The Launch Pad

Inside Y Combinator, Silicon Valley's Most Exclusive School for Startups

By: Randall Stross

Narrated by: René Ruiz

Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Twice a year in the heart of Silicon Valley, a small investment firm called Y Combinator selects an elite group of young entrepreneurs from around the world for three months of intense work and instruction. Their brand-new two- or three-person start-ups are given a seemingly impossible challenge: to turn a raw idea into a viable business, fast.

Each YC session culminates in a demo day, when investors and venture capitalists flock to hear pitches from the new graduates. Any one of them might turn out to be the next Dropbox (class of 2007, now valued at $5 billion) or Airbnb (2009, $1.3 billion).

Randall Stross is the first journalist to have fly-on-the-wall access to Y Combinator. He tells the full story of how Paul Graham started this ultra exclusive institution, how it chooses among hundreds of aspiring Mark Zuckerbergs, and how it teaches them to go from concept to profitability in record time.

©2012 Randall Stross (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Y Combinator is a national treasure, a Silicon Valley seed fund that is mass-producing new startups. Randall Stross’s behind-the-scenes look at YC offers a rare glimpse into what it really takes to conceive an idea and get it to market as quickly as possible. The Launch Pad is a must-read for anyone interested in the realities of modern entrepreneurship." (Eric Ries, author of the New York Times best seller The Lean Startup)

"The Launch Pad is an intimate look at the white-hot center of the new Silicon Valley startup ecosystem. Stross’s account of the best new entrepreneurs and the exciting companies they’re building at startup schools is a great read for founders and would-be founders alike." (Marc Andreessen, cofounder, Andreessen Horowitz)

Soothing

This book eliminated the fear of failure, and replaced it with a childish and nerdy excitement for starting a start-up.

This is not Unabridged

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Please do not list a book as unabridged if it is not complete. This audiobook is missing the Epilogue that is in the kindle book.

Any additional comments?

This is an abridged book, it does not have the Epilogue and should be listed as such!

On Towards a New Journey

An awesome tale describing the whole 3 month crucible at YCombinator’s startup program. The author takes you from start day - describing some of the ideas of the batch, to demo day. Along the way, we learn a few things about the founders. We learn their troubles, and listen to their thinking process when conjuring new ideas.

I listened to the book on Audible. The narrator performed well. Really enjoyed his clear voice.

A motivating book that was much needed for myself. This book has motivated me towards a new journey - the startup journey.

No conclusions

A good recap of one class of Y Combinator, but no broad conclusions about efficacy or methodologies for innovators to follow.

Best audiobook for yc applicant

Must read for yc applicants.
You can see what Paul Graham and Sam Wants
Audible 20 review sweepstakes entry

Perfect intro for outsiders

Loved it, I feel like I finally know a bit of what they look for.

Poor Book with Nothing Practical - Boring!

A tremendous waste of time! I tried to keep listening to see if I would get anything out of this book but nothing came out of it that was in the least bit interesting! Don't waste your credits on this BORING book!

Great info, I learned a lot

What did you like best about The Launch Pad? What did you like least?

I loved learning more about YC

I did not like the narrator

What didn’t you like about Rene Ruiz’s performance?

He has some odd pronunciations which become annoying to listen to

Must-read for any aspiring VC

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would higly recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in startups from both investor and founder point of view.

What did you like best about this story?

This book has tons of great examples of founder and investors at works, sleeves up, hands down with nitty-gritty details regarding daily job of running and investing in startups. Very motivational for someone looking to get a glimpse into the world of Silicon Valley.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was particularly moved by the examples shown regarding the motivation needed to ABC: always be closing, as pictured with the example of Vidyard trying to setup a cooperation and/or a meeting with AirBNB to try to replace their existing video-hosting partner as pictured below with a fragment of the book itself:

When Michael Litt looks at Airbnb’s Web site, which makes use of videos, he sees a natural home for Vidyard’s services. Airbnb’s AirTV section has videos of the more unusual lodging listings or colorful Airbnb hosts— its nickname is “the ‘Cribs’ of Airbnb.” Vidyard’s software is not finished, but Litt goes after Airbnb, sending an e-mail to the cofounders, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia. It is the very first week of the summer session. Always Be Closing.

