At last, we can have a peek at the life in the early stage of a

successful startup. Jessica Livingston interviewed several leaders of

the digital age. She takes us from the very beginning when there is

just a handful of founder and no one else to the culmination of the

exercise: IPO, acquisition, or commercial domination.

The stories are really interesting, unfortunately this book could use a

lot more editing. We get the interview verbatim, including the

praises by Livingston and the polite acknowledgments. When the

interview diverges, she is slow to bring it back on track; I really

was looking forward to the story of Wozniak, most of it end up in

technical details on the Apple II and few insights regarding the

startup. Some people are really terse and Livingston just go through

her list of questions without asking for more details.

If there was another book, the poor editing might lead to recommend it

instead. But there is no other book. This is the only book where you

learn about the pain and the joy of the first few years of those

companies. This is the only book where you can receive the advice of

the most successful founders. This is a book that must be read.