding between all parties in the startup ecosystem. Kornel’s book informs founders, funders, advisors and corporate partners about the essentials of successful venture craftsmanship.”
“Spinning Into Control is really different from most traditional books on management and leadership and captures well the challenges of company building from the ground up.”
“Amiel’s observations are super timely and amazingly topical. In my career as both early-stage and growth-stage investor, I’ve seen the conversation in venture capital shift towards scientific approaches relying on metrics and data-crunching, and/or the “competitive advantage” of declaring victories via mega-fundraising events. Investors and entrepreneurs have forgotten the art of nurturing world-class teams and building truly enduring businesses. Venture investing requires both the art and the science. Amiel encourages entrepreneurs — as well as their investors and advisors — to return to a more holistic approach.”
“Amiel has written a super interesting book around the thesis that successful entrepreneurs are more akin to improvisational artists than stalwart captains of industry. His book is filled with these anecdotes.”