Noam Wasserman

Noam Wasserman is an acclaimed author and professor of business and education at the University of Southern California (USC). He is most widely known for his book “The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup”. In this book, Wasserman dives into the common issues founders face when launching their own startup. He offers readers a framework to identify and prevent the potential pitfalls that can lead to the failure of a venture.

Wasserman was born in New York City and moved to Los Angeles at the age of three. There, he attended the prestigious University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in the late 90s. During his college years, Wasserman was exposed to an intense learning environment that helped to shape his world view of ambition, risk-taking, and innovation.

After his graduation, Wasserman decided to pursue a career in business instead of joining a start-up like many of his peers. He pursued a PhD in business strategy at UCLA and worked as a professor at USC's Marshall School of Business and Leventhal School of Accounting. While working as an academic, Wasserman observed firsthand the myriad difficulties founders of startups encountered while attempting to launch their venture. This inspired him to synthesize his knowledge from his research, studies, and classes into “The Founder’s Dilemmas” in 2011.

The book is divided into three main themes. The first section focuses on the decision-making process of a founder when it comes to gathering and allocating the necessary resources. This includes such vital topics as hiring decisions, ownership structure, and financial versus intellectual capital. The second section covers issues of governance and team dynamics such as internal conflict resolution and the management of reference classes. The third section focuses on the strategies of navigating between competitive threats and evaluating exit opportunities.

The majority of Wasserman's work circles around the central theme of entrepreneurial decision-making under conditions of uncertainty. In 2017, he released “Life Is a Startup”, a book designed to show that many of the same entrepreneurial decision-making principles apply to personal life as well.

Outside of academics, Wasserman is an avid advocate for the empowerment of female entrepreneurs. He co-organized the inaugural 2019 USC Women Founders Boot Camp, a program that provided participants with resources and advice to launch their own business. He also started a LinkedIn group “Women Leading in Business” to empower female leaders to network and share their stories of success with each other.

Noam Wasserman is a leader who has dedicated his entire professional career to exploring the nuances of founding and launching a successful venture. His book “The Founder’s Dilemmas” is widely regarded as one of the premier resources for aspiring entrepreneurs. His work has been featured in multiple publications including Harvard Business Review and Forbes Magazine. With his combination of field expertise, industry insight, and willingness to empowers those who follow in his footsteps, Noam Wasserman is a true innovator in the world of entrepreneurial thinking.