- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books (May 29 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0345428897
- ISBN-13: 978-0345428899
- Product Dimensions: 21 x 14.1 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 336 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,054,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
If you want to understand the 1990s, you have to understand venture capitalists. These are the people who listen to business pitches by the score, the financial-world equivalent of miners turning over tons of earth in search of precious metal. They're looking for the next Amazon.com, the next Yahoo!, the next eBay. Randall E. Stross, who teaches business history at San José State University, just happened to be there when a firm called Benchmark Capital discovered eBay. eBoys tells the story of how a group of not-quite-middle-aged men came to make an investment that returned a Silicon Valley record of 100,000 percent.
Stross is a gifted storyteller who weaves the personal histories of the Benchmark partners with stories of how the firm came to back such companies as Priceline.com and Webvan. We meet guys who weren't born to privilege, men who took unconventional routes into the venture capital business. Probably the most intriguing is Dave Beirne, a hyperaggressive executive recruiter who went into the business after realizing venture capitalists are the ones who really call the shots at high-tech start-ups. We also see the problems Silicon Valley guys have when they try to dot-com the bricks-and-mortar world. The short tale of an aborted partnership between Benchmark and Toys 'R' Us illustrates why the old economy is so mystified by the new.
Anyone interested in how business works should find something of interest in eBoys. From the organizational structure and corporate culture of Benchmark to the histories and personalities of its partners to its adventures in the world of Internet start-ups, it's a digital snapshot that reveals how successful businesses look, think, and mine gold in today's economy. --Lou Schuler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"THE BEST GUIDE WE HAVE TO THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD OF VENTURE CAPITALISM."
--The Washington Post Book World
"A RING-SIDE SEAT AT A SINGULAR MOMENT IN BUSINESS HISTORY."
--The Wall Street Journal
--The Washington Post Book World
"A RING-SIDE SEAT AT A SINGULAR MOMENT IN BUSINESS HISTORY."
--The Wall Street Journal
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining but misinformed,
By
This review is from: eBoys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work (Paperback)
I found the book to be totally engrossing and entertaining, but also amusing (not always in a good way), a little inaccurate, and probably more than a little embarrassing to the participants in hindsight. If you are looking for an entertaining read about the highest fliers in the internet bubble, this is a great choice. But if you are hoping to learn more about venture capital from an insiders point of view, this book will lead you astray.The author's description of the prevailing attitudes and lingo at Benchmark and other venture firms seems out of place. He seems to be describing the macho environment of an investment bank rather than the more subdued approach of venture capitalists. But maybe that's the way things actually were at Benchmark in the late 1990s. As a venture capitalist myself, I was surprised by the apparent lack of due diligence and the thin premises upon which the partners seemed to make their investment decisions. I'm sure this perception is in part a consequence of the author's intentional decision to gloss over the nitty gritty details. But explicit dialogue between the partners shows that the partners did in fact have a shoot-from-the-hip style. I am hardly qualified to question the partners' instincts when they were so successful. But I do think it is a wildly inaccurate portrayal of the industry as a whole.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Self-Centered and Boring,
By
This review is from: eBoys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work (Paperback)
I usually finish all books that I buy, but this one ended up in the scrap heap after about 100 pages. The author projects that these VC's are the coolest thing to ever happen, all their fancy lingo, and the fact that companies, people, and dreams are all waiting for their "thumbs up".The entrepreneurs should be the real success story hear, not their stupid VC's.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eboys was a great read,
By Philip Krim (Sugar Land, TX United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: eBoys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work (Hardcover)
Eboys is an exciting story about Benchmark Capital, a venture capital firm that has enjoyed enormous success lately. Its a good read that has exciting stories about companies you can identify. Being a student, I feel this book has truly inspired me to join the path of becomming a venture capitalist. As the books describes, being a venture guy allows you to combine so many various aspects of business, from management to funding. I reccomend this book to anyone interested in finance, VC, or ebay. Many exciting stories combined with an articulate writer and intersting characters.
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