Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career

Reid Hoffman (Goodreads Author),

Ben Casnocha (Goodreads Author)

3.85 · Rating details · 7,913 ratings · 603 reviews

A blueprint for thriving in your job and building a career by applying the lessons of Silicon Valley’s most innovative entrepreneurs.

The career escalator is jammed at every level. Unemployment rates are sky-high. Creative disruption is shaking every industry. Global competition for jobs is fierce. The employer-employee pact is over and traditional job security is a thing o ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 260 pages

Published February 14th 2012 by Crown Business (first published 2012)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Start-up of You, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about The Start-up of You

Lists with This Book

Restoring the Soul of Business by Rishad Tobaccowala

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy

Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Steve's Best of Business & Leadership

11 books — 1 voter

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.85 ·

Rating details

· 7,913 ratings · 603 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career

Dec 29, 2014 Brenda B rated it liked it · review of another edition

My take-aways:
1 "The faster way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be."
2 The "Interesting People Fund" concept. Set aside a bit of money for going out for coffee, lunch, or flying to Boston for a meeting with interesting people. It's an investment in yourself.
3. "The best way to make sure that lucky things happen is to make sure a lot of things happen."
4. (Talking about negativity bias) "To keep our ancestors alive, Mother Nature evolved a brain tha ...more

flag 99 likes · Like · see review

Feb 10, 2012 Bojan Tunguz rated it it was ok · review of another edition

The basic premise of thesis book is the following: the entrepreneurial mindset and attitude are essential for anyone's career in today's economy. Thinking like an entrepreneur is not any more reserved just for the ultra-ambitious, well-funded Silicon Valley types; in order to succeed in today's job market everyone has to adopt many of the practices that successful entrepreneurs have been employing for decades. This, in and of itself, seems like a great piece of advice. Unfortunately, this book f The basic premise of thesis book is the following: the entrepreneurial mindset and attitude are essential for anyone's career in today's economy. Thinking like an entrepreneur is not any more reserved just for the ultra-ambitious, well-funded Silicon Valley types; in order to succeed in today's job market everyone has to adopt many of the practices that successful entrepreneurs have been employing for decades. This, in and of itself, seems like a great piece of advice. Unfortunately, this book falls far short of delivering on how to implement such an approach in most ordinarily career paths.

I have for years in fact been adopting the kind of attitude that this book promotes: I've networked like crazy, created substantial online presence, tried to be in tune with the latest technological and professional trends, etc. However, in order to have a career, or even get a job, a lot more is required. It is these other much more crucial steps that I was hoping to learn more about from reading this book. Its authors, Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha, seemed to have exactly the kinds of credentials that would lend itself to revealing interesting and fact-based insights that are otherwise hard to find. My expectations were particularly high since Hoffman is one of the cofounders of LinkedIn. I was hoping that we'd find out some interesting data culled from millions of LinkedIn job searches and professional connections. Unfortunately, all my expectations have fallen way short, and "The Start-up of You" is just another indistinguishable, fluffy career "advice" book, of which there are already way too many on the market.

The book is filled with motivational-speak, with an incessant deluge of phrases that sound meaningful and profound (at least to some people), but are in fact quite vacuous ("Once you catch curiosity, it is (luckily) hard to shake." "Everyone is looking for an opportunity, even if they don't know it."). It is hard to figure out how these pieces of "advice" can in fact contribute to advancing anyone's career. Granted, the book is written with the greatest possible audience in mind, but even so it could have used a lot more concrete actionable advice.

The only examples that are used in this book are those of people who have been very successful entrepreneurs. These kinds of examples are good motivational stories, but are almost useless to the millions of job seekers out there hoping to get their own career off the ground. In the entire book there are virtually no attempts to show how the insights from the career paths of top-dog entrepreneurs translate into the concrete, actionable advice for the rest of us.

Furthermore, almost all of the examples and insights in this book are in one way or another linked with Silicon Valley. That is indeed a wonderful and exciting place, and I have been fortunate enough that I had spent many years working and studying over there. However, Silicon Valley is exceptional in many ways, and the insights gained there do not translate well to the rest of the country, and you are even worse off if you live overseas. Silicon Valley's entrepreneurial spirit has tricked down to the lower professional and social circles. This, however, has not been the case with the rest of the world, and it's unlikely that it will happen any time soon. I still think that the entrepreneurial attitude is worthwhile having; just don't expect any dramatic impact on your career any time soon.

