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The Upstarts

How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World

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The Upstarts

Written by: Brad Stone
Narrated by: Dean Temple
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About this listen

A look deep inside the new Silicon Valley from the New York Times best-selling author of The Everything Store.

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 have ushered in a new era: redefining neighborhoods, 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, another generation of entrepreneurs is using technology to upend convention and disrupt entire industries. These are the upstarts, idiosyncratic founders with limitless drive and an abundance of self-confidence. Led by such visionaries as Travis Kalanick of Uber and Brian Chesky of Airbnb, they are rewriting the rules of business and often sidestepping serious ethical and legal obstacles in the process.

The Upstarts is the definitive story of two new titans of business and a dawning age of tenacity, conflict, and wealth. In Brad Stone's riveting account of the most radical companies of the new Silicon Valley, we discover how it all happened and what it took to change the world.

©2016 Brad Stone (P)2016 Hachette Audio History & Culture Management & Leadership Professionals & Academics Small Business & Entrepreneurship Business Silicon Valley Stranger
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What the critics say

"Brad 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 Sense)
"In The Upstarts, Brad Stone has vividly captured the cultural and economic upheaval brought about by the latest generation of Internet superpowers. His book is a magnificent expose of how companies like Uber and Airbnb came to be, the people that profited and lost out along the way and the ramifications that this technology will have on the world for decades to come. Stone remains the preeminent chronicler of the Internet Age and a master story teller." (Ashlee Vance, author of Elon Musk)

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Profile Image for Wei L

Two books instead of one?

This is a good piece of journalism, but the jumping back and forth between Airbnb chapter and Uber chapter doesn't pose a friendly structure to follow. While I appreciate that there are definitely similarities that link the two upstarts, and perhaps the two CEOs to an extent, I feel two books would have done better than one book that's half cooked with two companies.

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