Unscalable uncovers Silicon Valley’s lesser-known backstories of failure and achievement. Interviews (GitHub, Zenefits, DoorDash and more) showcase eclectic strategies and experiments, revealing the long and unpredictable road to startup success.
Updated prices! New content! Exciting things!
You're all busy people, so here's a TL;DR:
Read on if you want more details:
Updated Prices
Inkshares, the company responsible for book publishing/printing, has just moved to a simpler crowdfunding model that's better for writers and readers alike.
The funding goal is now based on number of copies sold, rather than total dollars raised. This gives them a much better sense of how many people want to read the book, independent of ebook/print format, and they're willing to subsidize early adopters. This means that if you pre-ordered at the "Seed Stage" tier, you'll now be getting both a print AND an ebook, and if you pre-ordered at the "Growth Stage" tier, you'll be getting multiple copies of the book.
New Content
Based on the votes, the next chapter to be released is going to be GitHub! I've already recorded the interview, so it's a matter of transcribing the audio and editing the content. Tom Preston-Werner is a great guy, and it's a solid interview about how the co-founders got together and bootstrapped a V1.
Exciting Things
Funding progress is still going well (I am loathe to use the phrase "killing it"), as we've hit the 65% mark. However, if you haven't already shared, it would mean a ton if you could tweet or post a link to Facebook (click here to tweet). Or, if you recommend the book through Inkshares, you can get $15 in credits for more books (or, uh, more copies of my book?).
The faster the funding goal hits 100%, the faster I can worry less about promo and devote more energy to editing and making a quality book.
Questions? Email me at charlie [at] guo.io, or find me on twitter @charlierguo.
Cheers,
Charlie
We've hit the 50% mark! With nearly a month left!
I just want to say thank you so much for backing. It's meant the world to me, and although updates have been pretty scarce so far, I definitely want your feedback and input on the book.
So for this first email, I want to know which chapter you want to read next! Most of the interviews are completed, so it's a matter of transcription and editing. Whichever company gets the most votes, I'll work on next. I'll also release a PDF to you before anyone else as soon as it's done.
Your options:
Click the link at the bottom of the email to add to the discussion!
Cheers,
Charlie
P.S. In case you missed it, I published some excerpts from the Zenefits interview on Medium: "Scaling Lessons From The Fastest Growing SaaS Company Ever"
We did it! 100% funded!
Thank you so much for your support! Unscalable is now 100% funded, which means that it is guaranteed to go to print and be distributed to bookstores.
Pricing has also switched over to a more conventional model, with e-books being available for $9.99 and paperbacks available for $15.99.
I honestly can't thank you all enough. I always assumed that if I ever became an author, it would be a long ways down the road, but now I'm only a few short months away from my own physical books. I'll be sure to keep you all updated about the publishing process as it progresses.
But wait, there's more! The GitHub interview!
I've literally just finished editing the GitHub interview, and as promised, you are the first ones to hear about it.
"The Future of Version Control": Tom Preston-Werner talks about the early days of GitHub.
Let me know what you think!
Cheers,
Charlie