If you are in a tight situation right now when it comes to your career, then reading this book will be a near total waste of time. As already mentioned, it contains almost no concrete, actionable information. If you are relatively secure in your job and just want to gain a better perspective on managing your career, then this book might hold some overall value. Even under such circumstances, though, the information you get will almost certainly be very abstract and not readily applicable to your career path. ...more

flag 33 likes · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2012 Kara rated it liked it · review of another edition

I make it a point not to take career advice from people who make money off of giving me career advice; however, I am thinking of living by example and making money off of people for giving them career advice.

But I wasn't looking for career advice from this book. Someone recommended it to me and thought it was something I'd like to read. I didn't get it at first. I care little about advancing in my career, and I only need to make enough money to live my life. You know, just enough money to do th I make it a point not to take career advice from people who make money off of giving me career advice; however, I am thinking of living by example and making money off of people for giving them career advice.

But I wasn't looking for career advice from this book. Someone recommended it to me and thought it was something I'd like to read. I didn't get it at first. I care little about advancing in my career, and I only need to make enough money to live my life. You know, just enough money to do the things I really want to do, such as traveling aimlessly around the country in a beat-up convertible; broadening my mind by learning new and exciting things; and creating a great civilization for my grandchildren to inherit.

In other words, all the things I'm not doing while I'm writing technical documentation for a company that still codes in VB6.

I don't do any these things because I am crippled by a fear of failure I developed whilst growing up in a depressed Rust Belt city, where failure surrounded all of us, squeezing us until we were suffocated of hope that things would work themselves out in the end. That fear has stuck to - perhaps even developed - my psyche, and it clings to me just like the stench of 100 years of industrialization has clung to my hometown.

I'm stuck in the Rust Belt; I am the Rust Belt. I am the old GM plant Hoffman discusses in this book, unwilling to take chances because I'm getting by well enough, and so ensconced in the idea that I'll be okay as long as I work hard and keep my head down that I've failed to notice that everything I've ever wanted out of my life is waving goodbye from the backseat of a convertible.

Was some of the advice in this book generic and too idealistic? Yes. Not everyone has the same resources that Hoffman had; not everyone has parents who'll let them take up residence in their basement while they execute Big Plan A, B, and C, and some people begin their adult lives with no networking contacts other than drug abusers and alcoholics. This is not a good book for people who are coming from nothing. They need support and aid that this book cannot offer them.

But while reading this book, I realized that I do have a bigger network of people than I thought I did. Not a fail-safe net, but a bunch of people whom I've met through jobs or through social networking that may toss down a rope should I take a risk and fall into a pit - or even people who, if they don't have a rope available, can find someone else who has a rope to extend to me.

At the very least, there are people who'll let me crash on their couches for a couple of days while I seek out the unknown.

I'm a social person, but it never occurred to me to ask anyone in my web of online and business contacts for advice or for a favor. I may not be as alone as I thought I was - what a comforting thought!

I currently have no plan to use this book for, but I've had the good luck (or was it foresight?) to surround myself with intellectual and talented people from all walks of life. And perhaps a midnight breakfast at Perkins with some of them for a night of banter and life talk will give me some ideas to start a plan.

*** out of ***** ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

May 31, 2012 Bonnie G. rated it it was ok

Shelves: business

What a waste of time this is. There is really no information that cannot be found in 100 (1000?) other business books that are better. This is an extended commercial for LinkedIn (which I use and really like for the record, but I don't need to read the infomercial.) Also, some of the message seems to be "its who you know." True dat, but not very helpful advice unless you are teaching people how to connect.

By way of confession I will say I don't really like many business self-help books. I read t ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Mar 31, 2012 Robert rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Another great book on the power of networking. It is co-authored by the creator of Linkedin, which has surprisingly to many, been around for a lot longer that new comers like Facebook. The book is primarily aimed at those people on the career treadmill looking to make a change, however the information provided is certainly applicable to anyone.

This book addresses 'networking' as something you give before you receive. It demonstrates how cultivating a wide and diverse network is what will not onl ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2017 محمد مختار rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I stopped writing reviews but this one is a life changer, either you're an employee, young entrepreneur or a business man, you should definetly read it, it's a lifetime experience in a capsule. By one of the most successful people in our generation. ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

May 02, 2014 Peter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Tom van Rheeden, Emily Loh, Tan Ozaslan

Shelves: business, work

An easy read with lots of good nuggets on self-development, properly using your network, and giving back. Probably my favourite book on career advice.

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jan 17, 2016 Juanmi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: networking

Unfortunately cannot remember much after some months of reading it. Should write down my notes earlier :S

* Re-readability: yes
* Note: 4/5

The motivation for the book is one idea: the steady career paths of the past are gone. Today's environment is extremely dynamic and we should be adaptable and ready to change jobs multiple times.

