Wharton Alumni Book Roundup: Spring 2019

The 30-Day Money Cleanse

Ashley Feinstein Gerstley W08

Sourcebooks

Aimed at bringing the “‘personal’ back to ‘personal finance,’” Gerstley’s guide is for anyone who has stressed out about money. Each week of the month is organized into a chapter, and each chapter focuses on a different part of money management. By better understanding what you currently spend on and learning more about how it aligns with your values and long-term goals, you are better able to spend on what matters to you. On average, Gerstley says, people who have used the program report saving $950 a month. The author is a money coach, founder of the Fiscal Femme, and has been featured in Forbes, NBC, Glamour, and Business Insider.

Scaling Your Startups: Mastering the Four Stages from Idea to $10 Billion

Peter S. Cohan WG85

Apress

The author of thirteen books on startups and capital acquisition, Cohan’s latest dives into one of the roadblocks for startup growth: scaling. Through his own work as founding principal at Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm, as well as insight from professors at top business schools around the United States, Cohan details the four steps required for scaling a startup to a multi-billion dollar company. Real-life examples such as 2015 startup Twine show how to put theory into action.

Creativity Secrets: Create Your Own Art/Design/Startup/Product Masterpiece

Abhay Bhargava WG08

SRSVT Books

Have you ever thought, “I could do that,” but stopped yourself from taking the leap?  Bhargava, wants to help you fulfill your creative potential in all aspects of life. Organized to encourage non-linear reading, each clearly themed section explores a part of the “creativity funnel,” from idea generation to decision-making and execution. The book not only offers creative advice, but inspires through the art and illustrations designed by the author himself. Bhargava describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur” and artist. His most recent venture was founding, FOORJA, a design automation company, and he has previously held positions as a private equity investor, and as a strategy and energy consultant.

Death of the Big Book: How Sears Ceded Catalog and the Internet to Amazon

George Washington Eaton III W55

CreateSpace

Before online shopping and same-day Prime delivery, there was the Big Book. That is, the Sears department store’s “big book” was the internet of its time—selling over 85,000 items to customers every spring and fall issue before the company closed its catalog division in 1993. Eaton writes about his 33 years in the catalog department and how, if handled differently, Sears could have been a staunch competitor to Amazon in the 21^st century. Framed as a memoir on his time with the company, the book also reads as a cautionary tale on business decisions, and how lack of foresight on the part of company leaders, can lead to an American institution’s ultimate downfall.

Tony the Tarantula

Paul J. Collins WG88

Moonlight Puppies Press

Collins, a first-generation Irish immigrant and partner at Centerview Partners, founded Moonlight Puppies Press in 2017 after finding it difficult to purchase children’s books with meaningful messages and embedded values. In Moonlight’s first tale, a bullying spider learns valuable lessons about self-worth from his teacher, Ms. Ladybug. Six more lavishly illustrated hardcover children’s stories round out the publisher’s collection, and a portion of sales go to charities including Prevent Child Abuse America and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.