THE LAUNCH PAD Inside Y Combinator, Silicon Valley's Most Exclusive School for Startups

Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley investment/seed money firm, funds just established technology startups on a very selective basis. Author Stross was granted access to its Summer 2011 series of young companies, and this work provides a living chronicle. Rene Ruiz offers a precise and perfectly enunciated narration of the stresses and strains that Y Combinator founder Paul Graham applies in guiding the new entrepreneurs. It’s all here, the 24-hour workdays, the risk taking, the fund-raising, and the stress of getting the product into immediate production. The Dropbox Company is a former participant. Stross perhaps provides too much detail to be helpful—even for business geeks. Obviously, Ruiz, despite his professional effectiveness, cannot give the reading the focus the book lacks. This potentially fascinating story is not well presented. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2012]