Group presentation recap #1 - "Burn Rate"

This morning the first group did a fantastic job of reviewing the book "Burn Rate - How I survived the Gold Rush years on the Internet" by author Michael Wolff. After hearing this team's book review it sounds like the title should be changed to "Burn Rate - How I didn't survive the the Gold Rush years of the Internet."

Mr. Wolff's six month saga begins sometime mid 1996 and concludes by the end of the year. He tells his start-up company's, Wolff New Media, roller coaster story from a first person perspective. As CEO, it was Wolff's duty to raise funds to support his company that was "burning" through it's initial funding. The story sounds more like a soap opera than the story of a successful entrepreneur. Successful entrepreneurship is based on trust and solutions, unlike Wolff's fast talking, smoke and mirrors tactics.

The two things I appreciated most about this group's report were the broad timeline they presented concerning the development of the Internet (from 1992 to today) and their all-encompassing explanation concerning the details of this story. Additionally, the PowerPoint presentation was organized, easy to follow, and well paced.

While I cannot say that I will be picking this book up anytime soon, I can say it was entertaining to hear the story of such a schiesty individual, only because he ultimately failed. How he, or the publisher of this book, sleeps at night I will never know. I refuse to support authors and publishers who glamorize this kind of behavior. The story of Wolff writing himself a check, on the way out the door, is unbelievable. His life story is a sleazy one; shameless motives all in the search for a quick buck.