The solution for the authors is to think one's life and career a start-up, or more simply put, be pro-active, create an identity that goes beyond your current employer, ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 23, 2012 Suzanne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Other reviews provide a good summary of what's in the book so I'm just sharing some disparate things that stood out for me:

* Upfront, Reid Hoffman states that this is not a job hunting manual. It's about giving you a mindset that you need to adapt to the future. In his true fashion of always thinking about how he can make an impact on the world, he says "More broadly, society flourishes when people think entrepreneurially. More world problems would be solved - and solved faster - if people pract Other reviews provide a good summary of what's in the book so I'm just sharing some disparate things that stood out for me:

* Upfront, Reid Hoffman states that this is not a job hunting manual. It's about giving you a mindset that you need to adapt to the future. In his true fashion of always thinking about how he can make an impact on the world, he says "More broadly, society flourishes when people think entrepreneurially. More world problems would be solved - and solved faster - if people practice the values laid out in the pages ahead. This is a book about you, and it's also about improving the society around you. That starts with each individual."

* In talking about professional allies, he mentions his friendship with Mark Pincus. They invested in Friendster together back in 2002. In 2003, they bought the Six Degrees patent. When Peter Thiel and Hoffman were set to put the first money into Facebook in 2004, Hoffman suggested that Mark take half of his investment allocation! "As a matter of course, I wanted to involve Mark in any opportunity that seemed intriguing, especially one that played to his social networking background - it's what you do in an alliance."

* One of my favorite words is serendipity. So, I loved it when the book revealed how it was created. "An English novelist named Horace Walpole coined the word to describe the phenomenon (accidental good fortune) he first observed in an old Persian fairy tale called "The Three Princes of Serendip." In the story, the king sends his three sons on a journey to distant lands. The princes come upon some problems; at one point they are accused of thievery. Yet they exercise such impeccable judgment and insight ... that their father and other rulers decide to grant them the opportunity to become rulers and kings themselves. In a letter to a friend, Walpole says "serendipitous" is how he refers to the accidental good fortune of the Serendip princes; they got lucky, to be sure, but they also acted sagely and wisely in turning unexpected setbacks into opportunities. Winning the lottery is blind luck. Serendipity involves being alert to potential opportunity and acting on it."

Overall, this is a great book for a high school student or college student. It's also helpful for people who need help shifting their mindset for how to deal with the realities of today's job market. As you would expect, there are a lot of references to LinkedIn, but they make sense in the context. What is particularly handy is the list of To Do items at the end of each chapter, divided into what to do in the next day, the next week and the next month.

There is a ton of excellent advice in this book. As it's a quick read, it's worth checking out as you're likely to come away with several actionable ideas (or reminders of things you've been thinking about doing) that are worth implementing immediately. ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 01, 2012 Amanda Spacaj-Gorham rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: business, living-well, personal-development, strategy, entreprenuership

When the former Executive VP of PayPal and co-founder of LinkedIn writes a book on networking and entrepreneurship, it's a good bet he knows what he's talking about and your time would be well spent reading it.

His analogies and concrete examples of networking done well bring the strategic advice to life for the reader. The personal perspective on how networking between the former founders of PayPal influenced further career moves between the one time co-workers vividly painted a picture of mutua ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

May 06, 2018 Vikrama Dhiman rated it liked it · review of another edition

Possibly made a lot of sense and was way more useful when it was written.
It looks dated and some of the advice is table stakes these days.

However, it still has interesting insights. Primary ones:

1 "Interesting People Fund": Set aside money for coffee, lunch, or travel to meet interesting people.
2. "The best way to make sure that lucky things happen is to make sure a lot of things happen."
3. "To keep our ancestors alive, Mother Nature evolved a brain that routinely tricked them into making thre ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 04, 2015 Kit Pang rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This will be the book that I will be dedicating my time to in 2015 to 'invest in myself'. I found the knowledge in this book to be extremely useful, especially about entrepreneurship, relationship building and self-improvement.

My core takeaway:

Permanent Beta:
1. To always be starting
2. To forever be a work in progress ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 11, 2012 Muhammad Arrabi rated it liked it · review of another edition

I finished reading The Startup of You book recently, written by Reid Hoffman (LInkedin cofounder) & Ben Casnoca. I thought I'd share few comments about it.

The book is great for those who want to enter the "Business World":
- either fresh college graduates
- or technical people who want to make the jump to business roles
It gives a number of recommendations - that are frankly similar to a lot of other books. But the style is direct & clear, which makes for an easy reading.

