Author:Billy Gallagher
'A fast-paced, highly readable history of one of the defining companies of our time. If you're interested in Snapchat, or just plain mystified by it, you must read this book' -- Brad Stone
Would you turn down three billion dollars from Mark Zuckerberg?
When he was just twenty-three years old, Evan Spiegel, the brash CEO of the social network Snapchat, stunned the world when he and his co-founders walked away from a three-billion-dollar offer from Facebook: how could an app teenagers use to text dirty photos dream of a higher valuation? Was this hubris, or genius?
In How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars, Billy Gallagher takes us inside the rise of one of Silicon Valley’s hottest start-ups. Snapchat began as a late-night dorm room revelation before Spiegel went on to make a name for himself as a visionary CEO worth billions, linked to celebrities like Taylor Swift and his fiancée, Miranda Kerr.
A fellow Stanford undergrad and fraternity brother of the company’s founding trio, Billy Gallagher has covered Snapchat from the start. His inside account offers an entertaining trip through the excess and drama of the hazy early days with a professional insight into the challenges Snapchat faces as it transitions from a playful app to one of the tech industry’s preeminent public companies. In the tradition of great business narratives, How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars offers the definitive account of a company whose goal is no less than to remake the future of entertainment.
A fast-paced, highly readable history of one of the defining companies of our time. If you're interested in Snapchat, or just plain mystified by it, you must read this book.
—— Brad Stone, author of THE EVERYTHING STORE and THE UPSTARTSA first-rate behind-the-scenes business story
—— Blake J. Harris, author of CONSOLE WARSGallagher takes you as close as you can get … [A] surprisingly candid book. It will probably remain the long-lasting, definitive history of the early years of a company whose unique feature is how briefly its media and messages last
—— Antonio Garcia-Martinez , Washington PostIn the grand tradition of Ben Mezrich's The Accidental Billionaires... an engaging look into a fascinating subculture of millions
—— BooklistBreezy...How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars ably if uncritically chronicles the short history of a young company catering to young users, with a young chief executive, and reveals, intentionally or not, the limitations that come with that combination
—— Wall Street JournalA timely biography… [Billy Gallagher] has both the connections and tech industry savvy to qualify as a compelling Snap biographer, and How To Turn Down A Billion Dollars does succeed in the difficult task of explaining Snapchat’s appeal
—— Financial TimesCompelling ... paints a vivid portrait of the qualities you need to build a start up
—— John Arlidge , Sunday TimesTimely and entertaining ... packed with personal detail and fly-on-the-wall quotes
—— The Week (Book of the week)A cracking read ... [Gallagher] is superbly connected and meticulously thorough. This is one of the best narratives of internet startuppery I have read
—— BA Business LifeA fascinating account of the founders and leaders of each company, each of whom have moulded the companies into their own images in many ways... [Stone's] telling is especially artful. These books are great primers for aspiring entrepreneurs as well as those who are simply interested in what makes entrepreneurs successful.
—— Peter High , ForbesExcellent
—— Literary ReviewStone is a fine chronicler of the internet age...As compulsive as any blockbusting thriller
—— The PoolA penetrating study marked by the same through reporting that distinguished [The Everything Store]. No figure is too obscure in the annals of Uber and Airbnb for Stone to track down, including the poignant stories of sundry entrepreneurs who converged on similar ideas bu, amid various missteps, failed to find traction.
—— San Francisco ChronicleWith precision, wit, and insight, Brad Stone tells the tale of two very different CEOs whose skills, innovations and willingness to pursue a totally crazy idea toppled two very different industries. No one in business today can afford to miss this compelling tale of trust, technology and very big piles of loot.
—— Steven Levy, author of In the PlexBrad Stone's The Upstarts reads like a detective story: A page turning who-did-it on the creation of billion dollar fortunes and the ruthless murder of traditional businesses. No single book will tell you more about what life feels like inside companies like Airbnb and Uber as they grow from mere ideas into merciless machines for innovation, riches and unease. The sweat. The stress. The power highs of new instant fortunes. It's all here. You won't be able to put The Upstarts down. And when you finally do, you'll look at your own company and career in a totally fresh way.
—— Joshua Cooper Ramo, author of The Seventh SenseBrad Stone gives us a lively, fascinating picture of the new new thing in technology - startups like Uber and Airbnb that are disrupting old businesses across the world. He provides a much needed glimpse into the companies that fail as well as the ones that make it big. And he points to the broad policy issues raised by these new technologies, which are surely no fun for the people whose lives are being disrupted.
—— Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post-American WorldFor a flavour of how fast the world is changing, turn to Brad Stone’s The Upstarts
—— DirectorBrad Stone unravels the facts from the mythology surrounding the companies’ rise
—— Harvard Business ReviewA penetrating study marked by the same thorough reporting that distinguished [The Everything Store]
—— SF Gate
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