High Stakes, No Prisoners

High Stakes, No Prisoners PDF Author: Charles H. Ferguson
Publisher: Crown Business
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
High Stakes, No Prisoners is a sharp, brilliant insider's account of the way Silicon Valley really works: the sharks, powerful incumbents, and old-boy networks who play hardball all the time and the geniuses who make the products that have changed the world. Charles Ferguson started Vermeer Technologies and turned his very cool, very big idea into FrontPage, the first software product for creating and managing a website. A mere twenty months after starting the company, he sold it to Microsoft for $133 million, making a fortune for himself and his associates. FrontPage now has millions of users and is bundled with Microsoft Office. But getting there wasn't always fun. High Stakes, No Prisoners is the book about the Valley and reflects Ferguson's unique experience not only as a successful entrepreneur but also as a policy analyst, computer industry consultant, and academic. Reveals A Great Internet Success Story High Stakes, No Prisoners is a highly personal account of what it really takes to win as a high-technology startup, especially in the Internet industry, where any speed below warp nine doesn't get you to takeoff. From securing venture capital to getting both the strategy and the technology right, from dealing with Microsoft's power to working with some of the quirkiest, smartest people on the planet, it's all here. The Valley story has never been told with this much depth and honesty. Reports from the Trenches of the Internet Wars Vermeer was right in the middle of the battle between Microsoft and Netscape. Both companies wanted to either acquire Vermeer or kill it. Skewers the Sacred Cows of the Valley Yes, Microsoft declared war on Netscape, butthe latter's demise was caused as much by itself as by Microsoft. Ferguson, for example, sees Jim Barksdale, the former CEO of Netscape, as arrogant, ignorant about technology, distracted by politics and glamour, and running a company in partnership with a twenty-three-year-old who'd never held a serious job before." Here's Netscape as it has never before been revealed. Explains the Real Problem with Microsoft Microsoft's business model is unquestionably one of the great creations of American business. But its power has become so great, its behavior so unrestrained, and its abuses so dangerous that intelligent action has to be taken. Ferguson's analysis of what must be done is a major contribution to one of the most important public-policy questions of our time. Silicon Valley is the crown jewel of the American economy and a critical driver of American technology. It's electric, addictive, vulgar, full of brilliance, brutally fair and brutally unfair, fiercely competitive, often dishonest, tremendously exciting, and utterly unique.With High Stakes, No Prisoners, the real story has finally been told--with frankness, insight, and great wit.

High Stakes, No Prisoners

High Stakes, No Prisoners PDF Author: Charles H. Ferguson
Publisher: Crown Business
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 408

Get Book

Book Description
High Stakes, No Prisoners is a sharp, brilliant insider's account of the way Silicon Valley really works: the sharks, powerful incumbents, and old-boy networks who play hardball all the time and the geniuses who make the products that have changed the world. Charles Ferguson started Vermeer Technologies and turned his very cool, very big idea into FrontPage, the first software product for creating and managing a website. A mere twenty months after starting the company, he sold it to Microsoft for $133 million, making a fortune for himself and his associates. FrontPage now has millions of users and is bundled with Microsoft Office. But getting there wasn't always fun. High Stakes, No Prisoners is the book about the Valley and reflects Ferguson's unique experience not only as a successful entrepreneur but also as a policy analyst, computer industry consultant, and academic. Reveals A Great Internet Success Story High Stakes, No Prisoners is a highly personal account of what it really takes to win as a high-technology startup, especially in the Internet industry, where any speed below warp nine doesn't get you to takeoff. From securing venture capital to getting both the strategy and the technology right, from dealing with Microsoft's power to working with some of the quirkiest, smartest people on the planet, it's all here. The Valley story has never been told with this much depth and honesty. Reports from the Trenches of the Internet Wars Vermeer was right in the middle of the battle between Microsoft and Netscape. Both companies wanted to either acquire Vermeer or kill it. Skewers the Sacred Cows of the Valley Yes, Microsoft declared war on Netscape, butthe latter's demise was caused as much by itself as by Microsoft. Ferguson, for example, sees Jim Barksdale, the former CEO of Netscape, as arrogant, ignorant about technology, distracted by politics and glamour, and running a company in partnership with a twenty-three-year-old who'd never held a serious job before." Here's Netscape as it has never before been revealed. Explains the Real Problem with Microsoft Microsoft's business model is unquestionably one of the great creations of American business. But its power has become so great, its behavior so unrestrained, and its abuses so dangerous that intelligent action has to be taken. Ferguson's analysis of what must be done is a major contribution to one of the most important public-policy questions of our time. Silicon Valley is the crown jewel of the American economy and a critical driver of American technology. It's electric, addictive, vulgar, full of brilliance, brutally fair and brutally unfair, fiercely competitive, often dishonest, tremendously exciting, and utterly unique.With High Stakes, No Prisoners, the real story has finally been told--with frankness, insight, and great wit.

