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A review by khornstein1
Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons
3.0
Where do I begin?
There is Hubspot itself...someone recommended their newsletters, e-books, etc. to me and I read them and downloaded them and thought, "wow I know all of this stuff already and even if I didn't, I could read about it online without people trying to upsell me." Lyons reveals that what Hubspot wants to sell you just isn't that good. Then again, some people need hand-holding and HubSpot works for them. I dunno--it's a toss-up.
Hubspot: can I also say is the dumbest name for a company ever? I was aware of them because they are always rated as the best place to work in Boston. And I always thought, "that's interesting. I wonder what they do? What's the spot? And then there's the mystery of why Boston is always called "the Hub" but I digress...
The book starts out entertainingly enough...Lyons is funny, and I was sympathetic to his being an out-of-work journalist, and an older out-of-work guy: it's hard! Can I also say I like his author pic? He looks kind and sympathetic and smart. And the book starts off that way (kind and smart)..taking a stab at working at a (kind of) start-up at a later age, working with millenials: the exclamation points, the earnestness, etc.
And I was fascinated by how some of these companies work: keep increasing revenue, but never turn a profit. What? And how the venture capitalists can have failure baked into their funding and come out ahead. Wow.
Then the book went completely off the rails...Lyons seems like he's going to be an advocate for women but then he spends time making fun of the women he works with, denigrates them, and talks about how he feels way more comfortable with guy culture where you can tell sexist non p.c. jokes about vaginas. What happened??
Lyons is arrogant. He has this Thurston Howell III attitude of "Don't these people know who I am Lovey?" No they don't. You're on a new island! This company is about sales and marketing, not journalism.
Lyons also makes the classic mistake of older workers...I don't understand the technology so I'm not even going to try or if I do, I'm going to make fun of it. Oy, I've been there, but adjust: use that digital calendar or online task system: maybe you'll learn something. Aren't you a technology journalist?
Lyons is given a podcast to produce...but constantly complains the job is beneath him. Ahem...go back and read "A Thousand Naked Strangers" about another out-of-work journalist helping people throwing up in his van! If you need a job, your job is keeping your job, not sitting and stewing and doing a lousy job.
Entertaining but ultimately disappointing.
There is Hubspot itself...someone recommended their newsletters, e-books, etc. to me and I read them and downloaded them and thought, "wow I know all of this stuff already and even if I didn't, I could read about it online without people trying to upsell me." Lyons reveals that what Hubspot wants to sell you just isn't that good. Then again, some people need hand-holding and HubSpot works for them. I dunno--it's a toss-up.
Hubspot: can I also say is the dumbest name for a company ever? I was aware of them because they are always rated as the best place to work in Boston. And I always thought, "that's interesting. I wonder what they do? What's the spot? And then there's the mystery of why Boston is always called "the Hub" but I digress...
The book starts out entertainingly enough...Lyons is funny, and I was sympathetic to his being an out-of-work journalist, and an older out-of-work guy: it's hard! Can I also say I like his author pic? He looks kind and sympathetic and smart. And the book starts off that way (kind and smart)..taking a stab at working at a (kind of) start-up at a later age, working with millenials: the exclamation points, the earnestness, etc.
And I was fascinated by how some of these companies work: keep increasing revenue, but never turn a profit. What? And how the venture capitalists can have failure baked into their funding and come out ahead. Wow.
Then the book went completely off the rails...Lyons seems like he's going to be an advocate for women but then he spends time making fun of the women he works with, denigrates them, and talks about how he feels way more comfortable with guy culture where you can tell sexist non p.c. jokes about vaginas. What happened??
Lyons is arrogant. He has this Thurston Howell III attitude of "Don't these people know who I am Lovey?" No they don't. You're on a new island! This company is about sales and marketing, not journalism.
Lyons also makes the classic mistake of older workers...I don't understand the technology so I'm not even going to try or if I do, I'm going to make fun of it. Oy, I've been there, but adjust: use that digital calendar or online task system: maybe you'll learn something. Aren't you a technology journalist?
Lyons is given a podcast to produce...but constantly complains the job is beneath him. Ahem...go back and read "A Thousand Naked Strangers" about another out-of-work journalist helping people throwing up in his van! If you need a job, your job is keeping your job, not sitting and stewing and doing a lousy job.
Entertaining but ultimately disappointing.