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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Well observed. Very quick read: finished it in two days. Addresses important issues in tech industry, but displays some blindspots about his own behavior. If you work in tech, mandatory reading.
This book hits close to home. I worked at this company. Not HubSpot, but the identical twin in Austin, Texas called Main Street Hub. We did social media marketing for small businesses. A year or two ago they were sold to Go Daddy for 125 million. Or maybe you’ve heard of Yodle, or OutboundEngine. Same thing. Big sales floor, itty bitty lil marketing product.
HubSpot sounds exactly like a scaled up version of the company I worked at. From the coffee bar, stupid “team building” exercises, nonsense stand up meeting, to the loud aggressive sales people. I was hired as one of those “howler monkeys” in sales that Dan talks about. Unfortunately at the time, I didn’t realize how abnormal many of the things were. I was hired in a “class” (group) of 30 other 20-somethings and told that only 30% will be here in 3 months. After being there for 6 months, we were given “equity” as an incentive for performance and at times for downright absurd things.
“Did you have a good attitude today?! Here’s 1,000 stock options!”
I was fortunate enough to realize that the pool of 5,000,000 or so options that managers and people were dangling as a carrot for performance, represented less than a percent of the total equity in the company.
The punchline of that story, is that I quit that job. And after some soul searching, used that experience to motivate me to go back to school for a Mathematics degree. So for me it wasn’t all bad. While the people who stayed at that company to “cash in” made somewhere from $200-2,000 with all their options. It’s not all sunshine and gigantic paydays in the startup world.
Anyways, Dan sounds like an insufferable twat with all his meowling about the age difference and whatnot. The "holier than thou" vibe really distracted from the shared empathy I felt for Dan at having to work at such a wood-chipper of a company. Still, it’s a window into the marketing-tech world.
HubSpot sounds exactly like a scaled up version of the company I worked at. From the coffee bar, stupid “team building” exercises, nonsense stand up meeting, to the loud aggressive sales people. I was hired as one of those “howler monkeys” in sales that Dan talks about. Unfortunately at the time, I didn’t realize how abnormal many of the things were. I was hired in a “class” (group) of 30 other 20-somethings and told that only 30% will be here in 3 months. After being there for 6 months, we were given “equity” as an incentive for performance and at times for downright absurd things.
“Did you have a good attitude today?! Here’s 1,000 stock options!”
I was fortunate enough to realize that the pool of 5,000,000 or so options that managers and people were dangling as a carrot for performance, represented less than a percent of the total equity in the company.
The punchline of that story, is that I quit that job. And after some soul searching, used that experience to motivate me to go back to school for a Mathematics degree. So for me it wasn’t all bad. While the people who stayed at that company to “cash in” made somewhere from $200-2,000 with all their options. It’s not all sunshine and gigantic paydays in the startup world.
Anyways, Dan sounds like an insufferable twat with all his meowling about the age difference and whatnot. The "holier than thou" vibe really distracted from the shared empathy I felt for Dan at having to work at such a wood-chipper of a company. Still, it’s a window into the marketing-tech world.
Disrupted is a first person view of life at a start-up -- a true start-up, run by a couple of (young) guys with an idea -- told by an experienced technology writer formerly of Newsweek, Forbes, "Fake Steve Jobs" blogdom, and currently writer on HBO's Silicon Valley. The author's bonafides are legit. It's also clear that he was a terrible fit at a startup company. I spent the entire book trying to decide whether he was a jerk, or the company is a jerk. By the end of the book, I've decided it was both (as always, the truth lies somewhere in the middle). It's definitely an eye-opening read, especially for someone working at a tech company, especially one trying to bring the best of the start-up culture to our company. I'm not sure I can say I *enjoyed* the book, per se, but I'm really glad I read it, and would highly recommend it.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
I think this is a fun and engaging read and hits harder if you've ever worked for a startup like environment. I understand it's not for everyone.
The story follows a 50 something fish out of water entering into the kind of fluffy, peppy career that churns and burns 20 somethings out of college or lays them off. He gets hired on for a role that isn't what it seems and offers an engaging story about his experience working in a career very obviously not meant for him.
He comes off as kind of a grouch and as kind of immature. He arrives at the job thinking he is a big deal and his narration style can be edgy, which is a turn off for some. Personally I didn't mind. I find the voice adds to the entertainment value of the book. Regardless of your views on him, he was still misled by the company and was a much bigger deal than most of the hires before him.
I won't get into everything that happens. There's some really good information about the finances of startups and general silicon valley subculture that peeps in (I see he followed this book with an entirely different book about silicon valley). There's intense corporate drama between our author and various authority figures. There's some brief parts talking about writing for HBO's Silicon Valley.
I found the whole thing a lot of fun. Disappointed to see the author got into the self-help grift (how do you write an entire book around the premise of saying less), but I would read more by him (especially the other Silicon Valley book).
The story follows a 50 something fish out of water entering into the kind of fluffy, peppy career that churns and burns 20 somethings out of college or lays them off. He gets hired on for a role that isn't what it seems and offers an engaging story about his experience working in a career very obviously not meant for him.
He comes off as kind of a grouch and as kind of immature. He arrives at the job thinking he is a big deal and his narration style can be edgy, which is a turn off for some. Personally I didn't mind. I find the voice adds to the entertainment value of the book. Regardless of your views on him, he was still misled by the company and was a much bigger deal than most of the hires before him.
I won't get into everything that happens. There's some really good information about the finances of startups and general silicon valley subculture that peeps in (I see he followed this book with an entirely different book about silicon valley). There's intense corporate drama between our author and various authority figures. There's some brief parts talking about writing for HBO's Silicon Valley.
I found the whole thing a lot of fun. Disappointed to see the author got into the self-help grift (how do you write an entire book around the premise of saying less), but I would read more by him (especially the other Silicon Valley book).
A frank tell-all about corporate culture in Silicon Valley that can easily be translated elsewhere.
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
Seriously good tale of the worst excesses of Silicon Valley culture. Entertaining and informative. If you work in tech, you must read it.
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Fascinating and rather scary look at life in a start-up company.
funny
informative
fast-paced