What do you think?
Rate this book
The Harder You Work, the Luckier You Get: An Entrepreneur's Memoir
Joe Ricketts, founder of TD Ameritrade, shares the epic inside story of how a working-class kid from the Nebraska prairie took on Wall Street’s clubby brokerage business, busted it open, and walked away a billionaire.
Joe Ricketts always had the gift of seeing what others missed. The son of a house builder, he started life as a part-time janitor, but by the age of thirty-three he saw the chance to challenge the big brokerage firms by offering Americans an inexpensive way to take control of their own stock trading. Nowadays, we take for granted that Main Street is playing right there on Wall Street, but Ricketts made that happen. His company, begun with $12,500 borrowed from friends and family, took off like a rocket thanks to an early embrace of digital technology and irreverent marketing. But Ameritrade also faced a series of the SEC almost shut him down; his partners tried to force him out because of his relentless risk-taking; penny brokers swindled the company; the crash of 1989 nearly cost him everything; and he was almost shut down again when a customer committed massive fraud. By the time of the dot-com bust, he had proven that his strategy based on frontier values could survive just about anything.
The Harder You Work, The Luckier You Get offers a view inside Joe Ricketts’ mind, giving readers a visceral understanding of how entrepreneurs think and act differently from the rest of us—how they see the horizon where we just see a spreadsheet. As unvarnished as the prairie he comes from, Ricketts also talks honestly about his shortcomings as a manager, the career sacrifices his wife made for his business, the complexity of being a father, and the pain of splitting with his mentor and of his brother’s death from AIDS. Overcoming these and other challenges, he built a company now worth $30 billion.
A must-read for anyone who’s ever dreamed of starting their own business, The Harder You Work, The Luckier You Get is the ultimate only-in-America story.
Joe Ricketts always had the gift of seeing what others missed. The son of a house builder, he started life as a part-time janitor, but by the age of thirty-three he saw the chance to challenge the big brokerage firms by offering Americans an inexpensive way to take control of their own stock trading. Nowadays, we take for granted that Main Street is playing right there on Wall Street, but Ricketts made that happen. His company, begun with $12,500 borrowed from friends and family, took off like a rocket thanks to an early embrace of digital technology and irreverent marketing. But Ameritrade also faced a series of the SEC almost shut him down; his partners tried to force him out because of his relentless risk-taking; penny brokers swindled the company; the crash of 1989 nearly cost him everything; and he was almost shut down again when a customer committed massive fraud. By the time of the dot-com bust, he had proven that his strategy based on frontier values could survive just about anything.
The Harder You Work, The Luckier You Get offers a view inside Joe Ricketts’ mind, giving readers a visceral understanding of how entrepreneurs think and act differently from the rest of us—how they see the horizon where we just see a spreadsheet. As unvarnished as the prairie he comes from, Ricketts also talks honestly about his shortcomings as a manager, the career sacrifices his wife made for his business, the complexity of being a father, and the pain of splitting with his mentor and of his brother’s death from AIDS. Overcoming these and other challenges, he built a company now worth $30 billion.
A must-read for anyone who’s ever dreamed of starting their own business, The Harder You Work, The Luckier You Get is the ultimate only-in-America story.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2019
58 people are currently reading
344 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 23, 2022
This book is really interesting. It told the life of Joe Ricketts, the founder of Ameritrade. I think that if you want to be an entrepreneur, this book might interest you.
Read
November 2, 2019As if the title wasn't problematic enough, there's even a blurb from the CEO of JPMorgan paying homage to the widely discredited Hard Work American Dream Myth. If you're old, white, nostalgic for 1954, and have never ever examined your privileges, I guess this is your book?
January 16, 2020
Nice memoir, enjoyed reading it. More of a biography, than an insightful business book.
August 10, 2021
The first half of the book was a 5, the 2nd half was a 2. It was a great entrepreneur journey defying the odds and fighting through many obstacles.
This passage resonated deeply with me.
"This, finally, was my chance. Everything I had done in business up to this point paled in comparison. I had to borrow several thousand from Bob, several thousand more from my brother Dick, and even a little from friends. I know that if I lost that $12,500, my life would change dramatically. As it was, I was only getting by week to week. How would I pay back that kind of money if I lost it? And yet, at the same time, I remember feeling comfortable. There I was in the middle of all that risk, and it felt normal. It was as if I'd been waiting for it all my life.
