STAY THIRSTY: A Serial Entrepreneur's Tale of Success & Failure is an expansive, incredibly personal account of Mark Haertzen's life, driven by ambition, a willingness to take risks, and a forward-looking mindset. Part memoir, part family history, and part successful entrepreneur's case study, the book documents Haertzen's entrepreneurial impulses from early ventures like cinnamon toothpicks and Kool-Aid stands as a kid through the founding and development of Rocket Man Inc. —a company that worked at such major sporting events as the Super Bowl and the Kentucky Derby.

What makes this memoir different from so many other founder narratives is the way Haertzen (with Mike E. Brown) refuses to sugar-coat his journey. He shares with the reader how envious he sometimes felt, how insecure he has been, and how he made mistakes (and some of those mistakes were ethically questionable) during his college years—while clearly viewing these moments as formative ones, instead of simply embarrassing ones. The earlier chapters of the book focus on his Depression-era parents and their extended family background, providing the psychological foundation for his drive to be successful. At times, these chapters drag out longer than necessary, but they serve as a solid grounding for the themes of scarcity, ambition, and intergenerational resilience.

Haertzen's writing is casual and understandable to a broad readership; he writes for a general audience, rather than one composed of technically trained business people. He has structured the book in chronological order and included "Rocket Wisdom" maxims (brief lessons learned from his experiences) throughout. While some of these maxims have parallels to typical entrepreneurial insights, they are made stronger because of the specific stories Haertzen uses as examples prior to each one. The Super Bowl-opening anecdote about wet money and airport security provides a vivid example of both the risk involved and the potential rewards, thus serving as an effective frame for the remainder of the book.

The memoir's precision does sometimes hinder the pace. The commitment to recounting details about events makes it feel authentic, but at times will slow down the narrative's momentum. However, the book is an invaluable resource for those who want to see the real picture of entrepreneurship in a world where the "Silicon Valley" myth-making has created unrealistic expectations.

Ultimately, STAY THIRSTY succeeds because it feels earned. Haertzen does not present himself as a visionary prodigy but as a persistent, imperfect builder who learned through iteration, endurance, and resilience. That grounded honesty gives the memoir its greatest strength.

Delivering practical insight and emotional candor in equal measure, Mark Haertzen’s & Mike E. Brown's STAY THIRSTY: A Serial Entrepreneur's Tale of Success & Failure offers an honest, instructive, and engaging look at the long arc of entrepreneurial life.

~ Felix Metiagi for IndieReader