This textbook provides a comprehensive overview of technology ventures. It’s a shame that it was not available in late 2000. The text is a bit dense, but presents much needed coverage, from the formation of ideas to writing a business plan.

The book contains four sections, each of which consists of five chapters that lead to a set of outcomes. The first section includes chapters on “Capitalism and the Technology Entrepreneur,” “The Opportunity, the Entrepreneur and the Business Summary,” “Building a Competitive Advantage,” “Creating a Strategy,” and “Technology, Innovation, and Timing.” The expected outcome is an understanding of opportunity, concept, business model, and strategy. The second section includes chapters on “Risk, Return, and Product Design,” “Corporate Technology Ventures,” “Creating New Ventures and the Business Plan,” “Building Knowledge and Learning in a New Enterprise,” and “Name, Legal Formation and Intellectual Property.” The expected outcome is an understanding of a plan for a new technology venture. The third section includes chapters on “The Marketing and Sales Plan,” “The New Enterprise Organization,” “Acquiring, Organizing, and Managing Resources,” “Acquisitions, Mergers, and Global Business,” and the “Management of Operations.” The expected outcome is an understanding of a detailed functional plan for the new enterprise. The fourth section includes chapters on “The Profit and Harvest Plan,” “The Financial Plan,” “Sources of Capital,” “Presenting the Plan and Negotiating the Deal,” and “Leading the New Technology Venture to Success.” The expected outcome is an understanding of financing, and building an important enterprise. Overall, these objectives are met in each section. The book offers many useful and valuable illustrations that could be used in discussions and in class activities.

The book would be appropriate at Stanford University, since its curriculum embraces entrepreneurship, but if the book’s focus is “on science and engineering majors enrolled in entrepreneurship and innovation courses,” its adoption or distribution potential is limited. This textbook could help faculty think about the need to create such a course. It is well written and organized.

There are two things that could potentially be addressed in the next version of the book: first, the need for a comprehensive overview of the textbook in the introduction (for example, pre-incubation, incubation, and post-incubation) and, second, integrating section 4 throughout the book, rather than treating it as an afterthought. I recommend this textbook to anyone who is interested in technology ventures.