NAMEDABESTBOOKOF2022BYTHENEWYORKERNationalBestseller*NewYorkTimesEditors’Choice*FinancialTimes“BookstoReadin2022“ASABEWBESTINBUSINESSBOOKAWARDSFINALISTA“deeplyreported...bracinglywritten“(WalterIsaacson,bestsellingauthorofCodeBreaker)and“grippingaccountofPayPal’soriginsandavividportraitofthegeeksandcontrarianswhomadeitsmeteoricrisepossible“(TheWallStreetJournal)--includingElonMusk,AmyRoweKlement,PeterThiel,JulieAnderson,MaxLevchin,ReidHoffman,andmanyotherswhosestorieshaveneverbeenshared.Today,PayPal’sfoundersandearliestemployeesareconsideredthetechnologyindustry’smostpowerfulnetwork.SinceleavingPayPal,theyhaveformed,funded,andadvisedtheleadingcompaniesofourera,includingTesla,Facebook,YouTube,SpaceX,Yelp,Palantir,andLinkedIn,amongmanyothers.Asagroup,theyhavedriven21st-centuryinnovationandentrepreneurship.Theirnamesstirpassions;they’reascontroversialastheyareadmired.Yet,foralltheirinfluence,thestoryofwheretheyfirststartedhasgonelargelyuntold.Beforeignitingthecommercialspaceraceorjumpstartingsocialmedia’srise,theyweretheunknowncreatorsofascrappyonlinepaymentsstart-upcalledPayPal.Inbuildingwhatbecameoneoftheworld’sforemostcompanies,theyfacedbruisingcompetition,internalstrife,theemergenceofwidespreadonlinefraud,andthedevastatingdot-combustofthe2000s.Theirsuccesswasanythingbutcertain.InTheFounders:TheStoryofPayPalandtheEntrepreneursWhoShapedSiliconValley,award-winningauthorandbiographerJimmySoniexploresPayPal’sturbulentearlydays.Withhundredsofinterviewsandunprecedentedaccesstothousandsofpagesofinternalmaterial,heshowshowtheseedsofsomuchofwhatshapesourworldtoday--fast-scalingdigitalstart-ups,cashlesscurrencyconcepts,mobilemoneytransfer--wereplantedtwodecadesago.Healsorevealsthestoriesofcountlessindividualswhowereleftoutofthefront-pagefeaturesandbannerheadlinesbutwhowerecentraltoPayPal’ssuccess.Describedas“anintenselymagneticchronicle“(TheNewYorkTimes)and“engrossing“(BusinessInsider),TheFoundersisastoryofiterationandinventiveness--theproductsofwhichhavecastalongandpowerfulshadowovermodernlife.Thisnarrativeillustrateshowthisrareassemblageoftalentcametoworktogetherandhowtheircollaborationchangedourworldforever.
PAYPAL FINANCIALTIMES UPS YouTube SSUCCESS funded PALANTIR SpaceX Yelp FAST AWARD CHOICE YET FACEBOOK