Once we came to terms with Cliff and Ernie and the papers were signed, our new company took over their old lease in that narrow, little first-floor office on Farnam Street. You came in through a short hall with a desk pushed up against the wall, and then the room opened up a bit with four more desks for Cliff, Bob, Ernie, and me. Because the room was so narrow, we couldn't fit the desks facing forward, so we lined them up facing the wall. Customers who came in had to walk in front of all four of us. The office was dingy-looking, with linoleum floors, metal desks, and dull lighting. There was a ticker-tape machine and a bookshelf. The room widened a bit in the back, where Ruth kept the account books. She also answered the phones and swept the floors.
Downstairs was supply storage and a bathroom. The building had been constructed before running water, so the plumbing was an afterthought. The bathroom was terrible. In this small, unremarkable office, there was nothing physically distinctive or appealing anywhere, but my spirit was soaring.
I will never forget that first day. The pride. This was our own office, the office of the business we ourselves had started, and our business was to be honest brokers. We weren't padding our commissions or taking our customers' money in ways I didn't think was right. We were not going to cut corners. We could establish the type of operation and destiny we believed in.
Of course, I know it would be work, work, work, but this work would be an adventure. There was no class you could take to explain how to succeed as a broker in the new age of negotiated commissions. No one to tell us what to do. We had to get out there with our brains and our strength and make it succeed. We were the first beaver trappers in an unknown river valley. In my heart, I believed,
This is me. This is what I was meant to be. We didn't say it out loud, but I believed that Bob and I both felt it. This is heaven."
This passage resonated deeply with me.
"This, finally, was my chance. Everything I had done in business up to this point paled in comparison. I had to borrow several thousand from Bob, several thousand more from my brother Dick, and even a little from friends. I know that if I lost that $12,500, my life would change dramatically. As it was, I was only getting by week to week. How would I pay back that kind of money if I lost it? And yet, at the same time, I remember feeling comfortable. There I was in the middle of all that risk, and it felt normal. It was as if I'd been waiting for it all my life.
Once we came to terms with Cliff and Ernie and the papers were signed, our new company took over their old lease in that narrow, little first-floor office on Farnam Street. You came in through a short hall with a desk pushed up against the wall, and then the room opened up a bit with four more desks for Cliff, Bob, Ernie, and me. Because the room was so narrow, we couldn't fit the desks facing forward, so we lined them up facing the wall. Customers who came in had to walk in front of all four of us. The office was dingy-looking, with linoleum floors, metal desks, and dull lighting. There was a ticker-tape machine and a bookshelf. The room widened a bit in the back, where Ruth kept the account books. She also answered the phones and swept the floors.
Downstairs was supply storage and a bathroom. The building had been constructed before running water, so the plumbing was an afterthought. The bathroom was terrible. In this small, unremarkable office, there was nothing physically distinctive or appealing anywhere, but my spirit was soaring.
I will never forget that first day. The pride. This was our own office, the office of the business we ourselves had started, and our business was to be honest brokers. We weren't padding our commissions or taking our customers' money in ways I didn't think was right. We were not going to cut corners. We could establish the type of operation and destiny we believed in.
Of course, I know it would be work, work, work, but this work would be an adventure. There was no class you could take to explain how to succeed as a broker in the new age of negotiated commissions. No one to tell us what to do. We had to get out there with our brains and our strength and make it succeed. We were the first beaver trappers in an unknown river valley. In my heart, I believed,
This is me. This is what I was meant to be. We didn't say it out loud, but I believed that Bob and I both felt it. This is heaven."
March 6, 2020
Painful read
March 16, 2020
Amazing Story of hard work, determination and ingenuity. This isn't another Shoe Dog story because of the less simple terms used in the discount brokerage sector but close.
In all Joe was a guy who was willing to come up with an idea, stick to it, find a competitive advantage and take risks. He came across as very open minded, willing to find good people no matter what they look like. I very much enjoyed the link he made from his ancestry to his drive as an entrepreneur. He was a family guy and i enjoyed his stories of combining that and business.
The style of writing was easy to read and i liked how much insight he gave into each person who was instrumental on the way. It made them more than just a name in the story.
Finally, i agreed on his take on the rise of socialism and the focus on a conducive environment for entrepreneurship rather than zero regulations.
In all Joe was a guy who was willing to come up with an idea, stick to it, find a competitive advantage and take risks. He came across as very open minded, willing to find good people no matter what they look like. I very much enjoyed the link he made from his ancestry to his drive as an entrepreneur. He was a family guy and i enjoyed his stories of combining that and business.
The style of writing was easy to read and i liked how much insight he gave into each person who was instrumental on the way. It made them more than just a name in the story.
