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Lost and Founder
- A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World
- Narrated by: Rand Fishkin
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
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Publisher's Summary
Rand Fishkin, the founder and former CEO of Moz, reveals how traditional Silicon Valley "wisdom" leads far too many startups astray, with the transparency and humor that his hundreds of thousands of blog readers have come to love.
Everyone knows how a startup story is supposed to go: A young, brilliant entrepreneur has a cool idea, drops out of college, defies the doubters, overcomes all odds, makes billions, and becomes the envy of the technology world.
This is not that story.
It's not that things went badly for Rand Fishkin; they just weren't quite so Zuckerberg-esque. His company, Moz, maker of marketing software, is now a $45 million/year business, and he's one of the world's leading experts on SEO. But his business and reputation took 15 years to grow, and his startup began not in a Harvard dorm room but as a mother-and-son family business that fell deeply into debt.
Now Fishkin pulls back the curtain on tech startup mythology, exposing the ups and downs of startup life that most CEOs would rather keep secret. For instance: A minimally viable product can be destructive if you launch at the wrong moment. Growth hacking may be the buzzword du jour, but initiatives can fizzle quickly. Revenue and growth won't protect you from layoffs. And venture capital always comes with strings attached.
Fishkin's hard-won lessons are applicable to any kind of business environment. Up or down the chain of command, at both early stage startups and mature companies, whether your trajectory is riding high or down in the dumps: this audiobook can help solve your problems, and make you feel less alone for having them.
What the critics say
"This is a truly courageous book. It's one part business-building guide and two parts Indiana Jones-style adventure memoir. And if you've ever wondered if the 'timeless wisdom' you often hear about startups is bullsh*t, here's the proof." (Chris Guillebeau, author of Side Hustle and The $100 Startup)
"You won't find a more honest, raw, and helpful look into the trenches of founding a tech startup than this book. Rand Fishkin shares the rare hard-won insight no one else dares tell you." (Nir Eyal, author of Hooked)
"Most books on founders and entrepreneurship sell a Silicon Valley perspective. Yet the inclusive, egalitarian vision of tech that Rand shares is the one that will truly dent the world." (Nilofer Merchant, author of The Power of Onlyness)
What listeners say about Lost and Founder
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Richard
- 2020-02-06
A MUST Read for any start up or Founder
I seek mentors, not consultants, because they've walked the path and share their experiences. Rand reads and delivers an insightful business book for entrepreneurs. It's dripping with practical knowledge, experience and an honest transparency that I've not encountered often. He is inspirational in the guided tour of his life's journey.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Emrah
- 2018-11-24
Must read if you are starting a business
The author shares the raw and untold story of most startups. from transitioning between services to products, the author lists many challenges and opportunities.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Nathanael Henry
- 2023-10-26
Great book
Narrated amazingly and a great read. Loved the part at the end about focus especially!
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- Dan
- 2022-12-29
Unique perspectives but.....
Overall it has unique perspectives when it comes to the "founders" journey, interspersed with super cringey virtue signals. Also, it's his mom's business, so it differs from typical startup stories, for better and for worse.
Kind of feels like the whole thing is a pitch for moz's seo services.
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- Dan Kitchen
- 2022-06-04
Great insight into the startup world
As a start-up founder, it was really nice to hear the transparent story up the ups and downs. To know I am not alone and that there are a variety of approaches that can lead to many acceptable outcomes, is comforting.
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- Todd
- 2022-04-19
Instant Fan
I was looking for something to listen to While I was out driving around between sales calls and the title of this book caught my eye. I had never heard of Rand Fishkin before but I thought I would give it a try and I am so glad I did. He was honest and straight forward and after reading his book I went out and followed him on all the social media platforms I could find him on. He seems like the kind of founder that I could really relate to and someone I hope to model my business journey after.
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- MattMorrison
- 2021-04-25
Loved everything about this book
Rand is incredibly vulnerable, direct, experienced and has so many gems to dish out throughout this book. Have a tough time imagining any entrepreneur not being able to get a lot out of this book. Easy 5 stars.
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- Ben West
- 2019-09-08
Rand is the kind of tech founder we need more of
I was already interested in what Rand had to say about SEO and wasn't sure if I needed to read this book but it was refeshingly honest and charming and insightful. I hope a lot people thinking about raising money and startng a business read this book first. Even if that's not you right now (like me) you will still get a lot out of this listening experience. It was nice hanging out with Rand for a while and hearing his story. Exciting now for the next chapter with Spark Toro. Good luck Mr. Fishkin.
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- Raha Seyed
- 2019-09-02
Learned a lot -- enjoyed it
he doesn't get distracted explaining his failures which I really appreciated. It's easy in a book like this to focus on theoretical what if scenarios. because he doesn't do that, he is able to stay focussed on his goal which is steering future would be entrepreneurs away from his mistakes. I enjoyed the book I do recommend.
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- Ian R Clark
- 2019-08-13
A must read for anyone interested in Startups
The best book I have read about tech startups. Well written and performed. A real eye opener.
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