The book has some intere ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 16, 2012 Maria Guzman rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

"Invest in yourself, invest in your network, and invest in society". This is "what" it is all about. The "how" is what makes this book a good reading material for career people who are clueless on why it is hard to get a dream job nowadays...much less hold one. In the olden days, the only requirement to have a job security is to show up at work on time, work efficiently, go with the flow, be loyal, stay with the company for so many years and retire at 65. Nowadays, that is not enough. I am sure ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2016 Sana Vasli rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a really good 'career' book. Perhaps I would have rated it a 5 earlier in my career.

Reid Hoffman is really surprising. You'd expect from being the 'oracle of Silicon Valley' that he's a massive risk taker and is willing to bet the farm on any idea.

Very pragmatic and intelligent approach to career development. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 06, 2018 Samer Chidiac rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I have always been a fan of Reid Hoffman, and reading this book only confirmed what I always knew about him. He's one of the greatest entrepreneurs of my generation.

In "The Start-Up of You", you will get insights and techniques from the inside stories of some of the biggest success stories such as Netflix, Paypal and more... In addition to Lesson learned from Reid & Ben about career development & investment in yourself that they structure them in an easy to understand the framework and where you ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 13, 2017 Kristina Lee rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Most of us have heard the tips in this book but rarely have read it all synthesized in one go, nor written as clearly and succinctly as it is here. I've read many similar books and found this one to he absolutely, hands-down, the most important one yet. Granted, I'm already doing some things Reid outlines, but it's good affirmation and a good reminder to all of us to never stop hustling. Never stop building your network. To keep in motion the people that are the whirlpool of our "lives in beta." ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Sep 25, 2019 Kanchan Mandanekar rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: regular-reference-book, highly-recommended

Fantastic book to navigate a career, at whatever age, stage or geography.

My best take away:
1. Hustle. Always hustle.
2. Trust your network. Use it intelligently and insight-fully.
3. At all times, have a plan A, B and Z.

A definite go back to when one starts getting comfortable at a career, any career.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 30, 2020 Jonathan Weissberg rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: industry

There's lots of value in learning from entrepreneur types even if you don't want to start your own business. I enjoyed skimming this and extracted quite a few useful ways of thinking better about career, long-range goals, planning, risk and networking.

Full notes available at http://jonathanweissberg.com/?p=220 ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Sep 13, 2017 Kara rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Opportunities don't just come your way—they're connected to people. And how do you meet people? By hanging out at the laundromat. Just kidding. By tapping into your connections. Essential reading for anyone who thinks networking is "gross" or pointless. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 23, 2018 Robert rated it liked it · review of another edition

Solid book, despite lots of marketing for LinkedIn (understandable, given the author and the topic) and a feeling of having been written about ten years ago. Would've been a quick read if I didn't keep setting it aside to read other books.

The recommended actions sections (next day, next week, and next month) at the end of most chapters were very helpful. Tl;dr, just copy down those and refer to them. The rest of the text provides additional useful context, but this isn't rocket science. Nonethel ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 01, 2020 Amir rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It’s to be regretted that I found this book now and not in my 18s. But it’s worth it and I enjoyed having a journey in every chapter. I’d like to recommend it to anyone in 18 especially those in the fields of STEM.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Mar 19, 2018 Victoria rated it it was ok · review of another edition

The Start-Up of You
Victoria Morales

Chapter 1: All Humans are Entrepreneurs (*required)
*Quotes (A minimum of three quotes from the chapter)

1.All Human beings are entrepreneurs. When we were in our case we were all self-employed, finding our food, feeding ourselves. That’s when human history began. Civilization came, we suppressed it. We became “labor” because they stamped us, “ you are labor.” We forgot that we are entrepreneurs

2.See how you can turn a weakness into a strength.

3.To succeed profe ...more

flag Like · see review

Apr 04, 2018 Mark Warnock rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Great strategy for career survival in a fast changing world. The value of networks, and especially the frame for how to pivot your career, were the high points for me.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 07, 2019 Giuliana Bonifasi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Start-Up of You
Reid Hoffman

Chapter 1: All Humans are Entrepreneurs (*required)

*Quotes (A minimum of three quotes from the chapter)
Quote #1
“Rather than advancing in smooth procession, everyone is stepping on everybody else”
Quote #2
“Adaptability creates stability”
Quote #3
“Most of the time change in the world overtakes you”
Quote #4
“To succeed professionally in today’s world, you need to adopt these same entrepreneurial strategies”
Quote #5
“Not only survive, but thrive, in today’s fractured world ...more

flag Like · see review

May 30, 2019 Krista Guillen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Krista Guillen
March 19, 2018
The Start-Up Of You

Chapter One

This chapter may only be the introduction, but I just couldn’t agree more. This chapter talked about opportunities and how the world is changing and how we should learning to adapt like Netflix did, they saw a problem and they tried to fix them and when they saw that people still thought it could improve they listen and made a better system again and again, until it’s what is now.

