Pattern Breakers

Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future

De: Mike Maples Jr, Peter Ziebelman

Narrado por: Mike Maples Jr, Peter Ziebelman

Based on extensive research and real-world examples, this book upends accepted wisdom about how to achieve success when launching a startup or creating a new product.

The breakthrough concepts of Pattern Breakers come from the observations of Mike Maples Jr., a seasoned venture capitalist, who noticed something strange. Start-ups like Twitter, Twitch, and Lyft had achieved extraordinary success despite their disregard for “best practices.” In contrast, other startups deemed highly promising often failed, even when they seemed to do everything right.

Seeking answers, Maples and coauthor Peter Ziebelman set out to discover the hidden forces that drive extraordinary start-up success. Pattern-breaking success, they reveal, demands a different mindset and actions to harness developments others miss or that may, at first, seem crazy.

Pattern Breakers is filled with firsthand storytelling about initial interactions with some of the most transformative start-ups of recent times. Maples and Ziebelman challenge us to rethink how to transcend the ordinary and achieve the extraordinary.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Mike Maples, Jr and Peter Ziebelman (P)2024 PublicAffairs

Totally Awesome Content!

Absolutely mind blowing, I will listen over and over again. And it’s entirely narrated by the authors, so cool! Tks a lot for your work, Mike and Peter. This is Bruno

“What’s luck got to do with it?”

“We are all fooled by randomness in one way or another.” What may seem randomness, can become insight magic.

From the opening lines, this awesome book takes start-up founder newbies and seasoned explorers through what folklorists call a series of "wonder-tales". It's filled with adventure and discovery of breakthroughs past, present, future and timeless, and is a fabulous journey into formerly uncharted futures, mapping how the outliers got there, exploring the powerful forces that can, and do, change our lives, and drawing out the legends.

“Breakthroughs require pattern breaking. Pattern-breaking founders create something that breaks the mold. Their pattern-breaking ideas boldly challenge us to depart from current habits. Many of us consider these pattern-breaking ideas impossible or unthinkable–at first. Ironically, the experts we respect most are often the least able to see the potential for a break from the past. Often it is the outsider, unburdened by the past, who becomes the pattern-breaking person behind a pattern-breaking idea.

Consider the breakthrough of human flight. …” Take off with Pattern Breakers, Why Some Start-ups Change the Future, by Mike Maples, Jr and Peter Ziebelman. A wonder-tale for the listener, read by both Mike & Peter in this excellent Audible version.

And find Mike on multiple podcasts, every one a great listen with more insights for outliers and future explorations. And join the conversations,

Distilled experience and actionable frameworks

m2jr has had a front row seat for a lot of the biggest startup successes of the last ~15 years, and this book is his attempt to articulate the shared decisions and traits of their early founding teams that led to their success.

One thing which I like is that in contrast with some startup books which tend to put these great founders on a pedestal and wax poetic about their great intrinsic qualities, most of the principles in this book are things that most people can apply if they are willing to put in the blood, sweat and tears.

I would recommend this book to anyone embarking on an entrepreneurial journey or who just wants to better understand how great innovations are made.

Anyone in venture or building a high growth startup should read this

Wish I would have had this book when I built my first company. Now being able to apply and reflect these insights to the new company we’re building is an incredible advantage. I want to get this book for all my network.

Utterly fabulous - an easy recommendation

I’ve read numerous books on startups, and venture capital. This at the meta level describes the fundamentals of how to create a startup that aims to create a fundamental difference. It is utterly fabulous - if you are building a startup read this book. It is that good.

It is funny, humble and full of deep insights.

Equal parts practical and insightful

So much to like about this book: novel, practical frameworks. Entertaining and insightful stories. A personal perspective on luck and success. And in particular, a great way for any reader to understand why a small set of entrepreneurs and companies break out and transform the world for better. Historians will one day look to this book to understand modern entrepreneurship. Highly recommend it.

Astonishing Insights

Hands down the best advice for creating breakthrough innovations and transformative startups. If you’re considering launching a venture. LISTEN TO THIS FIRST!!
My profound appreciation to the authors for this amazing book.

Puede ser muy si querés emprender

Los autores aportan excelentes perspectivas sobre el pensamiento disruptivo (que rompe los patrones establecidos)
Aportan diferentes puntos de vista, permitiendo que los lectores tomen dimensión de lo complejo que es emprender y correrse de la media.

The Leading Book on Startup Advice!

MY BACKGROUND

If I had to guess, this book was definitely written for someone like me. I am a passionate startup founder pursuing a startup idea that I care deeply about. To lots of people, this is a good thing. However, my friends and family members ‘roll their eyes’ when they hear about my career choice. In fact, they think I am crazy! From their perspective, they can’t believe the financial sacrifices I have made to pursue this business idea, which could easily fail in their opinion.

