Episode · This Week in Startups · 2022-05-24
Books mentioned on Snap drops 40%, Layoffs at Gorillas & Klarna, Adam Neumann's new startup, Coinbase using Principles | E1468
First, we break down SNAP dropping over 40% after lowering earnings estimates (4:43). Then we cover some layoffs at instant-delivery startup Gorillas AND BNPL player Klarna (29:18).
Jason Calacanis recommended The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, and discussed Principles by Ray Dalio, Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and others, and No Rules Rules: Netflix and the culture of reinvention by Reed Hastings and others.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Principles
Principles by Ray Dalio is a prominent business and life guide written by the billionaire investor, detailing the systematic mental models and foundational guidelines he developed throughout his career.
Discussed“in his books in his book principles life and work dalio also which i listen to is okay i like dalio's concepts it seems a little too extreme at times for me”
Where to get it
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The Checklist Manifesto
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande is a nonfiction exploration of how simple checklists and systematic processes can dramatically reduce human error and prevent catastrophic failures in complex fields like medicine and aviation.
Recommended“and i i'm really getting into this writing things down culture and writing down the best practices and i prefer the google okrs kpis combined with the amazon right first culture six pagers and the checklist manifesto”
Where to get it
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Working Backwards
Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr is an insider account of Amazon's unique management practices, operational discipline, and customer-centric business strategies.
Discussed“so amazon working backwards is like hey you write the press release you write the faq and internal faq and external faq and it just creates massive clarity”
Where to get it
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No Rules Rules: Netflix and the culture of reinvention
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer details the radical management philosophy and unconventional corporate culture behind Netflix.
Discussed“um the no rules rules freedom and responsibility is a nice credo so no rules rules the you know the netflix culture book the netflix culture i think is a little too cutthroat”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“so this is either like atlas shrugged and you're totally into it or it's black mirror and this is dystopian for you”
“um what's uh anne randy and you know you get that shrugged it could be at least shrugged or it could be black mirror”