“Finished ought to be an F-word for all of us. We are ...more

flag Like · see review

Aug 24, 2012 Charles rated it liked it · review of another edition

As a genre, self-help can mean large type, lots of space between paragraphs and annoying ‘to do’ lists. But The Start-up of You is different. Its co-author is Reid Hoffman, a legend of Silicon Valley, founder of LinkedIn, co-founder of PayPal, and a big-time investor through the venture capital firm Greylock Partners. Unlike most self-help authors, Hoffman has demonstrably helped himself - to almost $2bn according to Forbes - and earned the respect of some of the world’s smartest businesspeople. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 26, 2020 Muneeb Ahmad rated it liked it · review of another edition

Its one of those books that is relevant only when you reach a certain stage. Not that you can't understand the principles put forward but it's just you can't appreciate it as much as you would at the time when it becomes relevant.
The key concept portrayed in the book is that one's personal career is very much like a startup. The job guarantee is gone and the world is changing rapidly. Great concept as it answers lot of insights about agility, risk taking and anti-fragility.
Overall a good read. H ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 15, 2020 Joshua rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Chapter 1: All Humans are Entrepreneurs (*required)

*Quotes (A minimum of three quotes from the chapter)
Quote #1
Mindset “Permanent Beta”
Quote #2
Finished is an F-word
Quote #3
We are all works in progress
Quote #4
Adaptability creates stability
Quote #5
20 years of experience is really one year repeated twenty times.

Notes (do you have anything you want to remember from this chapter)
What I want to remember from this chapter is that having a permanent beta mindset may help you to maintain thriving. I also ...more

flag Like · see review

Feb 20, 2018 Warren Lebovics rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I can’t believe I left this book sitting on a shelf, unread for 3 years. One of the better business mind set books I’ve read.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Business

402 users

Nonfiction

135 users

Self Help

92 users

Business > Entrepreneurship

76 users

Self Help > Personal Development

65 users

Leadership

21 users

Buisness

12 users

Productivity

11 users

Business > Management

10 users

Audiobook

10 users

See top shelves…

About Reid Hoffman

Reid Hoffman

476 followers

Reid Hoffman is a Partner at Greylock, and Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at LinkedIn.

Reid joined Greylock Partners in 2009. His areas of focus include consumer Internet, enterprise 2.0, mobile, social gaming, online marketplaces, payments, and social networks. Reid likes to work with products that can reach hundreds of millions of participants and businesses that have network effects.

An accomp Reid Hoffman is a Partner at Greylock, and Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at LinkedIn.

Reid joined Greylock Partners in 2009. His areas of focus include consumer Internet, enterprise 2.0, mobile, social gaming, online marketplaces, payments, and social networks. Reid likes to work with products that can reach hundreds of millions of participants and businesses that have network effects.

An accomplished entrepreneur, executive and angel investor, Hoffman has played an integral part in building many of today’s leading consumer technology businesses, including LinkedIn and PayPal. He possesses a unique understanding of consumer behavior and the dynamics of viral businesses as well as deep experience in driving companies from the earliest stages through periods of explosive growth.

Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional networking service, in 2003. LinkedIn is thriving with more than 63 million members in 200 countries around the world and a diversified revenue model that includes subscriptions, advertising and software licensing. Hoffman led LinkedIn through its first four years and to profitability as Chief Executive Officer,

Prior to LinkedIn Hoffman served as executive vice president at PayPal, where he was a founding board member. At PayPal he was responsible for all external relationships, including payments infrastructure, business development, international, government and legal. Reid was instrumental to PayPal’s acquisition by Ebay and responsible for partnerships with Intuit, Visa, MasterCard and Wells Fargo.

Reid is a board observer at Airbnb, Gowalla, and Swipely and is a director at Zynga, Mozilla Corp., Six Apart, Shopkick, and Kiva.org. He is an angel investor in numerous influential Internet companies, including Digg, Facebook, Flickr, Last.fm, Ning, Six Apart and Zynga.

Hoffman earned a Master’s degree in Philosophy from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and a Bachelor’s degree in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University, where he graduated with distinction. In 2010 Reid was the recipient of an SD Forum Visionary Award and named a Henry Crown Fellow by The Aspen Institute. ...more