How I Built This
Die Geheimnisse der erfolgreichsten Gründer unserer Zeit
Guy Raz
How did people manage to build a successful business? What kind of people were they and how did they approach the whole thing? Typical questions that almost every entrepreneur asks when they're about to start their own company – or at least toying with the idea. That makes it all the more exciting to learn how others did it. Guy Raz is one of the world's best-known podcasters in the field of entrepreneurship and has had almost every well-known founder on his show. With his bestseller "How I built this", he has brought together his most inspiring conversations in one book. In this review, you'll find out why he pulled it off brilliantly.
Which topic and problem does the book address?
How I built this is not a management guide. It's a collection of exciting founding stories: about the ideas and people behind the companies. We learn about their self-doubt, their challenges and how they tackled them. Starting from the companies' beginnings, Guy then takes us on the journey of how these companies kept going and scaled.
The book is divided into three sections:
- Part I: The Call
- Part II: The Test(s)
- Part III: The Destination
Each section takes a close look at certain phases of founding and running a company. It's not about Guy's personal opinion, but always about the experiences and lessons learned of the respective entrepreneurs. Great!
Who is “How I built this” for?
We are all plagued by self-doubt when it comes to founding our own company. Guy Raz's hands-on book shows us that it doesn't have to be that way at all. He manages, in an astonishing way, to bring the people behind the stories closer to us again and again. In the end, it's always a people business, and business is done by people who have exactly the same thoughts as we do.
What I particularly liked was that in "How I built this", Guy Raz doesn't just feature companies we know in Europe, but also ones that were (at least to me) still unknown. I was gripped by how two young women revolutionized the suitcase market and how they (actually complete outsiders to the industry) approached it with common sense.
My personal opinion on “How I built this”
I came across Guy Raz a few years ago through a colleague who recommended his podcast to me – which had already won me over. When I then held the book in my hands, I was curious whether it would match the quality of his podcast. What can I say...I wasn't disappointed.
“Life itself tells the most exciting stories.”
Guy Raz has managed to tell founding stories that sweep you along.
More information
At this point, I'd like to give you some more information about Guy Raz that you'll probably like: