Start Up Fever: How Crowdfunding Will Rebuild the American Dream (Paperback)

The American dream is having a mid-life crisis! It doesn't matter if you are a high level executive or a high school dropout, in this day and age people are on the hunt for more meaningful work. People realize that time is short and want to do something special and unique with their working lives. A quest which has resulted in frustration for many; luckily, crowdfunding has swooped in to save the day. For those looking to make the most out of the crowdfunding wave, a better time has never been upon us. The author takes us on his journey from middle-class disenfranchisement to vocational enrichment, exploring the who, what, and why along the way. Startup Fever shows readers how crowdfunding allows you to create your own entrepreneurial destiny if you are willing to put in the time and effort. As is with anything long lasting, solid preparation is the key. This book serves to alleviate many people's concerns about starting a new business in this economic climate. Austin shows readers how emotional and spiritual healing can emanate from people who embrace a meaningful vocation. While many books address the D.I.Y portions of crowdfunding, Start Up Fever takes it a step further by connecting the dots between crowdfunding and cultural evolution. The book also shows readers low-budget start-up models that defy the odds and get you off the ground for little to no money down. Austin utilizes his extensive guerrilla startup knowledge to help you with all of the little money-saving tricks of the startup trade. Being a realist, the author points out that if modern businesses are going to survive the new wave of massively disruptive technologies and business models entering the marketplace, then they will need to be both economically nimble and emotionally sustainable. Start Up Fever shows how fundamental changes in crowdfunding have forever shifted consumers' viewpoints of long-term economic development. At this point, you can either change with the times or risk losing it all due to stiff economic competition. Besides just being disillusioned by the lackluster economy, young people are under more pressure than ever to create something out of nothing and recreate the American Dream. Instead of finding a passionate purpose for living their lives, Americans have now been trained to look for prosperity in all the wrong places. Leading young Americans down countless dead end roads of vocational dissatisfaction. Crowdfunding has come like a shovel for us to dig ourselves out of the ditch, once again reclaiming our prominence as the frontrunner in economic innovation worldwide! As a young entrepreneur himself, the author presents a no-nonsense viewpoint on where American business is headed and how to avoid the lesser discussed psychological pitfalls of entrepreneurial life. Digging into the mass psychosis built into the "early retirement mentality," he discusses how the current obsession with a "recreation lifestyle" coupled with executive overindulgence have brought America to the edge of destruction. To this end, Startup Fever offers advice on embracing a philosophy of embracing perpetual growth and development, through personal cultivation centered on vocational ideals.