Explosive Growth: A Few Things I Learned While Growing to 100 Million Users and Losing $78 Million: Ultimate Startup Playbook in Entrepreneurship, Business Strategy, Online Marketing, Leadership & PR
Posted by jack_miller | Published a year ago
With 205 ratings
By: Cliff Lerner, Daniel Greenberg, et al.
Purchased At: $12.49
Number One Best Seller in Five Startup & Entrepreneurship Categories
One of the "Best Startup Books of All Time", Benzinga.com
One of the "Top 5 Growth Hacking Book", Entrepreneur.com
Explosive Growth is a compelling and inspiring narrative gives entrepreneurs a rare behind-the-scenes look inside a fast-growing startup that created the first online dating app and grew to 100 million users.
The best seller combines lively and often hilarious storytelling, revealing genius growth tactics, numerous case-studies, and its step-by-step playbook to help your startup grow massively.
Due to its raw storytelling style, compelling content, and fast pace, Explosive Growth is a one-of-a-kind business book that transcends the narrow entrepreneurial audience to also appeal to listeners and business students looking to learn about startup life and entrepreneurship. It holds nothing back while detailing the highest highs and lowest lows of what it's really like to run a startup.
Cliff Lerner's online dating startup, Snap Interactive, was running out of money when he bet the company's fortunes on a then-unknown platform called Facebook. The app suddenly began to acquire 100,000 new users daily, and soon after the stock price skyrocketed 2,000 percent, setting off an extraordinary chain of events filled with sudden success and painful lessons.
You will learn how to:
- Ignite explosive growth by creating a remarkable product
- Identify the only three metrics that matter
- Explore valuable viral growth strategies
- Execute the genius media hacks that helped us acquire 100 million users
- Create a thriving culture with constant innovation
Praise:
"A must read for founders and CEOs who want to achieve rapid growth while also building a great product and company." (Payal Kadakia, founder of ClassPass)
"Lessons for startups on growth, marketing, & innovation from one of the smartest founders I know." (Andrew Weinreich, Social Networking Pioneer)
Do you like extremely specific sports analogies applied to business practices? What about the ego of a hedge fund manager for 300 pages? How about a book written by a guy who started a software company with no software background and not the slightest idea how to do it?
Well then, this is your book! Filled with tasty morsels of insights and ideas (like having a company massage day ... really page 206, right before the awe-inspiring unique suggestion of something called a "company newsletter" - groundbreaking stuff here!)
The author also namedrops a bunch of recommended books, all by authors who happened to be living, giving public speeches, and promoting themselves ... I'm sure he wasn't expecting any kickback in the process ... no, not from a wall street hedge fund manager, that's not something he'd do. But don't expect any unique titles to hit this list. It's the usual suspects, Eric Ries, Peter Theil ... it'd be like going to a sci-fi conference and recommending Isaac Asimov to everyone ... gee thanks ...
The one nice thing about this book (which is why it's a two star review!) is that since the text is so vapid of insight and depth, you can quite literally read it like some top graduate from Evelyn Wood's speed reading course. Don't worry, you're missing anything by going too fast, he'll repeat it again in 5 pages.
But really, don't worry about it ... it's like 12 bucks ... won't be the worst 12 bucks you ever spent. Besides, he's not a bad author, the text actually is quite readable and there isn't much New Yorker style needlessly long stories without getting to the point.
Not the worst the book I've read this year (and I'm writing this in February) but certainly not 5-star awesome, would read again!!!
Well then, this is your book! Filled with tasty morsels of insights and ideas (like having a company massage day ... really page 206, right before the awe-inspiring unique suggestion of something called a "company newsletter" - groundbreaking stuff here!)
The author also namedrops a bunch of recommended books, all by authors who happened to be living, giving public speeches, and promoting themselves ... I'm sure he wasn't expecting any kickback in the process ... no, not from a wall street hedge fund manager, that's not something he'd do. But don't expect any unique titles to hit this list. It's the usual suspects, Eric Ries, Peter Theil ... it'd be like going to a sci-fi conference and recommending Isaac Asimov to everyone ... gee thanks ...
The one nice thing about this book (which is why it's a two star review!) is that since the text is so vapid of insight and depth, you can quite literally read it like some top graduate from Evelyn Wood's speed reading course. Don't worry, you're missing anything by going too fast, he'll repeat it again in 5 pages.
But really, don't worry about it ... it's like 12 bucks ... won't be the worst 12 bucks you ever spent. Besides, he's not a bad author, the text actually is quite readable and there isn't much New Yorker style needlessly long stories without getting to the point.
Not the worst the book I've read this year (and I'm writing this in February) but certainly not 5-star awesome, would read again!!!
Explosive Growth is a tantalizing journey into entrepreneurship and the challenges and triumphs is presents. Lerner’s humility and unwavering honesty is a refreshing voice in an industry dominated by harsh “how to” books. In his candid and often times humorous depiction of his journey into financial success, he keeps sight of the most valuable resource companies have- their employees. This book is not only highly informative, it restores faith in the tenacity, resilience, and humanity of today’s entrepreneurship.
Incredibly sound advice from a social and dating pioneer. I competed with Cliff's app AYI for years. He managed its torrid growth to 100,000+ daily users tremendously well. If you crave those rare periods of 4000+% five-year growth, read this book. Learn some of the hard-fought lessons learned. These tips will save you a lot of time and money, as I, unfortunately, mostly learned the hard way. - CEO, The Meet Group (NASDAQ: MEET)
The further I got into this book, the more I got hooked on it. I work in the dating business, so this was a must-read. The tips are great. True wisdom. Cliff really went through the wringer, and admits areas where he probably should have done things differently. Makes for a good and enlightening read. Absolutely essential read for anyone in the dating or digital marketing / product dev space.
I gained some good info, but app developers would be the ones to gain the most benefit of this book as opposed to product and service based businesses.
As a tech entrepreneur myself, who has been on a similar path to the author, I was skeptical of the value that I'd derive from the book. I'm happy that didn't stop me from reading – there are a lot of insights, perspectives and tactics I hadn't considered before, that I hope to adapt and put to use in my own ventures.
A superb book to read for anyone interested in witnessing the impact on a company's fortunes of truly understanding the troubles/ difficulties a customer is having in his or her life and solving that problem quickly and efficiently and 10x better than your competition.. The book gives you essential lessons to learn and take away and apply in your business. It will also give you a very clear understanding of how incredibly difficult it is to stay at the top of your game and be the number 1 performing business in your industry. You have to constantly be innovating, constantly asking customers what they think of your product and how you can improve it.
An extremely worthwhile read with many great lessons to remember for yourself in business
An extremely worthwhile read with many great lessons to remember for yourself in business
Why is that, you ask. Because it has great tips and resources for the entrepreneur and for the rest of us clear and authentic explanations for what entrepreneurs do. When I met Cliff, I told him I didn't get why successful entrepreneurs would do it al over again. Now I do.
Awesome book! I loved it! It offers practical advice, tips and case studies that you can apply to your kind of business. I found the story telling very engaging and entertaining - this book is really easy to read in one go. Highly recommended!
The author is a successful entrepreneur. That's why I bought this book, to learn something from a person who has done it. But it does not offer anything new. If you are in marketing or have even basic knowledge of marketing, you can avoid this book.
I absolutely loved this good.
It was very entertaining.
I didn't expect it to be this good, especially about a startup. It was very well written as well.
I didn't put this book down and think this is a book I'd go back to read again in the future to motivate myself while I'm working on my future business.
Get it and read it! Solid 4 Star.
LFE.
It was very entertaining.
I didn't expect it to be this good, especially about a startup. It was very well written as well.
I didn't put this book down and think this is a book I'd go back to read again in the future to motivate myself while I'm working on my future business.
Get it and read it! Solid 4 Star.
LFE.
A lot of interesting ideas and real examples that would definitely be beneficial for entrepreneurs to think about. I would recommend anyone who intends to start a business or has already started the journey to go through this quick read
Cliff is giving the reader fundamental and very valueable insights. The Book is easy to read, funny and on point. Theres no irrelevant bla bla or stories to fill up pages.
Every chapter has another book recommendation which is great for me.
I recommend it to everyone who is willing to get another perspective to their business Even if they are employeed it’s very helpful.
Every chapter has another book recommendation which is great for me.
I recommend it to everyone who is willing to get another perspective to their business Even if they are employeed it’s very helpful.
This has to be the most undervalued book I have ever read ( this should be a best seller).
Amazing content. Read this and apply it and wow. Can’t say enough about it. Excellent read and information. Want to scale your business? Read it.
Amazing content. Read this and apply it and wow. Can’t say enough about it. Excellent read and information. Want to scale your business? Read it.
Great book with an excellent price, great content, many important lessons. I liked it very much, deserve a five stars rating.
Just to learn his mistakes will be a huge help to any start ups.
The fact that he turned Mike Dell down as an investor and his reasoning
Overall a interesting true story
The fact that he turned Mike Dell down as an investor and his reasoning
Overall a interesting true story
This is a nice case study/self analysis of good and bad points of a startup/tech co. Contains examples and references for further reading on a lot of topics mentioned. I'll be following some of these up for sure!
If you're looking to learn how to scale and grow to millions or even to 100 Million as Cliff has done, this is THE book!
Recomendado a todos os empreendedores, principalmente na área de tecnologia, com vários insights valiosos para colocar e manter um negócio de pé.
Great read. Definitely worth it. Written to keep interest. Loved going on the journey through Cliffs perspective. Amazons forcing more words here.
easy read. well written. great first-person account from the inside when a company suddenly takes off and and how to manage growth.