About the Book

In Build the Fort, Heivly breaks down his personal fort-building experiences and uses them as an analogy to his journey as co-founder of MapQuest (sold to AOL for 1.2 billion).
Build the Fort outlines five basic elements that are common to both fort-building and startups:

  • Socializing Your Idea without fear or inhibition,
  • Identifying and Marshaling the People You Trust,
  • Gathering the Minimal Resources Closest To You,
  • Acting on the Smallest and Simplest of the Idea, and
  • Build the Fort.

Chris Heivly is known as “The Startup Whisperer,” one of a small group of elite business people renowned for turning start ups into multi-million dollar companies.

Forbes Magazine names Chris Heivly’s Build the Fort one of the best books recommended by Shark Tank Entrepreneurs.

About the Author

Chris Heivly is one of the nation’s leading experts in how to turn startups into multimillion-dollar companies and has been dubbed the “Startup Whisperer.” For over 30 years, Heivly has worked at the highest levels for some of the world’s most recognized brands, including MapQuest, Rand McNally, and Accenture. He has also personally directed over $75 million in investment capital on behalf of these and other companies. Heivly currently serves as one of two managing directors of The Startup Factory, the largest seed investment firm in the Southeast.

Chris Heivly’s Website