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

by Reid Hoffman

During the boom years of the auto industry, the city of Detroit prospered. It was the land of dreams, riches, and next-generation technology. “This was Silicon Valley, man,” local newspaper columnist Tom Walsh told us, reflecting on Detroit’s golden age. Entrepreneurs were taking home colossal fortunes, and a million new people flooded into Detroit wanting a piece of it—an influx that made Detroit the fourth-most-populous city in the country.9 Wages were high; the city’s median income was the highest in America. Home ownership soared. Aside from being a great place to make a living, Detroit boasted a diversity, energy, culture, and progressive spirit that rivaled Chicago and New York. It was the first city to assign individual telephone numbers, pave a mile of concrete road, and develop an urban freeway.