What exactly are they referring to?

My startup is in the early stages of its life. As a result, it’s not yet profitable. Therefore, to cover my living expenses, I drive for DoorDash and Uber Eats at night. In other words, I deliver Taco Bell, Burger King, and McDonald’s for about $7 per delivery. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being a DoorDash or Uber Eats driver, but it’s an unusual job for someone with my background. I have two college degrees. Plus, I was lucky enough to attend two excellent institutions. For example, I relocated from America to England to do my graduate studies at Oxford University. Not surprisingly, nearly all of my Oxford classmates earn at least $125,000 more annually than I do. They work for some of the best Fortune 500 companies in the world!

Now, to answer the million-dollar question: Why do I prefer a gig economy job over a traditional job?

For some reason, I do my best thinking and analytical work in the morning, before I eat my first big meal of the day. So naturally, I want to work on my startup in the morning, when I am at peak efficiency! Working as a food delivery driver at night allows me to maintain this schedule every day of the week, which is fantastic! On the other hand, if I had a traditional job, this would only be possible on two days of the week (Saturday and Sunday). Therefore, that is why I have voluntarily taken a six-figure pay cut. This makes complete sense to me, but my friends and family see it differently.

(FYI - You might wonder why I don’t simply quit the gig economy work and raise a pre-seed round from angel investors instead. The reason is simple: I don’t live in a tech hub like Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, I’m in a small Florida town with far more elder care homes than restaurants, and cold emails to startup investors rarely get a reply. For example, I have never talked to an investor before, despite emailing over 100 of them.)

HERE’S WHY YOU SHOULD “DEFINITELY” BUY THE PATTERN BREAKERS BOOK

While I’m delivering food for about five hours each day, I use Bluetooth to stream startup content from my smartphone to my car’s speakers. This way, I can listen to podcasts, YouTube videos, and audiobooks about the startup world while driving. By doing this, I’m transforming my gig economy job into a valuable learning experience, using this time to enhance my knowledge and improve my startup’s chances of success.

So, how is my choice of car audio content relevant to this book review?

Over the past 1.5 years, I’ve listened to approximately 2,500 hours of startup content and heard advice from around 300 startup investors and founders. As a result, I’ve naturally developed a keen sense of who offers the best startup advice online.

(FYI - In case you're not aware, the Pattern Breakers book is co-authored by the renowned startup investor Mike Maples Jr. I’ve listened to approximately 50 podcasts and YouTube videos featuring Mike’s startup advice, so I am very familiar with it.)

Now, in terms of the obvious question for this book review, how does Mike Maples Jr. perform? In other words, how does his startup advice compare to that of other experts in the field?

When it comes to startup advice for founders in the earliest stage of their journey - known as the zero-to-one phase - Mike is clearly number one! His advice is far superior to that of his competitors. To put it in visual terms, imagine Michael Jordan dominating the basketball court or the sprinter Usain Bolt effortlessly breaking another world record. That’s the level of expertise Mike has in this area (the zero-to-one phase).

(FYI - If you're not familiar with startup terminology, zero-to-one describes the initial stage of a startup, where the main goal is to build a product that customers genuinely love. This is goal number one, by far.)

Now, what makes Mike’s advice stand out? With so many intelligent voices in the startup world, how does Mike manage to outperform everybody in giving zero-to-one advice to the startup community?

Compared to 99.9 percent of people, Mike is a true seeker of knowledge. When I listen to his startup advice, he reminds me of a scientist that is devoted to uncovering the truth. Accuracy is his top priority. For instance, Mike is quick to admit when he's been wrong about X, Y, or Z due to new evidence and is willing to adjust his views accordingly.

On the other hand, most people are influenced by ego and find it difficult to let go of their established beliefs, even when faced with clear evidence to the contrary. It's human nature to cling to previously stated beliefs. Mike, however, combines almost 20 years of startup investing experience with a genuine commitment to discovering the truth. This unique mix of extensive experience and dedication to accuracy makes Mike’s startup advice world-class.

In conclusion, whether you are a startup founder or a startup investor, you should definitely get a copy of Pattern Breakers. It is a must-read! You will learn a ton of useful information. As no surprise, I purchased the audiobook version on the day it was released, and I listened to the entire book within two days while delivering food for Door Dash and Uber Eats. Plus, I have listened to my favorite chapters multiple times. The book is outstanding!

Full of insight and examples

Thanks for reinforcing to the disruptors that their nonconsensus and disagreement is courageous and not foolish.