The E-Factor ─ Entrepreneurship in the Social Media Age

As an entrepreneur, you’re not afraid to bend the rules and think outside the box. You’re not burdened with linear thinking, and thinking differently and trying new approaches enable you to solve problems.

As serial entrepreneurs and cofounders of the largest social network for entrepreneurs in the world, EFactor.com, Adrie Reinders and Marion Freijsen know about the challenges facing new entrepreneurs in the current business environment. Their site?with a community of one million-plus and growing rapidly?is a virtual marketplace for entrepreneurs to make business connections, negotiate deals, exchange information, and advertise their products and services.

In The E-Factor, Reinders and Freijsen educate entrepreneurs on the pitfalls that take down most entrepreneurs before they get started, such as restricted resources, skills gaps, and financial limitations, and show you how to overcome these obstacles. Discover how best to secure funding for your fledgling startup and how to use new forms of social media work to your advantage. Along the way, read a wide array of case studies of successes and learn lessons from others’ failures, including those from small business owners and burgeoning entrepreneurs, all the way up to multinational corporations, global brand leaders, and the founders themselves.

The E-Factor shows you how to gain leverage and evaluate and reassess goals, products, and company structure to meet needs in a competitive environment. Combine the best traditional entrepreneurial thinking with new tools, ideas, and channels now at your disposal.

Adrie Reinders began his entrepreneurial career in the IT field in 1975 when he founded Microlife B.V., a company specializing in customer-related services and training for mainframe environments. With major clients including ING, ABN-AMRO Bank, and European government agencies, the company established subsidiaries in Belgium, the United Kingdom and the United States. He later founded OHM, Inc., a company dedicated to helping technology companies achieve quicker and more effective sales results. He is an adviser and board member for numerous successful private and public companies.

Reinders is co-founder of the EFactor.com, a global network of almost 1 million entrepreneurs in 164 countries. He co-authored the book The N Factor: How Networking Can Change the Dynamics of Your Business (WBusiness Books, 2007).

Marion Freijsen has had more than 25 years of extensive entrepreneurial experience in international business, with a primary focus on technology and sales management. She has set up and managed offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. She is executive board member of OHM, Inc., a global consulting firm advising international high-tech companies, a company she co-founded in 1994. She is also a co-founder of EFactor.com and Cranevision.

Freijsen holds a degree in international sales and marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, U.K. She is co-author of the book The N Factor with Adrie Reinders and gives speeches to audiences around the world.