Burn Rate

Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind

De: Andy Dunn

Narrado por: Andy Dunn

NATIONAL BESTSELLER •

In this “gripping” (TechCrunch), “eye-opening” (Gayle King, Oprah Daily) memoir of mental illness and entrepreneurship, the co-founder of the menswear startup Bonobos opens up about the struggle with bipolar disorder that nearly cost him everything.

“Arrestingly candid . . . the most powerful book I’ve read on manic depression since An Unquiet Mind.”—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of WorkLife

At twenty-eight, fresh from Stanford’s MBA program and steeped in the move-fast-and-break-things ethos of Silicon Valley, Andy Dunn was on top of the world. He was building a new kind of startup—a digitally native, direct-to-consumer brand—out of his Manhattan apartment. Bonobos was a new-school approach to selling an old-school product: men’s pants. Against all odds, business was booming.

Hustling to scale the fledgling venture, Dunn raised tens of millions of dollars while boundaries between work and life evaporated. As he struggled to keep the startup afloat, Dunn was haunted by a ghost: a diagnosis of bipolar disorder he received after a frightening manic episode in college, one that had punctured the idyllic veneer of his midwestern upbringing. He had understood his diagnosis as an unspeakable shame that—according to the taciturn codes of his fraternity, the business world, and even his family—should be locked away.

As Dunn’s business began to take off, however, some of the very traits that powered his success as a founder—relentless drive, confidence bordering on hubris, and ambition verging on delusion—were now threatening to undo him. A collision course was set in motion, and it would culminate in a night of mayhem—one poised to unravel all that he had built.

Burn Rate is an unconventional entrepreneurial memoir, a parable for the twenty-first-century economy, and a revelatory look at the prevalence of mental illness in the startup community. With intimate prose, Andy Dunn fearlessly shines a light on the dark side of success and challenges us all to take part in the deepening conversation around creativity, performance, and disorder.

©2022 Andy Dunn (P)2022 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A humble, honest and brave look at the author’s struggle with bipolar disorder . . . Not only does the book humanize this affliction, which affects more than three percent of the population, but it offers a rare look back at where things went wrong, what could have been done differently and also provides a template for families worried about a loved one. So many things are extraordinary about this story.”—Lee Woodruff, Book Marks

“There is nothing typical about this extraordinarily brave memoir. The result is a long-overdue unveiling—a reckoning with rampant mental health stigma that is especially pervasive in the business world.”—Susannah Cahalan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire and The Great Pretender

“A riveting and soulful expression of the entrepreneur, Burn Rate blows away the haze of American dream myths to reveal that, often, there’s a destructive mania that drives success in this country.”—Ev Williams, founder and CEO, Medium; co-founder, Twitter

Brave and eye opening must read!

I’m grateful for the raw honesty of the author to provide a window into his struggle with mental health. It’s stories such as this one that can hopefully begin important conversations about ending mental illness stigma.

And don’t forget it’s a great story about building a company!

Written with vulnerable courage

Anyone that has lived with or been in a relationship with another that has suffered, conquered and accepted bipolar diagnosis should listen and learn from this incredible journey.

Bravo Andy. Bravo.

So enlightening

This book spoke to me on multiple levels: as a business leader and as the daughter of an estranged late father who had Bipolar 1 as well. This fills so many gaps for me. Conversations I never had and questions I never got to ask. Thank you Andy Dunn for this gift.

Gives you a whole new perspective

The book was absolutely amazing and it really speaks to the ups and down that entrepreneurs and business owners go through and gives the team an insight see their bosses and executives in a different light.

A very important book

I am recommending this book to all my friends and family. We all need the education and the compassion. Thank you, Andy Dunn for sharing this with all of us.

Candid. Authentic. Moving

Andy is a bschool classmate . If truth be told, I didn't know him that well. Just finished his book which I couldn't stop listening to.

To say it was deeply meaningful would be an understatement. Because I know the ghost he speaks of. Experimenting with medication to cage mental illness, leaning on wise counsel, building a personal toolkit to mitigate fallout on relationships/work/health alongside a uniquely personal journey of self discovery, was viscerally familiar.

I am grateful to him for the courage and discipline it must have taken to pen his experiences down.

Highly highly recommend a read 👍🏽👍🏽

An insightful look into living with bipolar disorder.

As a parent of a son with this diagnosis, Andy’s gift of his story opened a window into his world. His description of manic episodes were surprisingly similar, and his will to continually overcome this illness is truly heroic, insightful and inspiring. Thank you for sharing your story.

Open and honest

An inspiring story through the shame, stigma and challenge surrounding mental illness. Gives me hope that others will learn from this Board's example on how to accept, support and navigate another human's mental health.

Wow - there’s a lot in this book

Besides getting the full Bonobos story from Andy’s perspective, which is fascinating on its own, the full transparency Andy offers, and reads, around his mental health challenges is incredibly honest and interesting. I have been a Bonobos fan from nearly the beginning, and an Andy Dunn fan, abs now I’m a huge Andy Dunn fan. Thanks for having the guts and generosity to share your story. It will be exciting to see what comes next from Andy and his team.

Fight club can be a lonely place

A great reminder to all professionals to keep labels on jars. It’s as much about what you say when you think everyone in the room is free of illness as you do when they are in the room. Reflect that mental illness is independent of title and in a world where you can be anything, be kind. A must read for inspiring entrepreneurs.