High Stakes, No Prisoners

High Stakes, No Prisoners PDF Author: Charles Ferguson
Publisher: W. W. Norton
ISBN: 9781587990656
Category : Computer industry
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
Charles Ferguson's hilarious, hard-boiled journey into the heart of high-tech darkness has become the signal book of the start-up generation. Charles Ferguson started Vermeer Technologies and turned his very big idea into FrontPage, the first software product for creating and managing a website. Ferguson took a good idea, started a company, and sold it to Microsoft for $133 million -- all in less than two years. High Stakes, No Prisoners is both a blistering inside account of how he did it and a brilliant tour of the brutally competitive and utterly unique world of Silicon Valley. - Publisher.

The VC Way

The VC Way PDF Author: Jeffrey Zygmont
Publisher:
ISBN: 0786745274
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
Venture capitalists have played a pivotal role in hatching the technologies that are redefining our work and life. Alongside the brilliant innovators who dream up the ideas, VC's contribute the business acumen and development capital that feeds Silicon Valley. And it is through this process of high-stakes investing that unimaginable fortunes are made. The VC Way is the first book to take readers into this private world of extreme investing, showing how seasoned, successful VC's prosper in down markets as well as during high times. For those who want to invest like the best, it reveals their unique strategies, sectors they are tracking, screens and criteria, best and worst investments, and how individuals can use the lessons they've learned. Packed with insider's advice and fascinating stories, The VC Way contains accounts from some of the most influential and noteworthy venture capitalists in business today-Ann Winblad of Hummer Winblad, Neil Weintraut of 21st Century Internet, and dozens of others. The VC Way is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to match strategies with these master investors.

Prisoner

Prisoner PDF Author: Jason Rezaian
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062691597
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
The Inspiration for the New Podcast Featuring Jason Rezaian. “544 Days” is a Spotify original podcast, produced by Gimlet, Crooked Media and A24. The dramatic memoir of the journalist who was held hostage in a high-security prison in Tehran for eighteen months and whose release—which almost didn’t happen—became a part of the Iran nuclear deal In July 2014, Washington Post Tehran bureau chief Jason Rezaian was arrested by Iranian police, accused of spying for America. The charges were absurd. Rezaian’s reporting was a mix of human interest stories and political analysis. He had even served as a guide for Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. Initially, Rezaian thought the whole thing was a terrible misunderstanding, but soon realized that it was much more dire as it became an eighteen-month prison stint with impossibly high diplomatic stakes. While in prison, Rezaian had tireless advocates working on his behalf. His brother lobbied political heavyweights including John Kerry and Barack Obama and started a social media campaign—#FreeJason—while Jason’s wife navigated the red tape of the Iranian security apparatus, all while the courts used Rezaian as a bargaining chip in negotiations for the Iran nuclear deal. In Prisoner, Rezaian writes of his exhausting interrogations and farcical trial. He also reflects on his idyllic childhood in Northern California and his bond with his Iranian father, a rug merchant; how his teacher Christopher Hitchens inspired him to pursue journalism; and his life-changing decision to move to Tehran, where his career took off and he met his wife. Written with wit, humor, and grace, Prisoner brings to life a fascinating, maddening culture in all its complexity. “An important story. Harrowing, and suspenseful, yes—but it’s also a deep dive into a complex and egregiously misunderstood country with two very different faces. There is no better time to know more about Iran—and Jason Rezaian has seen both of those faces.” — Anthony Bourdain “Jason paid a deep price in defense of journalism and his story proves that not everyone who defends freedom carries a gun, some carry a pen.” —John F. Kerry, 68th Secretary of State

Nowhere Near Respectable

Nowhere Near Respectable PDF Author: Mary Jo Putney
Publisher: Zebra Books
ISBN: 1420124242
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 399

