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on December 7, 2015
This book contains great interviews by an insightful and influential person. While I haven’t finished it yet, I am writing this review mostly to be able to add some product images. I was horrified by the quality of the printing of this book! Apress, the publisher, ought to be ashamed. I have uploaded images showing how poorly the printed word looks in the paperback edition. Note the awful dithering (fuzziness). None of the letters are crisp. It almost looks like a cheap photocopy on a bargain-basement laser printer.
I do not know if the hardcover edition has this problem or not.
I do not know if the hardcover edition has this problem or not.
on February 12, 2017
This is a wonderful collection of interviews of company founders and co-founders. Kudos to the author for asking good questions and kudos to the interviewees for their candid, fascinating, detailed answers.
What surprised me most was how down-to-earth and normal most of these successful people were. Only a couple of them seemed full of themselves. The rest, surprisingly, were just the opposite. Their stories about their startup days provided insights into their values, motivations, aspirations, points of view, work ethic; as well as their worries, fears, doubts, and concerns; plus their approach to making tough decisions and a recognition of their personal limitations and flaws. Their interview responses are full of insights into their decisions about business development, product development, product management, pricing, promotion, distribution, customer service, technical support, accounting, finance, hiring and technology choices; and dealing with venture capitalists, business partners and actual or potential competitors.
The interviews also provide a lot of insights into technology trends and market trends during the time that the founders' companies were starting up.
Here are the companies whose founders were interviewed, in the order they appear in the book: PayPal, Hotmail, Apple, Excite, Software Arts, Lotus Development, Iris Associates, Groove Networks, Pyra Labs (Blogger.com), Yahoo, Research in Motion, Marimba, Gmail, WebTV, TiVo, Viaweb, del.icio.us, ONELIST, Bloglines, Craigslist, Flickr, WAIS, InternetArchive, Alexa, Adobe Systems, Open Systems, Hummer Winblad, 37signals, ArsDigita, Fog Creek Software, TripAdvisor, HOT or NOT, Tickle, Firefox, Six Apart, Lycos, Aliant Computer Systems, Shareholder.com.
This book is perfect for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, technology startups, technology companies in general, and business books in general. I've read the book once already and now I'm in the middle of reading it a second time. I wish there were an audio version of it.
What surprised me most was how down-to-earth and normal most of these successful people were. Only a couple of them seemed full of themselves. The rest, surprisingly, were just the opposite. Their stories about their startup days provided insights into their values, motivations, aspirations, points of view, work ethic; as well as their worries, fears, doubts, and concerns; plus their approach to making tough decisions and a recognition of their personal limitations and flaws. Their interview responses are full of insights into their decisions about business development, product development, product management, pricing, promotion, distribution, customer service, technical support, accounting, finance, hiring and technology choices; and dealing with venture capitalists, business partners and actual or potential competitors.
The interviews also provide a lot of insights into technology trends and market trends during the time that the founders' companies were starting up.
Here are the companies whose founders were interviewed, in the order they appear in the book: PayPal, Hotmail, Apple, Excite, Software Arts, Lotus Development, Iris Associates, Groove Networks, Pyra Labs (Blogger.com), Yahoo, Research in Motion, Marimba, Gmail, WebTV, TiVo, Viaweb, del.icio.us, ONELIST, Bloglines, Craigslist, Flickr, WAIS, InternetArchive, Alexa, Adobe Systems, Open Systems, Hummer Winblad, 37signals, ArsDigita, Fog Creek Software, TripAdvisor, HOT or NOT, Tickle, Firefox, Six Apart, Lycos, Aliant Computer Systems, Shareholder.com.
This book is perfect for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, technology startups, technology companies in general, and business books in general. I've read the book once already and now I'm in the middle of reading it a second time. I wish there were an audio version of it.
on May 19, 2017
Amazing set of interviews. I loved that one can find some founder in every possible circumstance interviewed in here. Also loved that almost every advice one founder gives is negated by another founder in some other chapter!
Take away message for me: there are very few rules when it comes to founding a tech startup. Just be yourself, and toss the proverbial coin.
Take away message for me: there are very few rules when it comes to founding a tech startup. Just be yourself, and toss the proverbial coin.
on July 31, 2010
I bought the kindle edition of this book and I found it to be a terrible reading experience. Quote often it seemed like pieces of sentences were missing and occasionally when going from one page to another I would see the text of two lines superimposed on each other. I don't have a kindle so I used the android kindle app and kindle for the PC and both left much to be desired. Also I hated that if I flipped a few pages ahead that it would reset the location. Overall I would not recommend the e-book edition, the quality is horrendous. Also now that I see the prices, I paid more for the terrible kindle edition than the hardcover edition goes for. Anyway I would never recommend paying more for an e-book than a print book because you have less rights than with the print book. Also for a book like this I think there is value to being able to flip through it really quickly while the kindle interface is best for flipping through page by page.
