
The Upstarts
How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World
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Narrated by:
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Dean Temple
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By:
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Brad Stone
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 AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, The Innovators is Walter Isaacson’s revealing story of the people who created the computer and the Internet. It is destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution and an indispensable guide to how innovation really happens. What were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into disruptive realities? What led to their creative leaps? Why did some succeed and others fail?
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A History of the Ancient Geeks
- By Mark on 10-21-14
By: Walter Isaacson
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The Code
- Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America
- By: Margaret O'Mara
- Narrated by: Nan McNamara
- Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Long before Margaret O'Mara became one of our most consequential historians of the American-led digital revolution, she worked in the White House of Bill Clinton and Al Gore in the earliest days of the commercial Internet. There, she saw firsthand how deeply intertwined Silicon Valley was with the federal government - and always had been - and how shallow the common understanding of the secrets of the Valley's success actually was.
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Mostly good, but also irrating
- By Rodney on 12-20-20
By: Margaret O'Mara
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Zero to One
- Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
- By: Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
- Narrated by: Blake Masters
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things.
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Seems Insightful Until You Think A Little Deeper
- By Mark Brandon on 10-31-14
By: Peter Thiel, and others
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Bad Blood
- Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
- By: John Carreyrou
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the next Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with its breakthrough device, which performed the whole range of laboratory tests from a single drop of blood. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’s worth at an estimated $4.5 billion.
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Extreme retaliation against former employees
- By LEE on 05-29-18
By: John Carreyrou
What listeners say about The Upstarts
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-22-18
Overextended
In total, the book is interesting, but could be shorter. In any case, good reading for understanding Uber's and AirBnB business approach, crucial role of entrepreneurship, struggling in political level for business development.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Alex Lawrence
- 08-06-18
Interesting Narration of incidents as it happened
This book is an interesting narration of the incidents leading to forming of business like Uber and Airbnb. If you like reading such books then its for you.
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1 person found this helpful
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- J. Hastings
- 08-25-19
Excellent research.
excellent, detailed research. A little bit long but all in all very captivating. highly recommended.
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- Abraham
- 02-17-20
Superb Story!
Incredible insight into the minds and the experiences of the CEOs, founders and what each tech juggernauts went through on their respective roads to success.
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- Chuck Smiley
- 08-03-17
Interesting Story, Average Narration
My 39th book on Audible. The story was good and told a compelling tale, but the narrator was only "average", compared to my other listens. Buy this Audible book for interesting insight but don't expect a knock-out narration.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Ken DV
- 06-10-17
Quite interesting
An in depth look at the people and the process behind Airbnb and Uber. As a fellow entrepreneur, I found it quite interesting.
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- Mikel Smith Koon
- 04-18-17
Enjoyable
More enjoyable earlier in the story than at the end. Read like a journalist account. Would prefer a summary or conclusion at end.
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- Bruno Scalini
- 09-18-23
I
excellent. but obama’s egregious legacy should have been expunged even as a timeline reference point.
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- Sanjeev K Kota Venkat
- 09-15-20
Loved it
Very well written stories about Uber and Airbnb. Well read also...keeps you engaging. Loved it
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- Steve B.
- 04-21-17
Interesting and a good book
Where does The Upstarts rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I like the real life stories.
Who was your favorite character and why?
did not have one
Which scene was your favorite?
did not have one.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
too long
Any additional comments?
Good book if you like business stories.
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