(36)Startup by Doree Shafrir

Friday, April 28, 2017


TakeOff is the hottest app that everyone is talking about.  The app's founder is Mack McAllister who has visions of greatness for his app and himself.   His startup has nerf-gun wars, an open office environment, and is the place that everyone wants to work.  He has worked hard to land some Venture Capitalists who are going to give him lots and lots of money to take the app to the next level, that is if he doesn't get in his own way.

Katya Pasternack works for a tech magazine in the same building as the TakeOff crew and is looking for a story that will really launch her career to the next level.  She is at a party when she happens to see the incoming texts of Mack's assistant, Isabel.  They were not the kind of texts that a boss should be sending to an employee if you catch my drift.   Katya knows that there is a story there, but is unsure if she should pursue it.   In an industry that is still very much dominated by males, she knows that this story could either make or break her career.  What will she do?

Startup is probably one of the most relevant books on the shelves right now.  It seems like whenever there is a topic that is in the news a lot there are a lot of books that hit the market about that topic - like Ponzi schemes.  Startup is the first book that I have read about the tech world.  What makes this book so relevant to my life is not only the female characters in a male dominated world, but one of the narrators is a married mother of two who is in her late 30's in an industry dominated by youth.   It was so easy to relate to Sabrina for several reasons, but mostly that "elder of the group" situation.  Personally, I thought Mack was an egotistical ass and deserved everything that could be headed his way if Katya writes the story.   There were a few times I found myself losing interest - just because Mack was such an ass - but I stuck with it to the end and I am glad that I did.

Bottom line - Startup is a fun read about an industry that doesn't get written about a lot.  The author, a Buzzfeed writer, does an excellent job of exposing life in a mostly male dominated industry.  It really makes for an interesting read.

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