Dear Founder: Letters of Advice for Anyone Who Leads, Manages, or Wants to Start a Business

(Paperback)

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Maynard Webb - Silicon Valley angel investor, board member at Salesforce and Visa, former chairman of the board at Yahoo!, and former CEO of LiveOps and COO of eBay - has long been considered one of Silicon Valley's most trusted sources of advice for entrepreneurs. Known for sharing his insight through personal letters to new company founders and entrepreneurs, Webb now reveals to all business readers what he has previously counselled to a private audience. Dear Founder, a collection of more than eighty thoughtful, wise, and wide-ranging letters, is rich with sound advice on an array of business topics: how to hire your first employees, how to build and manage culture, how to raise money, how to set and reach goals, how to scale, and how to think about legacy. These and dozens of other business-critical subjects are addressed with a blend of empathy, humour, candor, tough-love, and hard-won wisdom from more than forty years in a range of businesses from start-ups to established companies. Dear Founder is an invaluable book for anyone who wants to lead and succeed in any business.

Reviews

"Dear Founder is going to be a 'must have, ' not only for anyone thinking of or contemplating a startup, but it will also serve as an extraordinary resource for leaders and managers in every sector of industry."
-Howard Schultz, founder and executive chairman, Starbucks Corporation

"With Dear Founder, everyone has access to Maynard's wisdom and advice. This book should be bedside reading for anyone running a company today."
-Meg Whitman, CEO, NewTV, Former CEO, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, eBay

"Dear Founder is an indispensable handbook for entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey."
-Marc Benioff, Chairman & CEO, Salesforce

"The insightful, empathetic and practical wisdom in this book mirrors the breakthrough ideas one would receive when sitting face-to-face with a trusted mentor. It is a must-read for any business leader."
- Brad D. Smith, Chairman & CEO, Intuit

"In Dear Founder, Maynard Webb shares the gift of his incredible experience...Dear Founder is a playbook to help you plan and it is a resource that you can refer back to as you run into new situations along the journey of leading your company."
-Alfred F. Kelly Jr., CEO, Visa

"Maynard Webb always gets the big picture of what it takes to be successful--he goes where there is disruption, sees opportunity, and sparks tremendous growth and success."
-Jerry Yang, cofounder, former CEO, Yahoo!

"I wish I had this book when I got started at Sun Microsystems. Now working on some very important startups, my four sons. This will be on the top of their reading list--as it should be for every budding economic superstar contributing to the private sector."
-Scott McNealy, cofounder, Chairman, Wayin, cofounder Sun Microsystem

"In Dear Founder, Maynard Webb reminds us we're not born an entrepreneur; we learn to be one. Being an entrepreneur is not only about starting a company; it's a state of mind."
-Beth Axelrod, Head of Global Employee Experience, Airbnb

"I'm lucky enough to be one of the founders who can call Maynard Webb a mentor and advisor. Dear Founder perfectly captures Maynard's wisdom as he guides you every step of the way along the entrepreneur's journey."
-Tien Tzuo, CEO, Zuora and bestselling author of Subscribed

"I've had a great career in technology, and nothing was as impactful on my leadership style as the three years I sat next to Maynard. Our discussions about creating companies with cultures of meritocracy, the future of work, leadership styles, acquihires, and the benefits of enterprises and startups continue to influence many of the decisions I make every day. With this book, everyone has access to Maynard's unparalleled wisdom and strong mentorship, and I'm certain they too will see the benefit."
-Jeremy King, CTO, Walmart (WIN Affiliate)

"Every entrepreneur can identify with facing difficult challenges. Maynard Webb has seen them all. His hard-earned advice is relevant for business leaders in any industry who want to take their business to the next level."
- J. Frederic Kerrest, Okta Co-Founder, COO & Director (WIN Founder)

"Starting a business is an incredibly challenging experience. You don't always have the answers. Maynard Webb shares the wisdom and guidance in those moments that matter the most. He understands your challenges and pushes you to execute with courage, honesty and humility. Maynard has done this for me and now he can do this for you."
-Andre Haddad, CEO, Turo (WIN CEO and Affiliate)

"Maynard is every entrepreneur's dream investor--supportive, experienced, and always full of valuable insights. His work with everyone from founders to leaders of Fortune 500 companies makes him uniquely positioned to capture the story of the startup from inception to success across a multitude of verticals. His letters are fundamental for anyone who has aspirations to start, and build, a business."
-Adam Foroughi, CEO, AppLovin Corporation (WIN Founder)

"I had the tremendous good fortune to meet Maynard while working on a startup called AdMob. Maynard was on the board, and I was learning how to build and lead an engineering team under the demands of hyper-growth. No matter how crazy, Maynard seemed to have seen and successfully navigated just about every problem that arose for me and my team during those wild days. Without Maynard's wisdom and wealth of experience which he so generously shared and has continued to share with me over the past many years, my job would have been so much harder. I always wondered how we could scale Maynard so that more entrepreneurs and leaders could benefit from his mentorship. Dear Founder is a huge step in that direction."
-Kevin Scott, CTO, Microsoft

"Webb's well-aimed advice will undoubtedly prove a valuable asset for many a future founder during the building and growth of a new organization." - Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

Maynard Webb is a cofounder and board member of Everwise, a mentorship startup, and a board member of Visa and Salesforce. A current investor in startups through the Webb Investment Network, previously he served as Chairman of the Board of Yahoo!, CEO of LiveOps, and COO of eBay. He resides in the Bay Area with his wife, Irene. Carlye Adler is an award-winning journalist and four-time New York Times bestselling coauthor/collaborator. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two daughters.