Siliconned

Title: Siliconned by Emmanuel Maggiori - A Must-Read for Fans of Scandalous Business Ventures

In Siliconned by Emmanuel Maggiori, I found a riveting and eye-opening read that delves into the depths of the tech and business world. As a fan of books like Bad Blood by John Carreyrou and Glossy by Marisa Meltzer, I was delighted to discover that Siliconned not only lived up to my expectations but exceeded them.

What sets Siliconned apart is its exploration of the true meanings behind the tech and business buzzwords that we often hear but may not fully understand. Maggiori's insightful analysis reveals how these words can be used as facades to mask the deceit and deception that can run rampant in the business world. This book serves as an introductory guide to why scams in the business world are able to happen, shedding light on the inherent flaws in the venture capitalist system that make it akin to a Ponzi scheme.

For fans of shows like Dragons Den or Shark Tank, Siliconned offers an accessible and engaging explanation of what truly goes on behind the scenes of business deals and proposals. Maggiori's writing style is engaging and informative, making complex concepts easy to grasp for readers of all backgrounds.

In conclusion, Siliconned is a must-read for anyone interested in scandalous business ventures and the inner workings of the tech industry. It is a compelling and thought-provoking book that will leave you questioning the realities of the business world and the true motives behind every deal. I highly recommend Siliconned to fans of investigative business journalism and those looking for a deeper understanding of the complexities of the modern business landscape.

Straightforward thoughts of a software engineer about how tech industry operates today. It is a truth, although a bit sad. There are several discussions within the book. One has a focus on tech’s tendency to become a little too enthusiastic. I'm many cases investors bet huge money on outlandish start-ups that need a miracle to succeed or solve a problem with a nice to have solution or a problem never thought of. Today many start-ups try to grow fast by using other people’s money, so they’re unprofitable for years and not sustainable in the long run compared to slow growth bootstrapped companies. There is a discussion with deep thoughts of VCs and governmental bodies who provide to startups free money either managed for others by VCs or inn the form of grants from tax payers by government. And, finally, some words about people in tech and how they operate with ideas how how to improve the world of startups.

This is one of those books where I honestly have no clue how fact-based and how true the information presented in them is. I don’t know even the teeniest tiniest thing about the economy, economics, or those as fields of science. I’m not even comfortable being a part of a casual conversation about anything economy and economics-related, be it taxes, be it investments, be it inflation.
But, as this seems to be the clearest, the most well-explained, well-written source of information regarding all those matters I have seen EVER, I was glad to read it all and to accept it all as truth.
The first thing that assured me that this book can be trusted, was… startups.
For the longest time, I was confused – what are those startups at all? Like? Why? What’s the difference between just a neighbor Jane selling her handmade jewelry and having registered with the tax institutions as a business entity – and between startups? Both are brand-new companies. So why one is just a random Jane in her spare room, and the other one gets to be called the fancy name of a startup?  This book made it clear to me. Crystal clear. All of a sudden, I was no longer feeling dumb and just smiling and nodding, smiling and nodding whenever I saw and heard weird words like STARTUP when everyone around me pretended that they knew EXACTLY what it meant but me.
And so, it snowballed. The book made SO MUCH SENSE TO ME. So, so much. I honestly feel like I have learned more from reading this one (not too large) book than from years at school, at least business-model-wise and economy-wise.
And then, the part about fake problems and fake solutions. This was something I had suspected long ago already. I have enough friends in tech, and I have heard their rants more than once over the years. No one openly admitted the problems being fake and the solutions being absolutely redundant, yet somehow it always felt that way to me. Turns out, as this wonderful, most amazing book explains, I was right all along, and it’s ever way worse than I thought. Yay!

If I have to point out ONLY ONE general-information-non-fiction book that has made me smarter this year, I’m picking this book.
Who is the author? Has he written anything else? I want to read EVERYTHING he ever writes. I like the way he explains things the way I understand them.