Decoding Silicon Valley: The Insider's Guide

Decoding Silicon: The Insider's Guide decodes the mystique of Silicon Valley, including the more subtle aspects that are hidden in plain sight. Learn about Silicon Valley best practices for growing and scaling companies, the Valley's unique vantage point for evaluating startups, and what rules can and should be broken in the course of building a global business. Understand the value of experimenting and iterating until either you succeed or run out of time and money.

Included are interviews with more than two dozen Silicon Valley insiders, including entrepreneurs, service professionals, and venture capitalists: Ann Winblad of Hummer Winblad, Dave McClure of 500 Startups, Joe Kennedy of Pandora, and Phil Libin of Evernote. The interviews provide colorful stories, surprising anecdotes, and telling insights about what really happens in Silicon Valley.

Michelle E. Messina is serial entrepreneur who brings strong sales, marketing, and business development skills to startups everywhere. She pioneered the Silicon Valley best practices training of startups in 2004 and has worked in more than 35 countries. Michelle believes that being an entrepreneur is the hardest thing you’ll ever enjoy doing. Jonathan C. Baer is a recovering venture capitalist who loves working with early stage companies around the world. He was the founder and CEO of two venture-backed companies. He believes that startups require tough love; and need to focus on money, metrics, and milestones. Today Jon teaches startup CEOs to say less, because less is more.