The Power Law
Venture Capital and the Art of Disruption
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo first 3 months
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $23.24
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Will Damron
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
It is no exaggeration to say that venture capital has been central to the greatest legal creation of wealth anywhere and has enabled much of the world we live in, yet we know surprisingly little about this strange tribe of financiers.
In The Power Law, Sebastian Mallaby turns his unprecedented access to the industry's central players into a riveting, character-driven account of venture capital and the world it has made. Most of the tech start-ups funded by Silicon Valley venture capitalists fail, but a very few hits succeed at such a scale that they will more than make up for everything else. That extreme ratio of success and failure is the power law that drives venture capital, and the wider tech sector.
Mallaby make sense of the seeming randomness of success in venture capital, an industry that supposedly relies on gut instinct and personality rather than spreadsheets and data. We learn the unvarnished truth about some of the most iconic hits and infamous disasters in Silicon Valley history - from the comedy of errors that was the birth of Apple to the avalanche of venture money that fostered hubris at WeWork and Uber. And he shows how the power law now echoes around the world.
©2022 Sebastian Mallaby (P)2022 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Secrets of Sand Hill Road
- Venture Capital and How to Get It
- By: Scott Kupor, Eric Ries
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether you're trying to get a new company off the ground or scale an existing business to the next level, you need to understand how VCs think. In Secrets of Sand Hill Road, Kupor explains exactly how VCs decide where and how much to invest, and how entrepreneurs can get the best possible deal and make the most of their relationships with VCs. Filled with Kupor's firsthand experiences, insider advice, and practical takeaways, Secrets of Sand Hill Road is the guide every entrepreneur needs to turn their startup into the next unicorn.
-
-
As a founder I can highly recommend it
- By Mark on 07-15-19
By: Scott Kupor, and others
-
Founder vs Investor
- The Honest Truth About Venture Capital from Startup to IPO
- By: Elizabeth Joy Zalman, Jerry Neumann
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Joy Zalman, Jerry Neumann, Andrew Magnusson
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every iconic tech company was once a startup. And while these companies like to paint an origin story full of surefooted confidence, the truth is usually something different: the early life of most startups is pure chaos. This chaos comes from the vastly different motivations and incentives between those with the vision and those with the money. From fundraising paranoia to boardroom coups, Zalman and Neumann train their inimitable voices on the gulf between what founders and investors promise to do and what they end up actually doing.
-
-
Useful and enlightening
- By Chr. G on 11-02-24
By: Elizabeth Joy Zalman, and others
-
The World for Sale
- Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources
- By: Javier Blas, Jack Farchy
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The World for Sale, two leading journalists lift the lid on one of the least scrutinised corners of the economy: the workings of the billionaire commodity traders who buy, hoard and sell the earth's resources. It is the story of how a handful of swashbuckling businessmen became indispensable cogs in global markets: enabling an enormous expansion in international trade and connecting resource-rich countries - no matter how corrupt or war-torn - with the world's financial centres.
-
-
Explains a lot!
- By jaga on 03-24-21
By: Javier Blas, and others
-
Billionaires' Row
- Tycoons, High Rollers, and the Epic Race to Build the World's Most Exclusive Skyscrapers
- By: Katherine Clarke
- Narrated by: Kristen DiMercurio
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To look south and skyward from Central Park these days is to gaze upon a physical manifestation of tens of billions of dollars in global wealth: a series of soaring spires stretching from Park Avenue to Broadway. Known as Billionaires’ Row, this set of slender high-rise residences has transformed the skyline of New York City, thanks to developer-friendly policies and a seemingly endless gush of cash from tech, finance, and foreign oligarchs. And chances are most of us will never be invited to step inside.
-
-
Couldn't wait for this to be over
- By Allena on 12-14-24
By: Katherine Clarke
-
Poor Charlie’s Almanack
- The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
- By: Charles T. Munger
- Narrated by: Grover Gardener
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up," Charles T. Munger advises in Poor Charlie’s Almanack. Originally published in 2005, this compendium of 11 talks, delivered by the legendary Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman between 1986 and 2007, has become a touchstone for a generation of investors and entrepreneurs seeking to absorb the enduring wit and wisdom of one of the great minds of the 20th and 21st centuries.
-
-
Wisdom from grandpa Charlie
- By J R Cavanaugh on 08-18-24
-
How to Raise a Venture Capital Fund
- The Essential Guide on Fundraising and Understanding Limited Partners
- By: Winter Mead
- Narrated by: Marc P. LeVasseur
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book serves as a guide. It dives into the process of raising a venture capital fund, the how-tos, the unique language of the limited partner (LP) world, secrets of how LPs think about fund diligence and alignment, the best practices in fundraising, what works, and how you can best prepare for success.
