Disrupted
by Dan Lyons, Daniel Lyons · first published 2016
46% recommend46% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
Funny, sharp account of a veteran journalist's stint at HubSpot that skewers startup culture, unicorn hype and cult-like workplaces; suits anyone wanting a skeptical, entertaining look inside the tech bubble.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A memoir of life inside the tech bubble by a writer and co-producer for "Silicon Valley" describes how, after losing his magazine writing job, he took a position with a tech company rife with cultish millennials, absent bosses, and venture-capital amenities.
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I believe that some of the genius of the show has to go to Dan Lyons as well. He worked at HubSpot for a stint and wrote a book about it called "Disrupted" (https://www.amazon.com/Disrupted-My-Misadventure-Start-Up-Bu...). Really funny, in a sad way.
on “If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley” ↗So, not necessarily inspirational, and some kinda gross things came out about the author recently, but Disrupted by Dan Lyons was pretty good. It's about his time at HubSpot, which kinda seems like it was almost a parody of startup culture and drinking the Kool-Aid. He later went on to be a writer on Silicon Valley…
on “Ask HN: Recommendations on books and documentaries on tech companies/people?” ↗I recommend reading “Disrupted” by Dan Lyons and Broken by Design by Mike Monteiro. Will help you preserve your sanity.
on “Ask HN: New hire at Facebook, getting weird cult vibes” ↗…has covered Karl Popper and his falsification oriented framework, and Thomas Kuhn and the "scientific revolution / paradigm shift" model. A couple of other ones from this year that stand out to me: Disrupted by Dan "Fake Steve Jobs" Lyons It's Not The Big That Eat The Small, It's The Fast That Eat The Slow by Jason Jennings In terms of fiction, this years haul includes: The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen…
on “Ask HN: What good books have you read in 2016?” ↗I read Disrupted by Dan Lyons over the summer. It's by no means an objective piece, but I don't think that Lyon's negative opinions of the VC-tech scene are undeserved. Also, he is an exceptionally talented narrator.
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?” ↗You should read "Disrupted" by Dan Lyons, a middle aged tech reporter from Newsweek who went to work for a Boston company called HubSpot. He has some pretty good insight and stories about this.
on “IBM Is Being Sued for Age Discrimination After Firing Thousands” ↗I recommend “Disrupted” by Dan Lyons - about his time at Hubspot, about the unicorn phenomenon and the cultish culture of tech startups.
on “How to Learn Complex Things Quickly: A Guide” ↗…what? I think everyone that programs should read Tracy Kiddars Soul of a New Machine, Ries&Trout The 22 immutable laws of marketing, My #3 is way lower, which follows one of the 22 laws, but probably Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons. Those are three enjoyable books that are pretty easy to read and have pretty valuable lessons in them that can take quite a long time to truly appreciate.…
on “Does Your Office Have a Library?” ↗Disrupted by Dan Lyons
on “Ask HN: What was the best book you read in 2016?” ↗I enjoyed the article; I find the description entirely plausible and totally depressing. It definitely reminds me of Dan Lyons' book "Disrupted", which was also perfectly believable. I've been around since Bubble 1.0; I started working in San Francisco in 1997. The thing I find horrifying about this article is the way Vision Critical apparently…
on “After landing a lucrative job at a tech startup, I had made a terrible mistake” ↗Please read Dan Lyons’ book Disrupted about what life is like working for a cult-y startup and seeing the insanity while having to wait for your options to vest. The chapter on the bozos is worth the cost of the book alone.
on “Facebook staff now to be known as “Metamates”” ↗The setup for this article sounds like a rip-off of Dan Lyons' book "Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Startup Bubble." That was a fun book also about a journalist joining the marketing startup ... this one called Hubspot. Dan Lyons' blurb from Kindle edition: "Dan Lyons is a novelist,…
on “After landing a lucrative job at a tech startup, I had made a terrible mistake” ↗Out of 32 books I read this year I recommend: Somehow tech/startup related: - Spelunky, Derek Yu: book about creating the game of Spelunky + notes on game design - Disrupted, Dan Lyons: book about "old" guy working in startup - Hatching Twitter, Nick Bilton: book about Twitter Non-startupy books: - A Wild Sheep Chase, Haruki Murakami: modern Japanese novel - The Hills…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗…magazine, which he founded. Not only does it have a lot of excellent business advice, but he's also a pretty hilarious writer. More recently, I enjoyed Dan Lyons' skewering of Silicon Valley culture with "Disrupted" (which just came out and has been getting a lot of press.) I didn't agree with everything he said, but it was a great read nonetheless.
on “Why Uber Won” ↗Namely as cheap as possible. Dan Lyons's "Disrupted-My-Misadventure-Start-Up-Bubble" is insightful.
on “How Lever (YC S12) Got to 50–50 Women and Men” ↗