Guy discusses about 20 activities or processes in the life of a startup and he calls each one of them an “Art”. There are 11 core Arts, such as The Art of Positioning, The Art of Bootstrapping, and The Art of Raising Capital. The reader also gets bonus minichapters with additional Arts, including The Art of Internal Entrepreneuring (innovation within big companies), Powerpointing, Schmoozing, and even Designing T-Shirts.

Guy offers a detailed discussion of these various “Arts”, their do’s and don’ts, and interesting stories illustrating them. He not only draws information from his vast business and startup experience, but he also supports his points of view with quotes from leading industry experts and book authors.

The organization of the book itself and its cover are works of “Art”. Each chapter starts with a quote, followed by a GIST section (great ideas for starting things), the core content for the chapter with generally one or more pauses for a reader’s exercises, a FAQ segment (frequently avoided questions) and Recommended Reading. The 11 chapters of the book are organized into 5 big themes. All in all, it has a brilliant architecture, structure and flow with metaphors, humor and a light style that make for easy reading of an otherwise serious and dry subject.

Here’s one humorous sample from the book:“Bill Reichert, a managing director of Garage, likes to tell entrepreneurs that the odds of raising venture capital are equal to the odds of getting struck by lightning while standing on the bottom of a swimming pool on a sunny day. He’s exaggerating. The odds aren’t that good.”

Throughout the book, the reader learns basic concepts, but also behavioral subtleties that can significantly impact success or failure in building a new business. If you’ve heard Guy speak or read this book, you’ll probably concur that he is controversial. So while you may not agree with every one of his recommendations, his style will get your entrepreneurial juices flowing, and trigger a reality check on what you’ve been doing as a serial entrepreneur, or what you’re about to do as a novice entrepreneur.

There are dozens of interesting concepts and techniques described in the book, some totally new to me, such as Mantra. I must admit that one of my favorite chapters was the last one about the Art of Being a Mensch. I’m sure glad I followed the advice of Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay and co-founder of Omidyar Network, who is quoted on the cover of the book as saying: “And, please, read the last chapter first”. A Mensch is an individual who is generous, decent and ethical regardless of the WIFM (What’s in It For Me) factor. In essence, it’s someone who does good with no expectations of any ROI. This chapter is a lesson in decency which should be evangelized across generations and various backgrounds. Perhaps Guy should summarize this concept in 1 or 2 universal sentences which can be displayed in children’s rooms, on computer screen savers, and around those areas that inspire extensive soul searching (such as the loo, for instance.)

The Art of the Start is a great reference for anyone starting a new venture. I think it should be required reading in entrepreneurial programs of business schools. With this, I leave you with one wish: that Guy enlighten us again with Part II of The Art of the Start in a not too distant future.