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The Launch Pad
The Launch Pad
Nov 2, 2024 1:31 PM

Author:Randall Stross

The Launch Pad

In The Launch Pad, Randall Stross, author of eBoys and Planet Google, takes a behind-the-scenes look at how tomorrow's hottest startups are being primed for greatness.

Twice a year, in the heart of Silicon Valley, a small investment firm called Y Combinator selects an elite group of young entrepreneurs. Months of intense work culminates in Demo Day, when investors and venture capitalists flock to hear their pitches. Any one of them might turn out to be the next Dropbox (class of 2007), or Airbnb (class of 2009).

Randall Stross was granted unprecedented access to Y Combinator, enabling a unique inside tour of the world of software startups. He tells the full story of this ultra-exclusive institution, how it chooses the aspiring Mark Zuckerbergs, and how it teaches them to go from concept to profitability in record time.

This is the definitive story of a seismic shift in the business world, in which coding skill beats job experience, pairs of undergraduates take on Goliaths, and inves­tors fall in love. The Launch Pad is both a gripping narrative and a gold mine of useful insights.

'A must-read for anyone interested in the realities of modern entrepreneurship' -Eric Ries, author ofThe Lean Startup

'Stross's account of the best new entrepreneurs and the exciting companies they're building at startup schools is a great read for founders and would-be founders alike' -Marc Andreessen, cofounder, Andreessen Horowitz

Randall Stross is the author of several acclaimed books, including eBoys, Planet Google, and The Wizard of Menlo Park. He has a Ph.D. in history from Stanford University.

Reviews

Stross's behind-the-scenes look at YC offers a rare glimpse into what it really takes to conceive an idea and get it to market as quickly as possible. The Launch Pad is a must-read for anyone interested in the realities of modern entrepreneurship

—— Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup

Stross's account of the best new entrepreneurs and the exciting companies they're building at startup schools is a great read for founders and would-be founders alike

—— Marc Andreessen, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz

Stross makes computer programming and angel investing as thrilling as it gets

—— Slate

A terrific read, smartly researched, full of stories you find yourself repeating to others

—— Management Today

Before reading this book, I was behind the curve. Now, I'm behind The Curve - as a supporter of Lovell's provocative and important thesis that marketers have to think very differently today about the relationship between pricing and value

—— Robert Cialdini, author of Influence

Crazy is what they call people who don't fit in. And we need a lot more crazy like Linda is crazy. She is generous, curious, connected, and driven to make a difference in the world. And this book captures all of that and more. Buy it, read it, live it.

—— Seth Godin, author of Linchpin

A unique contribution that combines not only remarkable lessons of what it takes to build an enterprise from scratch, but how a global phenomenon of entrepreneurship is solving problems, bottom up, once thought only the domain of top-down government and large institutions

—— Diplomatic Courier

It’s a wealth of understanding for understanding wealth

—— Esquire

Combines breadth of scholarship with a wealth of practical experience in tackling the most elusive of economic subjects - the nature of money

—— John Kay

Martin’s remarkable book, Money, is economic history – and indeed cultural anthropology – with a difference... His sparkling book is worth taking seriously

—— Raymond Tallis , Prospect

We should ask ourselves not just: what is the euro?; but also: what is money? An excellent new book, Money, written by the macro-economist Felix Martin, does just this

—— Ben Wright , Financial News

Felix Martin condenses the broadest of subjects into a searing and potentially life-changing read that destroys all accepted knowledge of this thing we sell our souls for

—— Shortlist

The virtue of Martin’s book is that it exposes the deep flaws in the way we have traditionally thought about money. The exposition is clear… Fresh

—— Alex Brummer , New Statesman

I’m going to read Money by Felix Martin. I’m determined to find out how it works

—— Lucy Mangan , Stylist

Stimulating and timely

—— David Priestland , Guardian

Since the banking crisis, masses of books arrive every week. Scanning them all would be incompatible with eating and sleeping... Much the most entertaining is just called Money

—— Samuel Brittan , Financial Times

Entertaining

—— Economist

Two chapters in, I realized that this was the book I needed when I was having conversations during the Occupy movement, and friends were all trying to understand what had happened and what we wanted to happen differently, and I think if I had read this at the time I would have had more language and stories to talk about that whole argument

—— Ellah Allfrey

A very spritely and lucid and well written book

—— Kevin Jackson

Covers a vast geographical and historical spread

—— Martin Shubik , Nature

Like a thriller writer, Martin inserts little hooks at the end of his chapters for the next section – and he deserves…credit for creating a readable work on such a potentially bone-dry subject

—— Ian Birrell , Observer

Martin tells an interesting story and his diagnosis is persuasive

—— Josh Glancy , Sunday Times

Engrossing

—— Jon Ihle , Sunday Business Post

This book is a great read, and one that I think non-economists will find completely accessible… The historical detail is fascinating, and the ideas they are used to illustrate are clear and thought provoking, so I’m very glad I read it

—— Simon Wren-Lewis , MainlyMacro Blog

[Martin] demonstrates a capacity both for wit and literary style in this engaging, timely history

—— Frank Trentman , BBC History Magazine

An entertaining history of one of the most powerful, misunderstood forces in the world around us. Not one of those awful books about how to get rich

—— Stuff

A wonderfully original and entertaining history of money. If you have ever wondered why the whole system seems so dangerously and chronically unstable, this is the book to read

—— Liaquat Ahamed, author of Lords of Finance, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

Splendid

—— Adam Fergusson , Literary Review

This is an excellent book to read, full of interesting history and insight, and very clear and well written... A beautiful and sometimes even entrancing study of human thought about money

—— Tyler Cowen , Times Literary Supplement

An important insight into how finance and economics blindsided each other in the runup to the financial crisis

—— George Hay , Reuters

Startling insights in clear, intelligent prose… You will emerge better informed, and also surprisingly entertained

—— Nicholas Lezard , Guardian

A terrific analysis

—— William Leith , Evening Standard

Money isn’t just an entertaining read, it’s also really useful

—— Big Issue

A thought-provoking book

—— Good Book Guide
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