The subject heading of Litt’s first e-mail message is “AirTV— Current YC company looking for some quick insight!” He opens, “Hey Guys, Sorry to bother. We’re building a platform for video serving (encoding, analytics, customization included) and would love some insight into what you guys are doing with AirTV.” He says Vidyard could add analytic reports to the videos that they are already serving or “we can serve and take the entire piece off of your shoulders.” He closes with a mention that both Vidyard and Airbnb have shared parentage. “Thanks and let me know— we’re very glad to be YC!”

His message is forwarded to Venetia Pristavec, the manager in charge of Airbnb’s videos. Airbnb presently is using the video service of Vid Network, a startup that does the video hosting and analytics that Vidyard plans to offer. But Pristavec says that Airbnb is looking for a new video provider. Unfortunately for Vidyard, Airbnb has narrowed the field of replacement candidates to a pair of big names in video hosting, Ooyala and Brightcove. Clearly, Airbnb has decided to move away from relying on a startup and instead shift to a much larger company as its video supplier.

Litt is not daunted. He asks Pristavec if she has time for a chat. “It just so happens we’re in a bid for another initiative with Ooyala and Brightcove,” he says, suggesting implicitly that Vidyard is able to hold its own while battling with the big boys. He asks Pristavec only for information, for her “perspective” on the reasons for switching from Airbnb’s current video host. “I promise I won’t try to sell to you. I’m not a salesman— we’re just looking for feedback from potential users,” he says.

Meanwhile, Paul Graham dashes off a note to Pristavec and to Airbnb’s cofounders, testifying to the Vidyard team’s work ethic and asking that they be given an opportunity to make their pitch before a final decision is reached. Litt follows with an impassioned follow-up e-mail addressed directly to Gebbia. “This is an awesome opportunity that we are willing to work our asses off for,” he writes. “It goes without saying that your brand would hold some amazing clout for us and the timing is perfect
for both parties.”

Litt dispatches more e-mails but it is all for naught. Airbnb does not budge from its original plan and Vidyard does not get the chance to make its pitch to land the contract. Litt does not pause. “Sorry to be a pain,” he writes Airbnb again, confessing that “we’re really putting on the hustle.” He proposes that Vidyard produce some videos for Airbnb. This offer will not lead to a commission either. But to Litt, there is never a definitive no, there is only to-be-continued.

Doesn’t add much

This book feels like a very, very long Wired article. It could be interesting for those who are interested in mindsets of toddler Valley nerds, but it doesn’t brig anything more than that to the table.

Must Read for Startups

Would you consider the audio edition of The Launch Pad to be better than the print version?

No

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Launch Pad?

The paragraph on gender differentiation in the start-up world.

What about Rene Ruiz’s performance did you like?

It was ok.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made a bit frustrated and angry at times with the hypocritical and sexist approach that the lead character selects his start-ups. It's very money driven without any considerations for the best interests of the person. Must read if you are thinking or have recently launched a company - there is some good advice in it about how to pitch and sell your business but i wouldn't go down the route of incubators after this read.

Best startup book yet

This has been the most informative, the most entertaining and the most helpful book I have "read" since I begin my journey as a founder.

Excellent

Awesome book, an immersive view into Y Combinator, well worth listening to! If you are interested in startups and what Y combinator is like then this is an awesome choice!

The Best Book for Start-Up

This is the book that I recommend to anyone who is looking to build or is building a startup.

Why is it so good? Because being an entrepreneur is a lonely, random, dark, stressful and most of the time badly rewarded journey. And those who think it's different are going to get hit hard. Be sure that if building a successful company was easy - much much more people would be really rich, and most of startups wouldn't die in the first year. And in this journey you need peers and friend, teammates and likeminded people around you. This book supercharges your surrounding or compensates the possible lack of it. You just get into the whirlwind of great people, insights, results in startups and a lot more.

How does it helps? Aside from feeling energised and a part of an elite group of young entrepreneurs selected to be lead in the worlds best accelerator, there is a huge lot of business knowledge, purposefully and in smart manner given from all sides - from Y-Combinator partners, from brave young people starting their businesses, from the public they sell their products to, from potential employees, and from what is now history of success of those companies.

This is a book to teach in schools - that would be my suggestion for economics/business classes. This is especially true especially considering the fact that current education leads to where our world currently is - political, ecological and energy crisis, with lots of fields where significant improvements are not just welcome, but urgently required. But as we're in the world where money is the key resource - people should learn how to build up the resource to actually patch or fix any part of our world. But that's polemics. Main idea here - this is a book to re-listen at least once a year. To anyone looking to get it and thinking if it is wort it - I strongly recommend you do get it.