More of a corporate history of Softbank than a true biography.
Jensen Huang has a ruthless determination and an autonomous and far-sighted vision, both of which proved justified if measured by NVIDIA’s valuation.
Stephen Witt – The thinking machine
When reading a biography that is too current: remember to skip the final chapter, because it will be inevitably speculative and outdated.
If you want to start a $1M business: be sure to get over your fear for starting and your fear for asking
Noah Kagan – Million Dollar Weekend
Surprisingly simple, indeed – just like it said on the cover.
There are a lot of ways in which venture capitalists put their thumb on the scale when funding start-ups
Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson – Venture Deals
Helpful guide to demystifying terminology, but more of a reference work than a book to read end-to-end.
It is great if you can set your own success criteria, achieve them, become financially independent, and have fun in the process
Steve Wozniak and Gina Smith – iWoz
It is amazing how passionate this guy can be about a universal remote control.
The ability to quantify and appreciate risks provides a competitive edge, but in the face of existential risks many models break down
Entertaining, but in-all, the book reads as a manifesto written for those who already agree.
To disagree with Kara Swisher is not for the faint hearted
Entertaining rather than enriching, with strong emphasis on the ways in which Kara lets other people know that she is right
Silicon valley types and tech icons all recommend using OKRs for business steering, but each means something slightly different
John Doerr – Measure what matters
If you look past the author’s boundless Andy Grove adoration, there are some useful lessons to be learnt.
To benefit the most from network effects: build local scale, fiercely fight for each new value pocket, and remember that every hockey stick will become an S-curve
The book proves that those A16Z folks are very good at marketing sauce on not-so-ground-breaking ideas (as described by Sebastian Mallaby)
Venture Capital has been of major importance in the making of the tech industry in general, and Silicon Valley in particular.
Sebastian Mallaby – The Power Law
Nice as a description of the historical evolution of the VC phenomenon, but rather condoning in its evaluation.
The philosophy of the Silicon Valley elite is just a bunch of ill understood one-liners from preferably obscure thinkers
Adrian Daub – What tech calls thinking
Entertaining and polemic book, although many of the author’s points hardly need to be argued.
The Silicon Valley philosophy of innovation and disruption undervalues the importance of maintenance and durability
Lee Vinsel, Andrew Russel – The innovation delusion
Funny enough, the polemic narrative applies all the trick of typical innovation literature to promote a maintenance mindset.
The success of Uber and AirBnB is (partly) due to structural exploration of legal limits
Most illustrative are the descriptions of failed competitors, which show importance of both luck and ruthlessness.