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The Upstarts
- How Uber, Airbnb and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World
- Narrated by: Mr Dean Temple
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Categories: Business & Careers, Management & Leadership
Non-member price: $34.34
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Silicon Valley is renowned for its striking number of businesses which have grown from garage start-ups into global giants - Apple, Cisco, Google, HP and Intel, to name a few. But what is the secret to their outstanding success? Hoffman and Yeh explain that it’s simple: they’ve learnt how to blitzscale. Featuring case studies from numerous prominent tech businesses such as AirBnB and WeChat, this book offers a specific set of practices for catalysing and managing dizzying growth in burgeoning start-ups.
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boring and underdone. states the obvious,.
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Publisher's Summary
New York Times best-selling author of The Everything Store Brad Stone takes us deep inside the new Silicon Valley.
Ten years ago the idea of getting into a stranger's car or walking into a stranger's home would have seemed bizarre and dangerous, but today it's as common as ordering a book online. Uber and Airbnb are household names: redefining neighbourhoods, challenging the way governments regulate business and changing the way we travel.
In the spirit of iconic Silicon Valley renegades like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, a new generation of entrepreneurs is sparking yet another cultural upheaval through technology. They are among the Upstarts, idiosyncratic founders with limitless drive and an abundance of self-confidence. Young, hungry and brilliant, they are rewriting the traditional rules of business, changing our day-to-day lives and often sidestepping serious ethical and legal obstacles in the process.
The Upstarts is the definitive account of a dawning age of tenacity, creativity, conflict and wealth. In Brad Stone's highly anticipated and riveting account of the most radical companies of the new Silicon Valley, we find out how it all started and how the world is wildly different than it was 10 years ago.
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What listeners say about The Upstarts
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ondrej Geryk
- 06-01-2020
Interesting read (listen)
Quite interesting to see insights of these start-ups ... could be little bit more in detail thought
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- rafay
- 14-10-2017
A must for entrepreneurs who want to create something big
It's a fantastic book that lets you see the massive tech giants as what they really are, as a couple of like minded people who got together and had a vision of the world that wasn't created yet. It lets you see the process of building an empire and the hoops each start up had to jump through just to make it into 2017. Definitely recommend this book.
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- Hayley
- 05-10-2017
Fascinating
Easy to listen to and well written. A clear insight into the world of the rapidly growing tech companies. A fascinating journey for anyone entering the startup world.
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- William
- 11-09-2017
So good!
Great stories and insights on Uber & Airbnb, learnt a lot about business and tactics listening to this book.
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- Kindle Customer
- 11-07-2017
Great book, a bit heavy on regulations
Great book. A little too heavy on regulations for my liking, but there are golden nuggets of insight here.
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- Otavio Costa
- 09-09-2018
Very interesting. Maybe a bit early!
it's a new world. it's a new economic and social environment. It is a story that will still evolve a lot. But the book tells the beginning of those startups and of the sharing economy itself. That's important enough!
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- Tariq selah
- 18-06-2018
Good bio of Uber & Airbnb
story is well written, more focus on the actions of Uber & Airbnb founders not on their personas, nice and smooth book in general.
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- Sivaranjani S
- 09-06-2018
Gets your heart racing!
If you are a follower of the tech world, you are in for a treat!
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- Tracey
- 30-03-2018
Encouraging if you decided to start a business
loved it because it gives you a behind the scene look at how these businesses were set up and got through their various growth stages
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- Chewy
- 07-04-2017
Not for me
So this book was interesting in a way that it goes into depth of their journey of uber etc but probably not what I was expecting so rushed it and it felt long. I didn't know what I was expecting but I didn't connect; it's not a bad book but just not for me. It's good if you wanna imagine the reality of an upstart & its trials & tribulations. Respect to the author but I am prob not your correct audience.
4 people found this helpful
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- MattB944
- 12-02-2017
Definite must read for all entrepreneurs
Definite must read for all entrepreneurs with big dreams. Great insight into big mistakes not to make or how you should or shouldn't run a business.
4 people found this helpful
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- Rob Moore
- 02-03-2018
My favourite audiobook of 2017 (out of 100s)
Would you listen to The Upstarts again? Why?
Yes. Really great reveal of disruptive business and the wrestle between success and challenge. Well researched, balanced & motivating
Who was your favorite character and why?
All 4 of the main protagonist companies
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
The title: "The Upstarts" perfectly relevant
Any additional comments?
A great mix of motivation to grow and disrupt in your own space, fun, educational, unique & balanced. A great piece of work.
1 person found this helpful
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- Graham
- 17-11-2017
Started strong
Started strong - and it as clearly very very well researched - but i have to admit it did get a little tedious in the second half. Still a good book if you are interested in the formation of huge companies.
1 person found this helpful
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- Colly23
- 06-06-2017
Real insight into the world of the Upstart
If you are fascinated by the recent uprising of the sharing economy heavyweights - Uber & Airbnb - then this book will really appeal.
The 2 stories run alongside each other, which helps illustrate the speed of growth and briefly references the competition they faced throughout this period.
Personally, I was more interested by the insight into the characters of Travis Kalanick and Brian Chesky - what drove them to success and how they challenged city law-makers & resistance from competition... who knows what will happen next!?
1 person found this helpful
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- B Campbell
- 01-12-2020
Interesting insight
Felt in some places it dragged on a bit but the story was interesting overall. I felt like it was missing a real punch line. Stories of both Uber and Airbnb are told alongside each other and that flowed well.
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- Max
- 26-10-2020
Very detailed and well structured story
This book has offered many interesting insights and it was fascinating to hear the stories and challenges of the uprise of Uber and Airbnb in such a detailed way. If you're a founder you will find plenty of valuable takeaways too.
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- Victor K
- 17-07-2020
Recommended for entrepreneurs
A good book that gives insight into the journeys that airbnb and uber had from their inception up until 2016 I believe. I would definitely recommend this to be added to the entrepreneur's reading list. But if you want to have an interesting read I feel the way that the story kept on moving between airbnb and uber was not done well. Yes there were interesting comparisons that were made but I feel this could have been done better. All in all, I recommend this book and would give it 3.5 if I could.
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- Safo
- 11-07-2020
Unlistenable
At least purchasing this audiobook will encourage me to actually pick up the book, solely down to the unbearable commentary. Story I’m not sure of the rating due to only getting to chapter 2.
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- Nick Elliott
- 18-12-2019
great history of Uber and Airbnb
I loved this because of the depth it goes into right from the inception of the two companies. Blow by blow, highs and lows, interspersed with great stories. Not an adulatory approach at all, more of an even account that leaves you to form your own opinions. might be too detailed for some, but easy to skip over those parts. Def worth a read of the subject matter is of interest.
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