Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days | 
 enlarge | Author: Jessica Livingston
Publisher: Apress
Category: Book
List Price: $25.99
Buy New: $13.10
You Save: $12.89 (50%)
New (39) Used (20) from $11.61
Rating:  68 reviews
Sales Rank: 8790
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 500
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.7
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 1590597141
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.11
EAN: 9781590597149
ASIN: 1590597141
Publication Date: January 22, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
For would-be entrepreneurs, innovation managers or just anyone fascinated by the special chemistry and drive that created some of the best technology companies in the world, this book offers both wisdom and engaging insights—straight from the source.
— Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine, and author of The Long Tail "All the best things that I did at Apple came from (a) not having money and (b) not having done it before, ever." —Steve Wozniak, Apple
Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days is a collection of interviews with founders of famous technology companies about what happened in the very earliest days. These people are celebrities now. What was it like when they were just a couple friends with an idea? Founders like Steve Wozniak (Apple), Caterina Fake (Flickr), Mitch Kapor (Lotus), Max Levchin (PayPal), and Sabeer Bhatia (Hotmail) tell you in their own words about their surprising and often very funny discoveries as they learned how to build a company. Where did they get the ideas that made them rich? How did they convince investors to back them? What went wrong, and how did they recover? Nearly all technical people have thought of one day starting or working for a startup. For them, this book is the closest you can come to being a fly on the wall at a successful startup, to learn how it's done. But ultimately these interviews are required reading for anyone who wants to understand business, because startups are business reduced to its essence. The reason their founders become rich is that startups do what businessesdo—create value—more intensively than almost any other part of the economy. How? What are the secrets that make successful startups so insanely productive? Read this book, and let the founders themselves tell you.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 63 more reviews...
 Y Combinator Interview in Paperback Edition October 30, 2008
dngould
It is worth buying the paperback even if you own the hardcover. An additional chapter consists of Jessica Livingston being interviewed (by Paul Graham) about the early days of Y Combinator. It is filled with interesting information about Y Combinator itself and great anecdotes about the first batch of founders, such as the Reddit guys.
Essential reading for someone thinking about starting a software company October 3, 2008
M. Bryant (Seattle, Washington United States)
As someone who is in the middle of trying to get a software company off the ground, I can say that the stories in this book tell the real story of what it means to found a startup. I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about starting a software/tech company, because it will give you a great insight into what to expect.
The book can get technical at times, so it will be best appreciated by someone with a background in computer science. And all the stories are about software companies as well (not apparent from the title). All in all, a great book!
Simply Amazing September 25, 2008
G. Gilmer
Inspiring and amazing! Originally borrowed from library, then decided I had to own a copy of my own. One of the best purchases I've made all year!
 a reward for those who struggle September 19, 2008
Ken Lizotte (www.thoughtleading.com)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book's stories will reward anyone struggling with a start-up idea, especially whether or not to go for it. In combination with books that more straightforwardly tell the reader how to get up to speed (like my own book "The Expert's Edge") and outdistance the competition, "Founders At Work" will help you survive your ups and owns, i.e., doubts and emotions, as you battle your way through the process. Don't give up the fight!
I liked it and I lived through that period August 8, 2008
T. Hollins (Columbia Station, OH USA)
Having started programming in 1979, I remember most of the book. The author has done an excellent job in eliciting information from the people being interviewed. In some cases they were allowed to wander a bit but it was extremely interesting what their thoughts were. I would imagine the editing process has cut out a lot of other information. Maybe publish that as an aside to this book. Maybe on the web or something. I'm sure it will bring a deeper sense of what they were going through.
I really enjoyed the book and have learned several lessons from the people in the book. I believe any entrepreneur in tech should read this. The lessons are invaluable and most likely you are an naive as many of them were.
I highly recommend this book. Its an excellent read.
-T-
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