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Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days Hardcover – Illustrated, January 26, 2007

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 656 ratings

Founders at Work recounts the early struggles for independence and acceptance of many of modern technology's giants, through personal interviews that are at times hilarious, at times painful, and always inspiring. The book will interest anyone curious about what goes on in a startup, and places particular focus on the questions of technologists, business people and the general public. The stories in Founders at Work are dramatic and funny, and they're about people getting rich. As human-interest stories they will appeal to the same audience that enjoys reading about the Google founders in PEOPLE magazine. For such an audience, these stories should be exceptionally interesting, because they're about the early stages, when the founders were younger and inexperienced. Most readers know startup founders only as confident millionaires. As novices trying to find their way by trial and error, they're more human, and easier for the reader to identify with.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jessica Livingston is a founding partner at Y Combinator, a seed-stage venture firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Mountain View, California. She was previously vice president of marketing at investment bank Adams Harkness. In addition to her work with startups at Y Combinator, she organizes Startup School (www.StartupSchool.org). She has a bachelor's degree in English from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1590597141
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Apress; Illustrated edition (January 26, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 458 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1840224177
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1840224177
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.92 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 1.5 x 9.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 656 ratings

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Jessica Livingston
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Jessica Livingston is a founding partner at Y Combinator, a seed-stage venture firm based in Cambridge, MA, and Mountain View, CA. She was previously VP of marketing at investment bank Adams Harkness. In addition to her work with startups at Y Combinator, she organizes Startup School. She has a BA in English from Bucknell.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
656 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book insightful and inspiring, with interesting stories and great interviews. They appreciate the timely advice and brillance of the advice. However, opinions differ on the jargon content, with some finding it easy to understand and internalize, while others feel it contains too much technical jargon and irrelevant details. There are mixed reviews on the value for money, with some finding it worth its price alone, while others consider it priceless for would-be entrepreneurs.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

76 customers mention "Insight"76 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful and helpful for technology start-ups. It explains common themes and important decision points for founders, illustrating them through stories told by exceptional entrepreneurs. They appreciate the stories behind the advice, which is entertaining and easier to understand. The book also provides several ideas and advice for technology startups.

"...It sheds light on the origins of the hardware and internet revolutions, and it’s fascinating to see how some startups mentioned in the book, once..." Read more

"...This book tells the stories behind the advice, which is more entertaining and easier to internalize. 2) This book is meaty...." Read more

"...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..." Read more

"...This book is perfect for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, technology startups, technology companies in general, and business books in general...." Read more

24 customers mention "Story quality"24 positive0 negative

Customers find the stories interesting and easy to read. They appreciate the candid, charming, and surprisingly good storytellers. The book provides insights into the founders' journeys, including milestones, challenges, mistakes, and advice. Readers also mention that the stories are amazing and shocking.

"...This book tells the stories behind the advice, which is more entertaining and easier to internalize. 2) This book is meaty...." Read more

"...good questions and kudos to the interviewees for their candid, fascinating, detailed answers...." Read more

"...you want to see how we got to where we are today; this book is a wonderful history of how our current world was created...." Read more

"...there are some amazing and sometime shocking stories from founders' perspective...." Read more

23 customers mention "Interview quality"23 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the insightful interviews in the book. The people interviewed are knowledgeable, and the questions are good. They find it interesting to hear from founders about their experiences and lessons learned. The questions are precise and inviting for discussion.

"...and kudos to the interviewees for their candid, fascinating, detailed answers...." Read more

"...The interviews offer great insight into what goes into tech startups. The problems are that: 1: The interviews are way too long...." Read more

"...writer's questions were precise and inviting for discussion. i personally felt that it was watching a television interview...." Read more

"...whats great about it? the interview are focus, and meant for the entrepreneurs wanna be (not to the wide audience),..." Read more

6 customers mention "Time difference"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's focus on timing. They find it easy to read and focused on internet startups, company types, and formation times. The advice is timely.

"...that wants to create through innovation this book shows that; timing is everything, brilliance is added, perseverance when all is lost, dedication..." Read more

"...the writing style was just what fits with a life in the fast lane - little time, easy to read chapters, inspiring and thank god, very 'down to earth...." Read more

"...Lots of variety of entrepreneurs, company types, and formation times (pre-bubble, post bubble, Web 2.0, etc)...." Read more

"Great material. Timely advice." Read more

3 customers mention "Brillance"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides valuable advice on entrepreneurship. They appreciate its straightforward approach and unique perspective.

"...through innovation this book shows that; timing is everything, brilliance is added, perseverance when all is lost, dedication to changing the world..." Read more

"The purest, fundamental advice that deals with entrepreneurship. There should be an AP test on this where you place out of MBA classes...." Read more

"Unique in its class..." Read more

11 customers mention "Jargon content"4 positive7 negative

Customers have different views on the jargon content. Some find it easy to understand and internalize, while others feel there is too much technical jargon and irrelevant details. The book lacks depth for some readers, with the author going off topic at times.

