Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days
When I first got my hands on it, I thought “Oh well, another book on how to have a successful business in x steps.” Instead, I found a pleasant reading, free from common business books stereotypes.
The book, written by Jessica Livingstone, one of Y Combinator’s founders, is a collection of interviews with some of the most famous startups’ founders (Steve Wozniak – Apple, Max Levchin – PayPal, Sabber Bhatia – Hotmail, Craig – Craigslist etc).
What I liked most about it was its unpretentious style: famous business owners talk honestly about their hard times, failures, doubts and setbacks. Although it doesn’t teach you how to succeed in business, it does have a motivational side-effect; it shows you what every entrepreneur goes through in order to succeed.
PayPal’s founder, Max Levchin, started 4 different companies and worked on several business ideas (all ended in failure) before coming up with the idea of micropayments. One of Apple’s founders, Steve Wozniak, had his most innovative breakthroughs because (and not despite the fact) he had no money. Throughout the book, all founders talk about their failures as an important part of their success. Passion and the will to go on is what makes the difference between them and the rest of the world.
What I didn’t like about it: some of the interviews could have been shorter. For instance, there are pages and pages on how Steve Wozniak built his first computer parts, how he got the chips and microprocessors and how he installed them…. I know, computer geeks speak their own language, but the author could have edited the interview a little so the book doesn’t lose focus of the story behind each founder and becomes a computer user guide.
Other than that, great book, a must-read for every entrepreneur.