-
-
raising a fund for beginners
- By Scott Goodman on 11-18-21
By: Winter Mead
-
Secrets of Sand Hill Road
- Venture Capital and How to Get It
- By: Scott Kupor, Eric Ries
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether you're trying to get a new company off the ground or scale an existing business to the next level, you need to understand how VCs think. In Secrets of Sand Hill Road, Kupor explains exactly how VCs decide where and how much to invest, and how entrepreneurs can get the best possible deal and make the most of their relationships with VCs. Filled with Kupor's firsthand experiences, insider advice, and practical takeaways, Secrets of Sand Hill Road is the guide every entrepreneur needs to turn their startup into the next unicorn.
-
-
As a founder I can highly recommend it
- By Mark on 07-15-19
By: Scott Kupor, and others
-
Founder vs Investor
- The Honest Truth About Venture Capital from Startup to IPO
- By: Elizabeth Joy Zalman, Jerry Neumann
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Joy Zalman, Jerry Neumann, Andrew Magnusson
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every iconic tech company was once a startup. And while these companies like to paint an origin story full of surefooted confidence, the truth is usually something different: the early life of most startups is pure chaos. This chaos comes from the vastly different motivations and incentives between those with the vision and those with the money. From fundraising paranoia to boardroom coups, Zalman and Neumann train their inimitable voices on the gulf between what founders and investors promise to do and what they end up actually doing.
-
-
Useful and enlightening
- By Chr. G on 11-02-24
By: Elizabeth Joy Zalman, and others
-
The World for Sale
- Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources
- By: Javier Blas, Jack Farchy
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The World for Sale, two leading journalists lift the lid on one of the least scrutinised corners of the economy: the workings of the billionaire commodity traders who buy, hoard and sell the earth's resources. It is the story of how a handful of swashbuckling businessmen became indispensable cogs in global markets: enabling an enormous expansion in international trade and connecting resource-rich countries - no matter how corrupt or war-torn - with the world's financial centres.
-
-
Explains a lot!
- By jaga on 03-24-21
By: Javier Blas, and others
-
Billionaires' Row
- Tycoons, High Rollers, and the Epic Race to Build the World's Most Exclusive Skyscrapers
- By: Katherine Clarke
- Narrated by: Kristen DiMercurio
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To look south and skyward from Central Park these days is to gaze upon a physical manifestation of tens of billions of dollars in global wealth: a series of soaring spires stretching from Park Avenue to Broadway. Known as Billionaires’ Row, this set of slender high-rise residences has transformed the skyline of New York City, thanks to developer-friendly policies and a seemingly endless gush of cash from tech, finance, and foreign oligarchs. And chances are most of us will never be invited to step inside.
-
-
Couldn't wait for this to be over
- By Allena on 12-14-24
By: Katherine Clarke
-
Poor Charlie’s Almanack
- The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
- By: Charles T. Munger
- Narrated by: Grover Gardener
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up," Charles T. Munger advises in Poor Charlie’s Almanack. Originally published in 2005, this compendium of 11 talks, delivered by the legendary Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman between 1986 and 2007, has become a touchstone for a generation of investors and entrepreneurs seeking to absorb the enduring wit and wisdom of one of the great minds of the 20th and 21st centuries.
-
-
Wisdom from grandpa Charlie
- By J R Cavanaugh on 08-18-24
-
How to Raise a Venture Capital Fund
- The Essential Guide on Fundraising and Understanding Limited Partners
- By: Winter Mead
- Narrated by: Marc P. LeVasseur
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book serves as a guide. It dives into the process of raising a venture capital fund, the how-tos, the unique language of the limited partner (LP) world, secrets of how LPs think about fund diligence and alignment, the best practices in fundraising, what works, and how you can best prepare for success.
-
-
raising a fund for beginners
- By Scott Goodman on 11-18-21
By: Winter Mead
-
The SaaS Playbook
- Build a Multimillion-Dollar Startup Without Venture Capital
- By: Rob Walling
- Narrated by: Rob Walling
- Length: 4 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Learn how to compete against large competitors and structure your pricing for maximum growth. Discover the four SaaS Cheat Codes that can dramatically accelerate your business's success. Learn how to avoid common mistakes that SaaS founders make and identify the right marketing approaches for your business.
-
-
Solid
- By Phil Williams on 12-14-23
By: Rob Walling
-
The Dealmaker
- Lessons from a Life in Private Equity
- By: Guy Hands
- Narrated by: Simon Shepherd, Guy Hands - introduction
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Dealmaker is a frank and honest account of how a severely dyslexic child who struggled at school went on to graduate from Oxford and become a serial entrepreneur. It describes Guy Hand's career in private equity, first at Nomura and then as head of his own company, Terra Firma. It looks in detail at the huge deals that Terra Firma has done over the years, involving everything from cinema chains and pubs to waste management, aircraft leasing and green energy.
-
-
Very Interesting, rather self involved
- By Michael Bereslavsky on 03-06-24
By: Guy Hands
-
How to Lead
- Wisdom from the World's Greatest CEOs, Founders, and Game Changers
- By: David M. Rubenstein
- Narrated by: David M. Rubenstein
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The essential leadership playbook. Learn the principles and guiding philosophies of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, and many others through illuminating conversations about their remarkable lives and careers. For the past five years, David M. Rubenstein - author of The American Story, visionary cofounder of The Carlyle Group, and host of The David Rubenstein Show - has spoken with the world’s highest performing leaders about who they are and how they became successful.
