Alpha Girls

The Women Upstarts Who Took on Silicon Valley's Male Culture and Made the Deals of a Lifetime

De: Julian Guthrie

Narrado por: Kim Mai Guest, Julian Guthrie

An unforgettable story of four women who, through grit and ingenuity, became stars in the cutthroat, high-stakes, male-dominated world of venture capital in Silicon Valley, and helped build some of the foremost companies of our time.

In Alpha Girls, award-winning journalist Julian Guthrie takes listeners behind the closed doors of venture capital, an industry that transforms economies and shapes how we live. We follow the lives and careers of four women who were largely written out of history - until now.

Magdalena Yesil, who arrived in America from Turkey with $43 to her name, would go on to receive her electrical engineering degree from Stanford, found some of the first companies to commercialize internet access, and help Marc Benioff build Salesforce. Mary Jane Elmore went from the corn fields of Indiana to Stanford and on to the storied venture capital firm IVP - where she was one of the first women in the US to make partner - only to be pulled back from the glass ceiling by expectations at home. Theresia Gouw, an overachieving first-generation Asian American from a working-class town, dominated the foosball tables at Brown (she would later reluctantly let Sergey Brin win to help Accel Partners court Google), before she helped land and build companies including Facebook, Trulia, Imperva, and ForeScout. Sonja Hoel, a Southerner who became the first woman investing partner at white-glove Menlo Ventures, invested in McAfee, Hotmail, Acme Packet, and F5 Networks. As her star was still rising at Menlo, a personal crisis would turn her into an activist overnight, inspiring her to found an all-women's investment group and a national nonprofit for girls.

These women, juggling work and family, shaped the tech landscape we know today while overcoming unequal pay, actual punches, betrayals, and the sexist attitudes prevalent in Silicon Valley and in male-dominated industries everywhere. Despite the setbacks, they would rise again to rewrite the rules for an industry they love. In Alpha Girls, Guthrie reveals their untold stories.

“A revelatory, riveting journey into a part of Silicon Valley's history that has been overshadowed for far too long. Through vivid prose and artful story-telling, Julian Guthrie brings to life the nuanced tales of the struggles and successes of women in the technology industry." (Ashlee Vance, best-selling author of Elon Musk)

“Julian Guthrie is a mesmerizing storyteller, weaving the life stories of four dynamic women into a page-turning yarn. We don’t just read of but feel the outrageous and often clueless male slights and insults, the double standards and blatant sexism endured by women in the blustery, male-dominated world of Silicon Valley. Yet Alpha Girls leaves you awed by their resilience and their professional feats. A stirring tale of triumph.” (Ken Auletta, acclaimed author and New Yorker staff writer)

©2019 Julian Guthrie (P)2019 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“An extremely important addition to the literary canon of Silicon Valley, told through the honest and specific stories of a handful of individual women. Beautifully done.” (Po Bronson, number-one New York Times best-selling author of What Should I Do with My Life?)

“The women of Alpha Girls had to grow some thick skin to survive and succeed. And succeed they did. Alpha Girls will reshape how you look at women in finance. A must read for women and girls interested in changing the world.” (Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest)

“If you read one book about women in business, Alpha Girls should be the one. Julian Guthrie has written another dazzler." (Peter Diamandis, New York Times best-selling author, Founder and Executive Chairman of XPRIZE)

Memories!

I lived this book (meant loved, but I lived it too!)
I remember working for and with a number of the companies mentioned, having moved to the Bay Area in 1995, just prior to the dot-com boom.
Four great stories of 4 great women, their successes, their struggles, their lives. Highly recommend!

Inspiring book!

Amazing book about how female succeed in male dominated industry. I also like how they shared the obstacles they encountered and overcame.

Inspirational and eye-opening!

Working in tech in Silicon Valley, I was surprised by how little I knew of the venture capital world, especially the unique challenges women face. I was left feeling like I knew these women personally because of the level of details provided. Will definitely be recommending this book to the other women in tech that I know!

I recommend this book

First half is a little bit boring and too detailed but the second one is really good. I really enjoyed learning from these women's experiences

Inspiring read

A book I would recommend not only to women but also and most importantly to men. The author was able to make this subject a fascinating read filled with interesting facts and information. It’s a book that will hopefully help to create changes to our society.

The Unsung Influencers

This book was inspiring of all the women who’ve plowed the way for more balance in business and the VC world. Women have a knack for sensing the unseen and potential in ideas, the business operators, the business leaders and the likelihood of a successful outcome. There are plenty of businesses that flop, a lot of them but having a women’s perspective as the majority of consumers on the market, it only makes sense VC firms would greatly benefit from those integrated talents.
What’s sad is the narrowness of the opposite sex to realize having both sides to the coin creates greatness and profits in the business. These women trail-blazed in all 97% male industry. I’m inspired to know there are more of us and more that have been connecting and helping each other. There are great opportunities in the future for all Alpha Girls.
Great evidence and great inspiration.

Loved Alpha Girls

Audible was really enjoyable to listen to. The women in it were interesting, strong, compassionate, driven an inspiring. Kim Mai’s has a calming, sturdy voice that made listening a pleasure.

Great Read

Thank Julianne! For putting this together! I am a woman entrepreneur and needed to hear about these ladies success!