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The Upstarts

How Uber, Airbnb and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World

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About this listen

New York Times best-selling author of The Everything Store Brad Stone takes us deep inside the new Silicon Valley.

Ten years ago the idea of getting into a stranger's car or walking into a stranger's home would have seemed bizarre and dangerous, but today it's as common as ordering a book online. Uber and Airbnb are household names: redefining neighbourhoods, challenging the way governments regulate business and changing the way we travel.

In the spirit of iconic Silicon Valley renegades like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, a new generation of entrepreneurs is sparking yet another cultural upheaval through technology. They are among the Upstarts, idiosyncratic founders with limitless drive and an abundance of self-confidence. Young, hungry and brilliant, they are rewriting the traditional rules of business, changing our day-to-day lives and often sidestepping serious ethical and legal obstacles in the process.

The Upstarts is the definitive account of a dawning age of tenacity, creativity, conflict and wealth. In Brad Stone's highly anticipated and riveting account of the most radical companies of the new Silicon Valley, we find out how it all started and how the world is wildly different than it was 10 years ago.

©2017 Brad Stone (P)2017 Penguin Random House UK Business Development & Entrepreneurship E-Commerce Entrepreneurship Management Management & Leadership Business Commerce Thought-Provoking Leadership Silicon Valley Inspiring Technology
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Started strong - and it as clearly very very well researched - but i have to admit it did get a little tedious in the second half. Still a good book if you are interested in the formation of huge companies.

Started strong

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Good story, and understanding of these entrepreneurs - although could be more take away lessons, still the emotions you feel about the companies and how ruthless you need to be as an entrepreneur in some industries is quite a great lesson.

Good story, and understanding of these entrepreneurs

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This is a great read that tells the story of both companies in detail. Riveting and full of valuable insights for entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to understand the truth about how the new wave of tech companies got started. Includes the obstacles both companies faced and how they dealt with them.

Detailed and revealing

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A little too focussed on two companies and gets a little boring towards the second half of the book. The history of these two companies is still relatively short.

It still makes for very interesting reading however.

Interesting but can be a little dull in parts

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Definite must read for all entrepreneurs with big dreams. Great insight into big mistakes not to make or how you should or shouldn't run a business.

Definite must read for all entrepreneurs

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