How I Built This by Guy Raz is a must-read book for anyone who wants to learn about the journeys of successful entrepreneurs. The book delves into the stories of some of the most well-known companies today, including Airbnb, Instagram, and Dropbox. Each chapter tells the story of how these companies were built from the ground up, and the challenges and obstacles that the founders faced along the way.
In the first chapter, we meet the founders of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk. The story begins with the three friends struggling to pay their rent in San Francisco. They came up with the idea of renting out air mattresses in their living room to people attending a design conference in the city. This idea eventually led to the creation of Airbnb, which is now a multi-billion dollar company.
The second chapter takes us to the founders of Instagram, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. The story begins with Kevin’s frustration with the limitations of social media platforms at the time. He wanted to create a platform that was more visual and allowed users to share photos and videos easily. Mike Krieger joined him, and together they created Instagram, which was eventually bought by Facebook for $1 billion.
The third chapter introduces us to the founders of Dropbox, MIT friends Drew Houston and Bob Metcalfe. The story begins with Drew’s frustration with the limitations of file sharing at the time. He wanted to create a platform that allowed users to share files easily and access them from anywhere. Bob Metcalfe joined him, and together they created Dropbox, which is now a multi-billion dollar company.
Each chapter of How I Built This is filled with valuable insights and lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs. The book shows that success rarely comes overnight, and that it takes hard work, dedication, and perseverance to build a successful company. It also highlights the importance of finding a problem that needs to be solved and creating a solution that addresses that problem.
In conclusion, How I Built This by Guy Raz is a must-read book for anyone who wants to learn about the journeys of successful entrepreneurs. The book delves into the stories of some of the most well-known companies today, including Airbnb, Instagram, and Dropbox. Each chapter tells the story of how these companies were built from the ground up, and the challenges and obstacles that the founders faced along the way. The book is filled with valuable insights and lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs, and shows that success takes hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Highly recommended!