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A review by tdrapeau
Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days by Jessica Livingston
4.0
Founders at Work is a collection of 32 interviews done by Jessica Livingston of founders of tech companies. Many of the big names are present: Apple, Adobe, Yahoo, etc. A bunch of people have reviewed this book already, including those who are interviewed for the book, so I thought I would give my personal favorite parts of the book without trying to be comprehensive. The official site could certainly fill you in on the breadth of the book.
To me the most interesting interviews were:
- Steve Wozniak: That guy is a geek! And my hero, what a brain.
- Sabeer Bhatia: Entertaining interview re: the early days of Hotmail.
- Mike Lazaridis: Great interview with the co-founder of RIM, which specifically calls out the differences in running a startup in Canada.
- Charles Geschke: Co-founder, Adobe Systems. Impressive interview, great technology, great business strategy.
- Philip Greenspun: Co-founder, Ars Digita. A great company hurt by venture capital investment. Great insight into making software. This was my favorite interview of the book.
- Joel Spolsky: Co-founder, Fog Creek Software. Engineers FTW!
It is a must read book for all aspiring high tech entrepreneurs, as successes and failures are presented in very honest, understandable ways.
A parting word from Charles Geschke (p296):
Q: Is there any other advice you would give to someone who was thinking of starting a startup?
A: If you aren't passionate about what you are going to do, don't do it. Work smart and not long, because you need to preserve all of your life, not just your work life...
To me the most interesting interviews were:
- Steve Wozniak: That guy is a geek! And my hero, what a brain.
- Sabeer Bhatia: Entertaining interview re: the early days of Hotmail.
- Mike Lazaridis: Great interview with the co-founder of RIM, which specifically calls out the differences in running a startup in Canada.
- Charles Geschke: Co-founder, Adobe Systems. Impressive interview, great technology, great business strategy.
- Philip Greenspun: Co-founder, Ars Digita. A great company hurt by venture capital investment. Great insight into making software. This was my favorite interview of the book.
- Joel Spolsky: Co-founder, Fog Creek Software. Engineers FTW!
It is a must read book for all aspiring high tech entrepreneurs, as successes and failures are presented in very honest, understandable ways.
A parting word from Charles Geschke (p296):
Q: Is there any other advice you would give to someone who was thinking of starting a startup?
A: If you aren't passionate about what you are going to do, don't do it. Work smart and not long, because you need to preserve all of your life, not just your work life...