The Upstarts

Readers will find plenty of food for thought in Brad Stone’s The Upstarts, the most detailed investigation yet into the early years of these Silicon Valley prodigies. It’s an entertaining and well-crafted account... a careful character portrait of both Uber and Airbnb. Read it and you will be able to judge them for yourself. * FT *
A fun, briskly told narrative… Mr. Stone’s reporting is excellent. The Upstarts is not the end of the story but an excellent history of the beginning. * The Wall Street Journal *
Excellent... an unusually gripping business book. * The Times *
Stone brings a big dose of truth serum to the marvels and machinations of the sharing economy and its founders.... 'The Upstarts' is rich with inside details. * Forbes *
Technology writer Brad Stone chronicles [Uber and Airbnb's] swift rise to the corporate stratosphere, juxtaposing visionary zeal with the often deep impacts they've left in their wakes... The book is a timely reminder that pushing the digital realm into the physical can disrupt communities as well as the competition. * Nature *
A richly researched and highly readable narrative that provides additional layers of insight by weaving in contrasting stories of competing companies that failed. -- Walter Isaacson, * New York Times Book Review *
A colourful and enjoyable read ... Compelling. * i *
In The Upstarts, Brad Stone has vividly captured the cultural and economic upheaval brought about by the latest generation of Internet superpowers. His book is a magnificent expose of how companies like Uber and Airbnb came to be, the people that profited and lost out along the way and the ramifications that this technology will have on the world for decades to come. Stone remains the preeminent chronicler of the Internet Age and a master storyteller. * Ashlee Vance, author of Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future *
[Stone] amply illustrates that for every tech champion there is a forgotten crowd of decapitated competitors, pissed-off investors, defenestrated founders and unrewarded early employees ... where Stone really succeeds is in providing the reader with the visceral experience of the start-up enterprise. -- Antonio Garcia-Martinez * Washington Post *
A fascinating account of the founders and leaders of each company, each of whom have moulded the companies into their own images in many ways... [Stone's] telling is especially artful. These books are great primers for aspiring entrepreneurs as well as those who are simply interested in what makes entrepreneurs successful. -- Peter High * Forbes *
Excellent * Literary Review *
Stone is a fine chronicler of the internet age...As compulsive as any blockbusting thriller * The Pool *
A penetrating study marked by the same through reporting that distinguished [The Everything Store]. No figure is too obscure in the annals of Uber and Airbnb for Stone to track down, including the poignant stories of sundry entrepreneurs who converged on similar ideas bu, amid various missteps, failed to find traction. * San Francisco Chronicle *
With precision, wit, and insight, Brad Stone tells the tale of two very different CEOs whose skills, innovations and willingness to pursue a totally crazy idea toppled two very different industries. No one in business today can afford to miss this compelling tale of trust, technology and very big piles of loot. * Steven Levy, author of In the Plex *
Brad Stone's The Upstarts reads like a detective story: A page turning who-did-it on the creation of billion dollar fortunes and the ruthless murder of traditional businesses. No single book will tell you more about what life feels like inside companies like Airbnb and Uber as they grow from mere ideas into merciless machines for innovation, riches and unease. The sweat. The stress. The power highs of new instant fortunes. It's all here. You won't be able to put The Upstarts down. And when you finally do, you'll look at your own company and career in a totally fresh way. * Joshua Cooper Ramo, author of The Seventh Sense *
Brad Stone gives us a lively, fascinating picture of the new new thing in technology - startups like Uber and Airbnb that are disrupting old businesses across the world. He provides a much needed glimpse into the companies that fail as well as the ones that make it big. And he points to the broad policy issues raised by these new technologies, which are surely no fun for the people whose lives are being disrupted. * Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post-American World *
For a flavour of how fast the world is changing, turn to Brad Stone’s The Upstarts * Director *
Brad Stone unravels the facts from the mythology surrounding the companies’ rise * Harvard Business Review *
A penetrating study marked by the same thorough reporting that distinguished [The Everything Store] * SF Gate *