The Godfather of Silicon Valley

Ron Conway and the Fall of the Dot-coms

De: Gary Rivlin

Narrado por: Richard Ferrone

Gary Rivlin tells the story of Ron Conway, the man who has placed more bets on Internet start-ups than anyone else in Silicon Valley. Conway is a listener-friendly way into the realm of angel financing, where independently wealthy investors link up with companies just as they are being born. The Godfather of Silicon Valley takes you into this fascinating world on the edges of the financial universe, where the pace is frantic, the story lines are rich, and every moment is perilous.

©2001 Gary Rivlin (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

The history of Angel Financing in Silicon Valley

This short book is not only a brief biography of Ron Conway but a brief analysis of what went wrong with the new internet economy.

Conway was a wealthy investor with a gift for networking. Conway had amassed a fortune in the computer business and by 1997 he retired and started a venture capital company. He provided financial backing to tiny start-ups that could not obtain financing from the main stream sources. By 2001 forty three of the companies where out of business and dozens more had to be written off.

The history of the Dot.com tells how the companies soared and then crashed. Some of the companies were started by visionaries, who were unable to run the day to day business of the companies but would not let go and hire the appropriate people, failed. Some companies got to the market first with an innovated product but failed to continue to advance the product and accordingly failed. I guess the old rules still apply to the new economy.

The book is well written and provides a quick look at the history of the Dot.Com so we can see how it has evolved. The author also reviews some basic business rules and how they were applied or not. I felt like this was a magazine article that was made into a book without providing more in-depth material.

Richard Ferrone does a good job narrating the book. Ferrone gave up the practice of law to become a stage actor. He has joined many other stage actors in narrating audiobooks. He won the 2011 Best Voice in Mystery and Suspense; he also won this award in 2010 and 2008. In 2009 he won the Best Voice in Science fiction and fantasy.

top shark among sharks

Conway is a phenomenon a limitless talent. his story is riviting; and enlighteming. a real page turner.