That being said, the quality of the book was great. It was full of all sorts of insights and experiences. They can all be summarized as don't give up, watch out for VC's but don't write them off, listen to your customers, be willing to change, make sure the initial founding team works together well, etc... But just listening the values does not do it justice. You really have to read the experiences. The book is full of all sorts of insights too, not just about entrepreneurship but also about the individual companies. For example I was really impressed about PayPal and the fraud stuff they did and how valuable that was. I just never knew. Overall I think the book was very well put together. Although some of the founders liked to talk a lot more than others and it droned on and on. But others were brief and insightful. I would definitely recommend this.
If I bought the print edition I suspect I would be giving it 5 stars. But really the kindle experience is probably worth 0 stars. But the content is so good that I figure 4 stars is fair. Since at this time I see hardcover editions for $5 or $6 new I would say go grab one of those now!!! The book is definitely inspirational.
That being said, the quality of the book was great. It was full of all sorts of insights and experiences. They can all be summarized as don't give up, watch out for VC's but don't write them off, listen to your customers, be willing to change, make sure the initial founding team works together well, etc... But just listening the values does not do it justice. You really have to read the experiences. The book is full of all sorts of insights too, not just about entrepreneurship but also about the individual companies. For example I was really impressed about PayPal and the fraud stuff they did and how valuable that was. I just never knew. Overall I think the book was very well put together. Although some of the founders liked to talk a lot more than others and it droned on and on. But others were brief and insightful. I would definitely recommend this.
If I bought the print edition I suspect I would be giving it 5 stars. But really the kindle experience is probably worth 0 stars. But the content is so good that I figure 4 stars is fair. Since at this time I see hardcover editions for $5 or $6 new I would say go grab one of those now!!! The book is definitely inspirational.
on October 10, 2015
My 1-start rating isn't for the content of the book, but the terrible print quality(soft cover) - the main text of the book is printed in a font that's not a solid block but with some pattern, which makes it appear out of focus - very uncomfortable to read. I have decided to return the book.
Was trying to get the Kindle version as many reviews are based on that, but somehow it's no longer available :(
Attached is a picture I took with a page from this book. It actually reads worse than that due to the out of focus effect.
Was trying to get the Kindle version as many reviews are based on that, but somehow it's no longer available :(
Attached is a picture I took with a page from this book. It actually reads worse than that due to the out of focus effect.
on November 19, 2012
I have only finished about a third of the book, and have already gotten my money's worth out of it. It is fascinating to see the vicissitudes of a project shape -- and be shaped by -- the business decisions.
The chapters covering Hotmail and PayPal showed some remarkable insight into how a given product can be marketed. Hotmail was a fairly straightforward shot from original idea to sales, (email from PIM DB is a fairly minor refinement technically -- it was huge from a business standpoint) but went through some massive changes in how that idea was sold. PayPal, on the other hand, went through profound shifts in the product itself, and also in marketing.
For me, insight into the founders' thought-processes as they rolled with the changes that they encountered was the primary value of the book. The author, then, is to be commended. Keeping the discussions of multiple interviewees relevant and picking out such insightful details is no mean feat. Every chapter so far has been excellent in these regards -- A further testament to her skills as an interviewer and editor.
If you are in or are considering going into a technical business, this book will help you understand the mind of those successful at that sort of thing. Most of the business advice I find is directed at the non-technical side of things, which is a very different sort of mind. That is what makes this book so particularly useful.
The chapters covering Hotmail and PayPal showed some remarkable insight into how a given product can be marketed. Hotmail was a fairly straightforward shot from original idea to sales, (email from PIM DB is a fairly minor refinement technically -- it was huge from a business standpoint) but went through some massive changes in how that idea was sold. PayPal, on the other hand, went through profound shifts in the product itself, and also in marketing.
For me, insight into the founders' thought-processes as they rolled with the changes that they encountered was the primary value of the book. The author, then, is to be commended. Keeping the discussions of multiple interviewees relevant and picking out such insightful details is no mean feat. Every chapter so far has been excellent in these regards -- A further testament to her skills as an interviewer and editor.
If you are in or are considering going into a technical business, this book will help you understand the mind of those successful at that sort of thing. Most of the business advice I find is directed at the non-technical side of things, which is a very different sort of mind. That is what makes this book so particularly useful.
on November 4, 2011
Jessica Livingston's book is a marvel for those who are about to or are already building a company.
