The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World

by Brad Stone

Airbnb and Uber didn’t spawn “the sharing economy,” “the on-demand economy,” or “the one-tap economy” (those labels never quite seemed to fit) so much as usher in a new trust economy,

Every company creates its own origin myth. It’s a useful tool for expressing the company’s values to employees and the world and for simplifying and massaging history to give due credit to the people who made the most important contributions back when it all started.

You start, you build it, and you think everyone’s going to care. But no one cares, not even your friends.”

after that year, he no longer tried to seek consensus. Instead, he surveyed opinions and trusted his own instincts to make a decision.

“I look at entrepreneurism as risk arbitrage. You are basically looking at risk and saying, ‘I think people are misunderstanding it and I’m going to go after it.’”

the number one value you can bring to the party in Germany is patience.”