Disrupted

My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble

By: Dan Lyons

Narrated by: Dan Lyons

An instant New York Times best seller, Dan Lyons' "hysterical" (Recode) memoir, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "the best book about Silicon Valley," takes listeners inside the maddening world of fad-chasing venture capitalists, sales bros, social climbers, and sociopaths at today's tech startups.

For 25 years Dan Lyons was a magazine writer at the top of his profession - until one Friday morning when he received a phone call: Poof. His job no longer existed. "I think they just want to hire younger people," his boss at Newsweek told him. Fifty years old and with a wife and two young kids, Dan was, in a word, screwed. Then an idea hit. Dan had long reported on Silicon Valley and the tech explosion. Why not join it? HubSpot, a Boston start-up, was flush with $100 million in venture capital. They offered Dan a pile of stock options for the vague role of "marketing fellow". What could go wrong?

HubSpotters were true believers: They were making the world a better place ...by selling email spam. The office vibe was frat house meets cult compound: The party began at four thirty on Friday and lasted well into the night; "shower pods" became hook-up dens; a push-up club met at noon in the lobby, while nearby, in the "content factory," Nerf gun fights raged. Groups went on "walking meetings," and Dan's absentee boss sent cryptic emails about employees who had "graduated" (Read: Been fired). In the middle of all this was Dan, exactly twice the age of the average HubSpot employee, and literally old enough to be the father of most of his co-workers, sitting at his desk on his bouncy-ball "chair".

©2016 Dan Lyons (P)2016 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Wildly entertaining.... Lyons has injected a dose of sanity into a world gone mad." (Ashlee Vance, New York Times best-selling author of Elon Musk)

Had me hooked all the way to the end. Excellent.

Not all authors are great and reading their material. Lyons is an exception. Excellent and much deeper and thought-provoking than expected.

great inside

interesting view of the startup world. not everything is shine and pretty with entrepreneur companies

Almost returned it 10 min in - ended entertained

Dan is pretty entitled. The world doesn't owe him anything. He sounds that way throughout the book -- but the book nonetheless ends up being pretty entertaining and well read. You won't learn anything, but if you care about the tech industry at all, this will be a fun listen. Would be better if it weren't clear Dan is also taking ageism the other direction -- as if he's owed something just because he's older.

Take it with a grain of salt

This is what happens when a holier-than-thou, arrogant employee meets an infantile startup culture. The story had to be told but don't fully trust the narrative. The author shares plenty of blame.

super entertaining

great story telling and really fascinating unfolding of events. some hard to believe but not hard to imagine that it could happen to any grey hair workers in the tech world.

More fact than hyperbole.

This is a great inside story of a Silicon Valley startup. It is well written, entertaining, and I would expect more archtypical than anomalous.

Buena Historia

Muy buen narrador ! Buena historia, entretenida y reveladora del mundo de las Start UPS, IPOs, y los nuevos estilos de trabajo y liderazgo.

Eye into startup culture

Great book giving insight into the start up culture where young people are hired for low wages and insiders and venture capitalists make all the money. Insightful expose worth reading

Gets better as it goes on

I found Lyons heavy handed at the beginning of the book, but later on he's funny and makes good points. What he describes is a great primer for start-up executives on what not to build. Don't take this book as the gospel, but it's worth your time.

TRUTH!

Would you listen to Disrupted again? Why?

Yes! It was eye opening entertainment packed with a punch of truth!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Disrupted?

Too many to count! His "blunt language" really speaks to the piece. And I normally don't like "blunt language".

Which character – as performed by Dan Lyons – was your favorite?

Himself! DUH!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Startups in the Raw

Any additional comments?

LOVE THIS BOOK! And it made me look at the direction I was hoping to go and quickly change my trajectory.