This is a guide that blends the stability of established brands with the agility of startups. Structured into Perspective, Strategy, and Operations, it offers actionable insights on leadership, customer-centricity, and scalable processes. Lauren uses personal anecdotes and case studies to illustrate how to balance clarity, identity, and stability with curiosity, constraints, and agility. While occasionally broad, the book provides practical tools like KPIs and OKRs, making it essential for entrepreneurs and innovators aiming for sustainable growth in a dynamic market.

I have to preface this by saying I’m probably not the target audience for this book, so that was my mistake. I do have a partner who has been working at a startup though for a couple of years now, and this topic fascinated me because of that. Also, I wanted to understand more of the knowledge that comes from someone with the experience and skillset the author has.

There’s a trap a lot of these types of non-fiction books fall into, and that is the repetition of advice throughout the book, that honestly at most times feels like common sense. To be clear, this is not always a bad thing - sometimes we need to be reminded of what should be obvious. But the constant mentions of the same thing, with only slight rewordings, tend to make it tedious to read.

(I also did not particularly like the hypothetical situations with the “Big Brand” and “Struggling Startup” sections. It felt like a skit you act out in class to show you really understand the topic.)

Unfortunately, I didn’t end up finishing the book. I don’t know if it’s fair to rate it 2 stars, as I’m not the primary target audience, but it just wasn’t capturing my attention. I read a lot of different genres, so I wouldn’t say I’m selective. But this just wasn’t for me, which is not completely the book’s fault (made a bit difficult with the pdf sent not having the proper formatting like I assume the ebook would have, which meant the visualisations got chopped up and intersected with the text strangely).