I think it is particularly good for the latter group. The author, an interviewer and editor more than an author really, asks successful and some famously unsuccessful entrepreneurs what it was like in those early years. Questions that, if you are living in your own startup, feel particularly germane. You'll see that these invariably very bright people felt the same emotions and motivations (hint: rarely about the money) that you do. You'll hear about a very diverse set of people telling you remarkably consistent things about the necessity of co-founders, and how important it is to have the right ones. You'll likely find inspiration in each person's ability to embrace uncertainty, and ability to know when to change from your first (and sometimes second and third) idea to the big idea that ultimately earned them a place in this great book.
For a book published in 2007 that focuses heavily on tech and Silicon Valley startups, you wont find obsolescence here. Some interviews, such as Steve Wozniak's, are engrossing even more so with the passing of Steve Jobs. Others, such as Evan Williams' are remarkable because his interview has nothing to do with Twitter. Beyond that, you feel you are witnessing in a way the early days of Y Combinator, as one partner, (Livingston) interviews two others, Google and Friendfeed's Paul Buchheit and Viaweb's Paul Graham.
I think it is particularly good for the latter group. The author, an interviewer and editor more than an author really, asks successful and some famously unsuccessful entrepreneurs what it was like in those early years. Questions that, if you are living in your own startup, feel particularly germane. You'll see that these invariably very bright people felt the same emotions and motivations (hint: rarely about the money) that you do. You'll hear about a very diverse set of people telling you remarkably consistent things about the necessity of co-founders, and how important it is to have the right ones. You'll likely find inspiration in each person's ability to embrace uncertainty, and ability to know when to change from your first (and sometimes second and third) idea to the big idea that ultimately earned them a place in this great book.
For a book published in 2007 that focuses heavily on tech and Silicon Valley startups, you wont find obsolescence here. Some interviews, such as Steve Wozniak's, are engrossing even more so with the passing of Steve Jobs. Others, such as Evan Williams' are remarkable because his interview has nothing to do with Twitter. Beyond that, you feel you are witnessing in a way the early days of Y Combinator, as one partner, (Livingston) interviews two others, Google and Friendfeed's Paul Buchheit and Viaweb's Paul Graham.
on January 9, 2011
First, I want to point out that this book was written in 2007, not 2001, as listed by Amazon.
The interviews offer great insight into what goes into tech startups. The problems are that:
1: The interviews are way too long. In a book of interviews like this, you want the interviews to be concise and focused. You often have to dig through many pages of interviewees rambling about things that most readers will not care about.
2: The interview questions seem to be all over the place, and in no real order. Lingstston often would ask one question, get an answer, ask 5 more questions, and then ask a question related to the response of the first question. Also, questions are often asked multiple times to the same people, with slightly different wording, resulting in a ton of redundancy in responses.
All in all, there is a lot of useful information for anyone considering starting a business, but the book would have been much better if the interviews were edited down.
The interviews offer great insight into what goes into tech startups. The problems are that:
1: The interviews are way too long. In a book of interviews like this, you want the interviews to be concise and focused. You often have to dig through many pages of interviewees rambling about things that most readers will not care about.
2: The interview questions seem to be all over the place, and in no real order. Lingstston often would ask one question, get an answer, ask 5 more questions, and then ask a question related to the response of the first question. Also, questions are often asked multiple times to the same people, with slightly different wording, resulting in a ton of redundancy in responses.
All in all, there is a lot of useful information for anyone considering starting a business, but the book would have been much better if the interviews were edited down.
on July 5, 2015
The purest, fundamental advice that deals with entrepreneurship.
There should be an AP test on this where you place out of MBA classes. Thus, you can attend b-school after engineering school with 1.5 yrs completed out of 2. But, then that's the idea at the heart of entrepreneurship isn't it? To pre-study before you execute being a tech co-founder.
This review brings up incredibly unpopular advice: That entrepreneurship requires self-study before reaching out to mentors and advisors mentioned in this book. Here is more unpopular advice, since you've read so far: Mentors want you to execute a little of the
There should be an AP test on this where you place out of MBA classes. Thus, you can attend b-school after engineering school with 1.5 yrs completed out of 2. But, then that's the idea at the heart of entrepreneurship isn't it? To pre-study before you execute being a tech co-founder.
This review brings up incredibly unpopular advice: That entrepreneurship requires self-study before reaching out to mentors and advisors mentioned in this book. Here is more unpopular advice, since you've read so far: Mentors want you to execute a little of the
on June 17, 2014
I left my job a year ago to start a business in technology so I really appreciated reading this book for all of the inspiring founder stories and a look at technology as it was 30 years ago. One thing I took from this book is the idea that there are often huge opportunities around us at all times, even though people have a tendency to think that everything has already been done. The biggest example is how many of the founders said that in the early days of the internet, many businesses stayed away thinking that it was only for geeks and it would never become something for the mainstream user. Even the personal computer was seen this way! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to anyone in the technology sector who has a business or is thinking of creating one.
