"Start Up Book Reviews"
- Bianca Blanch
- Mar 1, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 20, 2020
I am 'Starry Eyed for Start-Ups' and so I read a lot of start-up books.
On this page I will summarise them all and provide a brief summary (never any spoilers) to see if you might like it too! I promise to be honest in all my reviews.
Is there a start-up book you would like me to review? If so, email me at AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com I am always looking for new book recommendations!!
Disclaimer: if you click on any of the links below and buy a product I may receive a commission.
To save yourself the scroll, the start-up books reviewed on this page are:
'Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber' by Mike Isaac
'Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike' by Phil Knight
'That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix by the First CEO and Co-Founder Marc Randolph ' by Marc Randolph
'Uncanny Valley: A Memoir' by Anna Wiener
'Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup' by John Carreyrou
'The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon' by Brad Stone
'The Upstarts: How Uber, AirBnB and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World' by Brad Stone
'Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber' by Mike Isaac
This may have been the first start-up book that I read. I loved it! It has set the bar, and I do not know if another start-up book will surpass it.
Travis Kalanick has hustled his entire life. He first started with Scour, followed by Red Swoosh and then Uber. Uber is infamous for its quick rise from a start up to a billion dollar company. Kalanick is the reason for Uber’s success, his commitment to winning and the hustle has made the company what it is. But with the highs are some ugly truths and dark corners of which this book shines some light.
This tale has everything: it is really well written, the Uber business practices are diabolically delicious reading fodder, and Uber gives the term 'data-driven insights' a new meaning. There are also so many players, but Isaac does an amazing job of introducing you to each of them so you do not get confused as to who's who.
If you do not know if start-up books are for you, try this one. If you hate it, I don't think this genre is for you.
'Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike' by Phil Knight
In 1962, Phil Knight has a Crazy Idea - to import Japanese shoes to the US. Knight decides to embark on a world trip and visit Japan as part of that trip to see if Tiger will allow him to sell their product in the US. From these humble beginnings Nike is born.
It was fascinating reading how Nike became the company it is today. It is a billion-dollar business that started out like a start up. Many times Nike looked like it may go under but some key decisions and luck allowed it to survive.
I have no doubt this story is biased as it is very pro-Nike, but I loved reading about the innovation and the crazy characters who made Nike what it is today. It is a well written book with lots of heart.
'That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix by the First CEO and Co-Founder Marc Randolph ' by Marc Randolph
Mark Randolph is the Founder of Netflix. Originally a company that posted DVDs to its customers today’s premium content streaming service that has revolutionised how society views movies, documentaries, tv shows basically anything that is a moving picture. Mark’s contribution was in the early days figuring out how to launch an idea into a company.
I enjoyed this book. Randolph has a likeable voice and start up stories are clearly fascinating to me. To see the early days of a wildly successful company is interesting, even a company as monumental as Netflix struggled at the beginning. This is the story of the hard work and perseverance it took to get Netflix to where it is today.
'Uncanny Valley: A Memoir' by Anna Wiener
Anna Wiener works in publishing, it is her life. Yet, like her friends, she is struggling to pay her rent and keep up with the superficial publishing lifestyle. So Anna decides to take a risk and work at a literary start up. After a few months it is clear that this business is not for her. She has a job that is not a good fit for the company. Although it didn't work out at this start-up, she chooses to move to San Francisco, to try working at another start-up. This is her story.
I loved the beginning of this book. As a book lover, it was interesting to get a glimpse into the publishing world. I also heavily related to her experience of leaving her publishing roots to embark on the start-up adventure and getting used to not struggling financially. I was surprised when she moved from New York to San Francisco to try a different start up, as it didn’t seem like she was into the start up culture from her first experience.
This wasn't my favourite start-up book, and towards the end the book takes a very feminist slant, but the way she describes data was so delightful to me that I needed to include this book in my reviews.
'Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup ' by John Carreyrou
At 19, Elizabeth Holmes had a vision - a world in which a blood test involves a quick pin prick and gathering a few drops of blood from your fingertip. The results will be analysed and sent directly to your doctor. This is an amazing vision, but one she could not deliver on despite raising millions of dollars to develop this technology.
As a researcher, I was intrigued by this book. Elizabeth could not deliver on the vision she promised but kept on raising money, as if she could deliver the technology. It was difficult to tell if this was blind faith or more nefarious. The fact she never had to prove her technology to any of her investors demonstrates her power to control and manipulate people.
I had been excited to read this book for a year or so so I was excited when I finally cracked open the front cover. I had high expectations as there have been a flurry of high quality start up books written lately. I found this book slow to start, but it had a strong finish. Can’t wait for the criminal trials to begin to see what Elizabeth’s fate will be.
'The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon' by Brad Stone
Jeff Bezos is Amazon. He built this company and he has withstood all the criticism to turn it into the behemoth it is today. Bezos started selling what he knew, books, but never abandoned his vision of a store that sells everything to its customers at the lowest prices. He is truly one of the great innovators in the start up world. This book is the story of Amazon, it has changed the world but it is also a gruelling place to work.
This book was quite interesting. The beginning and end reads like a start up book but the middle is squarely a business book about how to Bezos made decisions to survive. Bezos demands excellence, cannot stand stupidity, and will do whatever it takes to deliver the best range and lowest prices. I’ve used AWS in start ups and it really has changed this landscape for many company’s. It was interesting to read the story behind these well known products.
'The Upstarts' by Brad Stone
Brian Chesky and Travis Kalanick changed everyone’s idea of what an entrepreneur looks like. They are the first CEOs of AirBnB and Uber, respectively and both have been incredibly successful in not only bringing their dream into reality, but changing the world. This book tells the story of how these two men fought to create their company's and then to see them thrive.
I really liked this book. Having read SuperPumped: The Battle for Uber I thought the Uber side is this book would be redundant, but it gave a different spin on the story. It filled in the details of the business landscape when each of these businesses were created, and the critical times both CEO faced from investors, competitors and regulators, which nearly broke their business.
I really enjoyed this book because it focused on the people behind the business, not just the business itself.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
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