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Book Description
The New York Times bestselling author of Never Less Than a Lady “will draw the readers into a world of espionage and danger” (Fresh Fiction). Mary Jo Putney’s riveting Lost Lords series unleashes a high stakes royal plot—which may prove easier for Damian Mackenzie to handle than his own unruly desire . . . He’s a bastard and a gambler and society’s favorite reprobate. But to Lady Kiri Lawford he’s a hero—braver than the smugglers he rescues her from, more honorable than any lord she’s ever met, and far more attractive than any man has a right to be. How can she not fall in love? But Damian Mackenzie has secrets that leave no room in his life for courting high-born young ladies—especially not the sister of one of his oldest friends. Yet when Kiri’s quick thinking reveals a deadly threat to England’s crown, Damian learns that she is nowhere near as prim and respectable as he first assumed—and the lady is far more alluring than any man can resist . . . Praise for Mary Jo Putney and the Lost Lords series “Romance at its best!”—Julia Quinn “Intoxicating, romantic and utterly ravishing. . .”—Eloisa James “Putney’s endearing characters and warm-hearted stories never fail to inspire and delight.”—Sabrina Jeffries “Adventure, passion and pure reading pleasure!”—Jo Beverley “No one writes historical romance better.”—Cathy Maxwell “Delivers captivating characters, an impeccably realized Regency setting, and a thrilling plot rich in action and adventure.”—Booklist (starred review)

Inside Job

Inside Job PDF Author: Charles Ferguson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781851689583
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Based on explosive interviews, court documents and corporate archives, Inside Job traces in gripping detail how decades of deregulation gave birth to a predator nation, with power players cycling through positions in government, academia and Wall Street - and continuing to do so even in the wake of the global financial crisis. With stunning clarity, Charles Ferguson delivers an uncompromising accounting of how a new economic oligarchy has wrested control of our politics and the prospects for real recovery.

Working in Silicon Valley: Economic and Legal Analysis of a High-velocity Labor Market

Working in Silicon Valley: Economic and Legal Analysis of a High-velocity Labor Market PDF Author: Alan Hyde
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317451708
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
This work examines the relationship between the rapid technological and economic growth characteristic of high technology districts and their distinct labor market institutions - short job tenures, rapid turnover, flat firm hierarchies, weak internal labor markets, high use of temporary labor, unusual uses of independent contracting, little unionization, unusual employee organization (e.g., chat groups, and ethnic organization), unequal income, minimal employment discrimination litigation, flexible compensation (especially stock options), and heavy use of immigrants on short-term visas. The author suggests that while these distinctive labor market institutions are somewhat unorthodox and may present legal problems, they play essential roles in high growth.

Internet Publishing and Beyond

Internet Publishing and Beyond PDF Author: Brian Kahin
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262611596
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
New models for distributing, sharing, linking, and marketing information are appearing.

Smart Money

Smart Money PDF Author: Andrew Palmer
Publisher: Civitas Books
ISBN: 0465064728
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Seven years after the financial crisis of 2008, financiers remain villains in the public mind. Most Americans believe that their irresponsible actions and complex financial products wrecked the economy and destroyed people’s savings, and that bankers never adequately paid for their crimes. But as Economist journalist Andrew Palmer argues in Smart Money, this much maligned industry is not only capable of doing great good for society, but offers the most powerful means we have for solving some of our most intractable social problems. From Babylon to the present, the history of finance has always been one of powerful innovation. Now a new generation of financial entrepreneurs is working to revive this tradition of useful innovation, and Palmer shows why we need their ideas today more than ever. Traveling to the centers of finance across the world, Palmer introduces us to peer-to-peer lenders who are financing entrepreneurs the big banks won’t bet on, creating opportunities where none existed. He explores the world of social-impact bonds, which fund programs for the impoverished and homeless, simultaneously easing the burden on national governments and producing better results. And he explores the idea of human-capital contracts, whereby investors fund the educations of cash-strapped young people in return for a percentage of their future earnings. In this far-ranging tour of the extraordinarily creative financial ideas of today and of the future, Smart Money offers an inspiring look at the new era of financial innovation that promises to benefit us all.

America's Kingdom

America's Kingdom PDF Author: Robert Vitalis
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1789604451
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 562

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Book Description
Now newly updated, America's Kingdom debunks the many myths that now surround the United States's special relationship with Saudi Arabia, also known as "the deal": oil for security. Exploding the long-established myth that the Arabian American Oil Company, Aramco, made miracles happen in the desert, Robert Vitalis shows how oil led the US government to follow the company to the kingdom, and how oil and Aramco quickly became America's largest single overseas private enterprise. From the establishment in the 1930s of a Jim Crow system in the Dhahran oil camps, to the consolidation of America's Kingdom under the House of Fahd, the royal faction that still rules today, this is a meticulously researched account of Aramco as a microcosm of the colonial order.