Finance ✦ Penny’s Take
The Illusions of Entrepreneurship
Scott A. Shane · 2010
75/100
👍 Worth It
This is a rigorous, myth-busting look at what the data actually says about small business survival — written by a credentialed academic who doesn't pull punches. The statistics are real and the methodology is sound, even if the numbers are now pushing two decades old. If you're thinking about starting a business or advising someone who is, this is genuinely useful cold water — just know it tells you what goes wrong more than how to get it right.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
Faith & family safety92
Substance / usefulness78
Craft & writing76
Originality72
Evidence & accuracy78
Hype vs delivers72
Age-fit82
👁 Human-eye gut-check72
Penny’s verdict75
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