Finally, i agreed on his take on the rise of socialism and the focus on a conducive environment for entrepreneurship rather than zero regulations.
August 29, 2022
This is an autobiography from the founder of Ameriprise, which delves into stock brokerage and business while combining the author’s personal stories of his life. I read it very quickly.
The first third of the book interested me. I liked hearing about his childhood through young adulthood because he had huge dreams and great perseverance. Once the book got deeper into his business exploits it became less interesting to me. I would have liked more about his family and less about his employees.
For anyone who enjoys reading about a hard working businessman this is for you.
The first third of the book interested me. I liked hearing about his childhood through young adulthood because he had huge dreams and great perseverance. Once the book got deeper into his business exploits it became less interesting to me. I would have liked more about his family and less about his employees.
For anyone who enjoys reading about a hard working businessman this is for you.
April 26, 2023
Every entrepreneur should read this book. It's so entertaining, detailing the highs and many lows of starting a true empire from scratch.
Most of all, it's authentic. The details showcased by Mr. Ricketts make the reader feel stressed, or worried, or triumphant (where appropriate).
This isn't a literary masterpiece, and it isn't meant to be. It's a real-world story shared by a real-world guy.
Most of all, it's authentic. The details showcased by Mr. Ricketts make the reader feel stressed, or worried, or triumphant (where appropriate).
This isn't a literary masterpiece, and it isn't meant to be. It's a real-world story shared by a real-world guy.
February 23, 2023
Title doesn’t do it justice he rarely mentions any luck, mostly about how damn hard he works and entrepreneurship. The story revolves around him building the business from 2 employees and no money to the biggest discount brokerage in the world. Smart guy, conservative, ethical, and and pro free enterprise. (8/10)
March 6, 2020
Should’ve been edited down; tedious. I’d have liked more history, less self-praise from the author. This is a personal memoir about a successful workaholic who won the finance game, and boy does he let you know it! I’ve enjoyed other business/finance/entrepreneur memoirs, but this one seemed to drag on (and the vanity got old fast!).
December 19, 2019
You learn a lot about a person by how he explains his successes and failures. Make of that what you will.
January 18, 2020
Authentic and inspirational read into the mind of Ricketts
March 24, 2020
This is a great entrepreneur’s memoir that shows what it takes to go from 0 to 1
June 29, 2020
That’s what happens when you let a man with a big ego, lots of lip service, and not much else publish a memoir.
March 17, 2021
This book shows us that all you need is the dream to be successful. You dont have to be a genius to do that. The harder you work, the luckier you get.
October 19, 2021
Interesting story. Loved that his first computer just sat on the desk and was for show! Yes you have to work hard in life, but is it luck or preparation and coincidence?
June 26, 2023
Good book, but felt it was slow at times. Enjoyed hearing about the adversity that Joe overcame time and time again.
December 10, 2023
Nice book about the story of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts. Amazing how many times they almost went out of business.
February 3, 2022
The title says enough about this book, and it lives it. Work hard, have a maniacal focus to your passion, change the world. Great book and can't recommend enough to anyone looking for some basic motivation to go out and try a little harder, get a little better each day.
January 2, 2020
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book. Joe Ricketts is plain spoken. He's direct, concise, and humble. He espouses admirable corporate values and tells a great story of American entrepreneurship and grit from America's heartland in Omaha, NE.
This isn't a high flying memoir for those looking for moving prose. Those looking for an emotional journey of an entrepreneur will be disappointed. However, it is a pragmatic and honest story of an iconic American brand and the values of free enterprise. I highly recommend it for anyone in business school or starting their own venture.
This isn't a high flying memoir for those looking for moving prose. Those looking for an emotional journey of an entrepreneur will be disappointed. However, it is a pragmatic and honest story of an iconic American brand and the values of free enterprise. I highly recommend it for anyone in business school or starting their own venture.
March 22, 2022
This book was like reading a family reunion for me. I worked with Joe Ricketts from 1995-2000 and am part of the story on pages 245-261. I knew and loved all these people including Joe's mother who was a stitch. The real hero in the story, however, is his wife Marlene Ricketts who has always been a mother-once-removed to me. She is a really great woman who and if she wrote her own book, it would be a best seller.
January 21, 2020
The harder you read, the better it gets
Fun story of a hard working entrepreneur who made it. Great insight into financial success outside of the regular wall street stories
Fun story of a hard working entrepreneur who made it. Great insight into financial success outside of the regular wall street stories
June 7, 2022
Worth the read, particularly regarding the behind-the-scenes processes and risk management pressures.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews