Business owners face risks and compromises when they sell stock in their companies or accept outside investment. Tim Berry has post on this topic several times on his Up and Running and Planning Startups Stories blogs.

Reading Tim’s blogs, and watching the Yahoo! vs. Carl Icahn brouhaha reminded me of the novel Crytomonicon by Neal Stephenson. The story jumps between World War II and the present, and includes the search for hidden treasure, cryptography, high-tech startups, international business, venture capital investors, and the rights and claims of minority shareholders.

The bad guys are bad to the extreme, and I was pleased that the good guys win in the end. Of course, this is a work of fiction and the actions of the characters shouldn’t be viewed as archetypal (truth is, after all, stranger than fiction).

Still, I would recommend this book as a good read, and as a cautionary tale for entrepreneurs who are weighing the advantages and disadvantages of giving up total ownership for venture capital or shareholders.

Steve Lange
Senior Editor
Palo Alto Software