"Tony Fadell is one of the world¡¯s great experts in starting companies and creating insanely great products. He¡¯s distilled his wisdom in this book, providing wildly useful mentorship in a delightfully readable set of stories." ¡ª Walter Isaacson, author and biographer of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, and Leonardo da Vinci
"Tony Fadell has made more cool stuff than almost anyone else in the history of Silicon Valley, and in Build he tells us how. This is the most fun¡ªand the most fascinating¡ªmemoir of curiosity and invention I've ever read." ¡ª Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of Outliers and Talking to Strangers
¡°Based on hard-won, real-life lessons as an entrepreneur, Tony Fadell¡¯s Build delivers priceless advice for any young person who wants to build something great or change the world for the better. I wish I had this book when I was twenty-one.¡± ¡ª Ben Horowitz, founding partner of Andreessen Horowitz
¡°Insightful. Funny. Instructive. Unvarnished. In a book brimming with energy and enthusiasm, Tony Fadell, builder of epoch-defining products, draws on his experience with failure and accomplishment to coach you through every stage of your career.¡± ¡ª Joanna Hoffman, former vice president of marketing at General Magic and member of the original Macintosh team
¡°Tony Fadell distills his epic career into refreshingly candid, often contrarian advice that you can put into practice right away. Whether you¡¯re looking to build a great product, a creative team, a strong culture, or a meaningful career, Tony¡¯s guidance will get you thinking and rethinking.¡± ¡ª Adam Grant, author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
Chapter Page
Introduction xi
Part I Build Yourself
Chapter 1.1 Adulthood 5
Chapter 1.2 Get a Job 14
Chapter 1.3 Heroes 20
Chapter 1.4 Don't (Only) Look Down 26
Part II Build Your Career
Chapter 2.1 Just Managing 43
Chapter 2.2 Data Versus Opinion 57
Chapter 2.3 Assholes 65
Chapter 2.4 I Quit 76
Part III Build Your Product
Chapter 3.1 Make the Intangible Tangible 95
Chapter 3.2 Why Storytelling 107
Chapter 3.3 Evolution Versus Disruption Versus Execution 115
Chapter 3.4 Your First Adventure-and Your Second 126
Chapter 3.5 Heartbeats and Handcuffs 138
Chapter 3.6 Three Generations 150
Part IV Build Your Business
Chapter 4.1 How to Spot a Great Idea 171
Chapter 4.2 Are You Ready? 180
Chapter 4.3 Marrying for Money 189
Chapter 4.4 You Can Only Have One Customer 201
Chapter 4.5 Killing Yourself for Work 206
Chapter 4.6 Crisis 218
Part V Build Your Team
Chapter 5.1 Hiring 229
Chapter 5.2 Breakpoints 242
Chapter 5.3 Design for Ev...eryone 261
Chapter 5.4 A Method to the Marketing 270
Chapter 5.5 The Point of PMs 281
Chapter 5.6 Death of a Sales Culture 292
Chapter 5.7 Lawyer Up 300
Part VI Be CEO
Chapter 6.1 Becoming CEO 321
Chapter 6.2 The Board 333
Chapter 6.3 Buying and Being Bought 345
Chapter 6.4 Fuck Massages 356
Chapter 6.5 Unbecoming CEO 364
Conclusion: Beyond Yourself 373
Acknowledgments 377
Reading List 381
Index 383