-
-
A leadership book devoid of leadership.
- By JD on 09-10-20
-
Super Founders
- What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups
- By: Ali Tamaseb
- Narrated by: Dean Temple, Catherine Ho, Jason Culp
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ali Tamaseb has spent thousands of hours manually amassing what may be the largest dataset ever collected on start-ups, comparing billion-dollar start-ups with those that failed to become one - 30,000 data points on nearly every factor: number of competitors, market size, the founder’s age, his or her university’s ranking, quality of investors, fundraising time, and many, many more. And what he found looked far different than expected.
-
-
Great book
- By An All time Amazoner! on 12-13-21
By: Ali Tamaseb
-
How to Invest
- By: David M. Rubenstein
- Narrated by: David M. Rubenstein, Ray Dalio, Marc Andreessen, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What do the most successful investors have in common? David M. Rubenstein, cofounder of one of the world’s largest investment firms, has spent years interviewing the greatest investors in the world to discover the time-tested principles, hard-earned wisdom, and indispensable tools that guide their practice. Rubenstein, who has spent more than three decades in the hypercompetitive world of private equity, now distills everything he’s learned about the art and craft of investing, from venture capital, real estate, private equity, hedge funds, to crypto, endowments, SPACs, ESG, and more.
-
-
Only get the audio book
- By Joe on 09-26-22
-
Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A number-one New York Times best seller and arguably the best business narrative ever written, Barbarians at the Gate is the classic account of the fall of RJR Nabisco. An enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, it includes a new afterword by the authors that brings this remarkable story of greed and double-dealings up to date 20 years after the famed deal.
-
-
Good book but too dense
- By Andrew M. on 08-01-21
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
-
A CEO Only Does Three Things
- Finding Your Focus in the C-Suite
- By: Trey Taylor
- Narrated by: Trey Taylor
- Length: 4 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether you’re a new CEO trying to navigate chaotic workdays or a veteran of the C-Suite trying to reignite your passion, focus is your most important asset. Many owners and CEOs think they have to be involved in every aspect of their business. They spend valuable brainpower on low-priority decisions. Before long, they’re overworked and burned out.
-
-
Reading this with my boss
- By Taniesha Whorton on 12-06-22
By: Trey Taylor
-
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers - those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers.
-
-
Remember Why You Got Into Computing
- By Dan Collins on 07-01-16
By: Steven Levy
-
Build
- An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
- By: Tony Fadell
- Narrated by: Tony Fadell, Roger Wayne
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and learned enough in 30+ years in Silicon Valley about leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, devastating failure and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopedia.
-
-
Best guide for start up founders, ever!!!
- By Curly Beard on 05-28-22
By: Tony Fadell
-
Mindset
- By: Carol Dweck
- Narrated by: Carol Dweck
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mindset, Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., expands upon her famous and widely accepted theory of the importance of mindset in success. Critics have praised Dweck’s book as life-changing. Its focus on both self-motivation and the inspiration of others makes it a compelling listen. Decades of research contributed to the book, which focuses on the importance of outlook in achieving success in any field. From managers and teachers to athletes and parents, Dweck explains the fundamentals of mindset in affecting success and growth.
-
-
Material Meaningful, Production Pathetic
- By Susan on 03-18-22
By: Carol Dweck
-
Venture Deals, 4th Edition
- Be Smarter than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist
- By: Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The founders and driving force behind the Foundry Group - a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage information technology companies - Brad and Jason have been involved in hundreds of venture capital financings. Their investments range from small startups to large Series A venture financing rounds. The new edition of Venture Deals continues to show fledgling entrepreneurs the inner-workings of the VC process, from the venture capital term sheet and effective negotiating strategies to the initial seed and the later stages of development.
-
-
Must read for entrepreneurs trying to raise fund
- By Max Lee on 07-29-20
By: Brad Feld, and others
-
Fooled by Randomness
- The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
- By: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook is about luck, or more precisely, how we perceive and deal with luck in life and business. It is already a landmark work, and its title has entered our vocabulary. In its second edition, Fooled by Randomness is now a cornerstone for anyone interested in random outcomes.
-
-
Pass on this one and read The Black Swan
- By Wade T. Brooks on 06-25-12
What listeners say about The Power Law
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Venkatesh Srambikal
- 01-11-23
Riveting and insightful
A good book on the Venture Capital industry .
Thoroughly enjoyed it and found it very insightful .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michiel Wesseling
- 10-01-23
Great book on VCs
History, the different approaches of VCs, rise and fall of some and interesting perspectives on their role in society. I like it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nik
- 01-12-23
Fascinating and helpful.
Very interesting and consistent story of rise and methods of startup culture and vc funding.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!