Overview

Uncover the hidden system that shapes opportunity. In the entrepreneurial game, success often seems reserved for two types of players: insiders with decades of experience and powerful networks and the venture-backed who raise staggering amounts of money because they fit a specific mold. For the rest of us, anthropologist and entrepreneur Ujwal Arkalgud reveals the unwritten rules that decide who gets a meeting, funding, or a sale, and shows how to turn your outsider status into your greatest advantage. In Invisible Rules, Arkalgud introduces a playbook for those on the outside looking in and exposes the hidden scoring system that determines who can succeed, how success happens, and which paths are considered legitimate. Drawing on his experience bootstrapping a company to a high-eight-figure exit and reviving stagnant mid-sized firms, Arkalgud provides the tools to identify the specific invisible rules shaping success in your context, de-risk your venture by uncovering unspoken buyer behaviors, hack credibility to shorten the path to product-market fit, and apply an actionable framework-The Five Movements-to chart your path forward. You'll also learn to recognize the hidden forces, or ""power magnets,"" that shape opportunity, from Identity Privilege to Credentialism, and develop techniques to move beyond assumed limitations while still leveraging useful structures. For anyone who refuses to be confined by hidden boundaries, Ujwal Arkalgud's Invisible Rules is your guide to reclaiming the power to define success on your own terms-and turning ideas into lasting impact.

Full Product Details

9781774586860

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Reviews

""Entrepreneurs fixate on tactics and miss the cultural forces shaping their industries. Invisible Rules shows how to understand power, build trust, and challenge norms. Outstanding work."" Guy Kawasaki, host of the podcast Remarkable People and coauthor of Everybody Has Something to Hide ""To become a recognized expert, you first have to understand the unwritten rules of your field. Invisible Rules is a smart anthropological toolkit for decoding the signals of credibility and authority that truly matter. This book provides an important perspective for building a lasting, influential career."" Dorie Clark, executive education faculty at Columbia Business School and Wall Street Journal-bestselling author of The Long Game ""Invisible Rules is more than a book about business. It's an act of rebellion. If you think the cards are stacked against you-they are. With the mind of a social scientist and the heart of an entrepreneur, Ujwal Arkalgud gives us a playbook for breaking through the beliefs and behaviors that keep success in the hands of a chosen few."" Dev Patnaik, CEO of Jump Associates, adjunct professor at Stanford University, and author of Wired to Care ""Ujwal Arkalgud has written a really important book. His dictum, discovering invisible rules, should ring in the ears of every entrepreneur as they navigate the blue oceans and black swans that decide the fate of a startup."" Grant McCracken, cultural anthropologist and author of Chief Culture Officer and Culturematic

Author Information

Ujwal Arkalgud is a cultural anthropologist turned entrepreneur who blends deep human insight with ruthless business pragmatism. He co-founded MotivBase and bootstrapped it to a high-eight-figure acquisition in less than seven years. He has since revived multiple private equity-backed firms, guided B2B founders to two successful exits through his firm Investment Ark, and advised private-equity acquirers on hidden market risk. His Invisible Rules framework decodes the unspoken forces that shape credibility, attention, and investment, shortening the path to product-market fit while lowering capital burn. A sought-after speaker, Ujwal has lived the entrepreneurial roller-coaster he now helps others master. Invisible Rules is his third book. He lives in Toronto with his wife Kayleigh and their two children, Maila and Rupert.

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