A review by chefcookeruns
Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons

4.0

Truth is stranger than fiction. The real life experience of one of the writers of HBO’s Silicon Valley in Silicon Valley. I find his comparison of working at a newspaper to working at a start-up some of the most interesting elements of the book, that aren’t typically found anywhere else. Are you working at a start-up and feeling like something is off? Then read this book for a life line to a perspective outside the bubble you’re in. Lyons description of working at a traditional workspace is potentially filled with harassment issues, for the more sensitive, so it’s not the a clear alternative to start-up life (I’m definitely reading in between the lines of the book here). Traditional work does appear to be more honest and focused on accomplishing something though.

The economic aspect of the book was a depressing surprise. Basically, tech start-ups can act as a wealth transfer by hyping their value through marketing, going public with large IPO valuations, all while never making a profit. Read the book for greater detail on this.