Emily Kitazawa, Author at Shortform Books

Grow Your Customer Base: 3 Network Effect Strategies

Why is it important to grow your customer base? What are some ways to attract new customers? In The Cold Start Problem, author Andrew Chen explains how to establish and grow a business from scratch based on the network effect business model. According to him, if you want to grow your customer base, it’s important to understand how the network effect works in business growth. Read on to learn three strategies to grow your customer base, according to Chen.

Pushing Yourself Too Hard? Steven Kotler on Flow & Burnout

Are you pushing yourself too hard? How can pursuing a flow state lead to burnout? While Steven Kotler encourages setting ambitious goals, he also warns against pushing yourself too hard. Mastering a flow state allows people to achieve superhuman feats—climbers scaling harder routes or runners running faster races—but this can also lead to burnout and unmet expectations. Read on to learn about the risks of pushing yourself too hard when pursuing flow, according to Kotler.

How to Expand Your Business With the Network Effect

Want to know how to expand your business for rapid growth? How can you achieve “Growth Explosion?” According to venture capitalist Andrew Chen, Growth Explosion is what happens when you build enough subnetworks to become a legitimate competitor to the current industry leader. Chen offers three methods to expand your business rapidly in his book The Cold Start Problem. Read on to learn how to expand your business rapidly, according to Chen’s three methods.

Are Typical Western Diets & Lifestyles Making People Sick?

How are typical Western diets and lifestyles influencing people’s health? What is microbial diversity and what happens when it’s compromised? Science journalist Ed Yong writes about the health implications of living a Western lifestyle in his book I Contain Multitudes, which debunks common myths about microbes and how they impact our lives. Yong argues that a typical Western diet is just one factor that leads to decreased microbial diversity. Read on to learn about the health risks of following a typical Western diet and lifestyle, according to Yong.

How to Manage Rapid Business Growth: 3 Common Issues

Want to know how to manage rapid business growth? What are the most common issues of rapid-growth companies? According to Andrew Chen’s book The Cold Start Problem, once you’ve achieved rapid growth, you also inherit a unique set of problems. In the book, he explains how to manage rapid business growth by explaining methods for navigating the three most common issues you’ll encounter. Read on to learn how to manage rapid business growth, according to Chen.

The Market Leader Company Explained: How to Stay Ahead

What is a market leader company? How do you achieve and maintain market dominance? According to Andrew Chen’s The Cold Start Problem, a market leader company is one that has pushed through all the negative effects of growth, is earning massive profits, and is using the network effect to ward off competitors. Chen’s book provides examples of market leaders and how they achieve success. Read on to learn all about market leader companies, according to Chen.

I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong: Book Overview

What is I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong about? Aside from common microorganisms, how do the trillions of other microbes affect us and the environment? I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong is about the mysterious and fascinating world of microbes. In the book, Yong claims that although we often think of ourselves as individuals, we’re essentially walking ecosystems containing countless species of microbes living in symbiotic partnership with us. Read on for a brief overview of I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us by Ed Yong.

How to Praise Your Child With Empowering Words

Wondering how to praise your child using words? What do experts recommend when it comes to delivering effective praise to children? Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish believe the key to success is teaching kids a communication style that helps them be empathetic and responsible throughout their lives. In their bestselling book How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, they explain how to praise your child using descriptive, empowering words. Read on to learn how to praise your child with words, according to Faber and Mazlish’s advice.

What Is the Network Effect in Business & How Do You Use It?

How to Build the Next Trillion Dollar Business

What is the network effect in business? Why does it create rapid growth? How do you build a network-based business? In The Cold Start Problem, Andrew Chen explains how to leverage the network effect in business to build a rapid-growth startup. He claims the network effect gives entrepreneurs the power to build billion-dollar companies from the ground up. Read on to learn about the network effect in business and how to use it for growth, according to Chen.

What Do Microbes Do? Their History & Functions Explained

What do microbes do? Why are they important? What is their evolutionary role? When most people think of microbes, the first things that come to mind are disease-causing germs or healthy probiotic yogurts. In I Contain Multitudes, Ed Yong explains what microbes do and how most of us are largely unaware of the trillions of microbes on every surface and throughout our bodies. Read on to learn how Ed Yong defines what microbes do, why they’re important, and their significance to evolution.