I loved this book! It was hard to put down every time I needed to study. For entrepreneurs, the epilog is especially relevant. I would recommend this book to anyone with the interest in starting a company. It is very inspiring and at the same time shows all of the choices involved that either make or break a company.

Good read about PayPal's struggles (doh), a new startup battling the old economy, Peter Thiels mental composure and clarity, and Elon Musk's shenanigans.

I just wish the writer could've injected some more drama, not into PayPal (it's had more than it's fair share) but into his narration style, felt very bland.

Bra bok med et nært blikk på paypals kamp for å overleve vs konkurrenter og senere Ebay. Spennende innblikk i hvordan de jobbet og tenkte. Vekst var utrolig viktig i begynnelsen, de ønsket å bruke "networks effects" til å nå "critical mass". Veldig annerledes kultur hvor folk tok så mange selvstendige avgjørelser som mulig uten masse møter. Dette i kontrast med Ebay som de senere ble kjøpt opp av.

This is the first book I finished reading using Palma2. Written by a former PayPal senior manager, this book details PayPal's journey from its founding to its acquisition by eBay, highlighting several key moments: the company's establishment, competition with eBay, merger with [X.com](http://X.com), confrontation with Musk, IPO, and finally the eBay acquisition.

PayPal's great advantage partly came from its flexibility as a small company, with a straightforward decision-making process from idea to action. However, for small companies, wrong decisions can be catastrophic, making talented personnel crucial. PayPal succeeded because of these advantages, and its talent pool later gave rise to well-known internet companies like LinkedIn, YouTube, and SpaceX.

It's worth noting that in China's market environment, it would be difficult for a small company like PayPal to emerge. Today, it would be extremely challenging for PayPal to compete with giants like Tencent and Alibaba. It's hard to imagine seeing Alipay as an option in WeChat Pay's interface, let alone a small payment company.

I must say, reading with Palma2 is truly enjoyable. Compared to my previous Kindle and Kobo devices, it's more portable and practical. For me, portability and reading experience are crucial, making Palma2 paired with WeChat Reading the perfect combination.

Interesting story about beginnings of PayPal and the difficulties starting a business that ultimately benefits from network effects.

A should-read autobiograpy on leadership for knowledge workers, managers, directors, C-levels, and entrepreneurs.

An excellent read for anyone considering entrepreneurial ventures as a career - gives an inside look on lifestyle and thought process of navigating an industry changing at lightening speeds.

Understanding the characters behind the PayPal Mafia

Nice read on the history of PayPal. The author is a bit presumptuous and self-flattering, but that doesn't interfere much with the story, and his recollection of all of the details is impressive. He focuses primarily on the business, marketing, and product strategy - not much on the product development or engineering perspective.

Great read for a reasonably detailed account of what a successful software company was like in its early days.

Great book - a real page turner. Offered great insights of the day-to-day life of working in a fast growing Silicon Valley startup.

Really enjoyed hearing this story and reading about the roles of all these "paypal mafia" in the original story.

It's interesting to see the battles that PayPal has fought in those early days, like they took down Elon Musk; and it's sad to see the bitter churn when merging with eBay. Either author's not-so-good writing skills, or slightly-over-exaggerated description (which is surprising, consider he was PayPal/eBay director of Marketing...) makes me question the credibility of what actually happened.

Book was "meh"... I could still handle how it's written, but having to read about Peter Thiel (whom I despise) was far worse.

Being from South Africa, I want to keep routing for everything Elon, but alas. They are all the same sharks in my opinion.

Meh.

Ruoall @ Project Success Mastery