"Founders at Work is a fairly interesting read but lacks some depth...." Read more

"...the stories behind the advice, which is more entertaining and easier to internalize. 2) This book is meaty...." Read more

"...are very few nuggets of wisdom buried under lots of rambling and irrelevant details, and after the fact I'd argue the treasure hunt is not worth it...." Read more

"...the great successes in SV and elsewhere, their humble and sometimes difficult beginnings ('against all odds') that I am experiencing right now...." Read more

10 customers mention "Value for money"5 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed views on the book's value. Some find it valuable for entrepreneurs and worth its price. Others feel the stories are uninteresting after a while, with few articles being boring or meaningless. Overall, opinions vary on whether the book is worthwhile or too long-winded to be motivational or instructive.

"...with venture capitalists and funding a start-up makes the book worth its price alone." Read more

"...--however, this time I found the stories to be flat, and uninteresting after awhile...." Read more

"The two or three interviews that really inspired me made the purchase worth it...." Read more

"...and irrelevant details, and after the fact I'd argue the treasure hunt is not worth it. Unlike startups themselves, the book is very slow moving...." Read more

7 customers mention "Length"4 positive3 negative

Customers have different views on the book's length. Some find it concise and insightful, with each interview feeling complete without being redundant. Others feel the interviews are too long, technical, and lack separation between them.

"...But others were brief and insightful. I would definitely recommend this...." Read more

"...The problems are that: 1: The interviews are way too long...." Read more

"...Each interview is just long enough to feel complete but not so long as to feel redundant...." Read more

"Great book so far! One huge and easily fixable flaw is lack of separation between interviews...." Read more

Cuts/tears
4 out of 5 stars
Cuts/tears
I received my book promptly and it's in good condition, except some oddly cut pages towards the front of the book. No important text is missing, so I guess I'll keep it.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2024
    This book dives deep into the DNA of Silicon Valley, offering insights into both startups and venture capitalists. My understanding of the startup ecosystem had always been rooted in the 2010s and beyond, but reading this book, which traces back to the 1960s and explores the evolution of startups in the ‘90s and early 2000s, provided a completely new perspective on how the Bay Area truly operates. It sheds light on the origins of the hardware and internet revolutions, and it’s fascinating to see how some startups mentioned in the book, once valued at billions in the mid-2000s, have since disappeared.

    This book sparked many reflections, but the most significant lesson it reinforced is that persistence is the cornerstone of success.
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2007
    1) I often hear advice in the form 'Do this' or 'Do not do that.' I have a hard time internalizing that kind of advice because it's hard to remember. This book tells the stories behind the advice, which is more entertaining and easier to internalize.

    2) This book is meaty. It's 400 pages of small print, so there is a lot of information.

    3) It is easy to read in a random access fashion. Each chapter stands on its own, and each page has it's own question and answer in the dialog.

    4) You get the back stories. I read many things about Fog Creek and Viaweb that I never knew[..].
    14 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States 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.
    8 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States 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.
    11 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Francesco
    3.0 out of 5 stars Great inspiring stories, some "ego" fille interviews...
    Reviewed in Italy on July 18, 2020
    Overall the book is very good, it shows how hard work and believing in your ideas can give you great (work) satisfaction.
    Some interviews are "polluted" by the interviewee ego, but overall it is an enjoyable book.
  • Paulo Roberto Feldmann
    5.0 out of 5 stars Theory & Practice
    Reviewed in Brazil on February 25, 2018
    Excellent book. Many very interesting cases. I will use the book in my classes of start up. It is a technology book.
  • Relentless_explorer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining business read
    Reviewed in Canada on January 22, 2017
    5 stars to the author for going out there and compiling all these stories together.

    The book is basically a collection of stories about people who worked hard and succeeded.
    People and situations are different, but the formula stays the same: "Work hard, fail, work hard, stay focused, succeed."
  • Ted H
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great stories for the tech geeks amongst us.
    Reviewed in Australia on February 3, 2020
    Really cool info, it is a little on the dry side reading wise.
  • Alexandros Papadopoulos
    5.0 out of 5 stars Learn from the best. Actually learn from the most ridiculous mistakes, the best ever did :)
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2016
    Are you an entrepreneur? Are you about to launch a startup? Then this book is for you.
    You will learn to ignore all conventional business rules and follow your instinct. You will read of numerous idiotic mistakes the most sucesful companies on the planet did when starting up, thus you will become more confident.
    If they managed to become so successful after all these mistakes, then you actually stand a chance after all.
    Did Adobe truly got it's name after a random map choice???
    Did Yahoo operate from a flooding basement for a few months???
    Was Paypal unable to make a simple transaction at it's first VC presentation???
    Then I can make it.
    Then you can make it.
    Then we all stand a fair chance for success.

    More than providing me with knowledge, this book gave me confidence. Confidence that I can can overcome my mistakes.