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This is the definitive story of a seismic shift in the business world, in which coding skill beats job experience, pairs of undergraduates take on Goliaths, and inves­tors fall in love. The Launch Pad is both a gripping narrative and a gold mine of useful insights.   'A must-read for anyone interested in the realities of modern entrepreneurship' -Eric Ries, author ofThe Lean Startup  'Stross's account of the best new entrepreneurs and the exciting companies they're building at startup schools is a great read for founders and would-be founders alike' -Marc Andreessen, cofounder, Andreessen Horowitz   Randall Stross is the author of several acclaimed books, including eBoys, Planet Google, and The Wizard of Menlo Park. 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Unlike career-focused education, liberal education prepares graduates for anything and everything—and nervous \"fuzzy major\" students, their even more nervous parents, college career center professionals, and prospective employers would do well to embrace liberal arts majors. Just look to Silicon Valley, of all places, to see that liberal arts majors can succeed not in spite of, but because of, their education.   A Practical Education investigates the real-world experiences of graduates with humanities majors, the majors that would seem the least employable in Silicon Valley's engineering-centric workplaces. Drawing on the experiences of Stanford University graduates and using the students' own accounts of their education, job searches, and first work experiences, Randall Stross provides heartening demonstrations of how multi-capable liberal arts graduates are. When given a first opportunity, these majors thrive in work roles that no one would have predicted.   Stross also weaves the students' stories with the history of Stanford, the rise of professional schools, the longstanding contention between engineering and the liberal arts, the birth of occupational testing, and the popularity of computer science education to trace the evolution in thinking about how to prepare students for professional futures. His unique blend of present and past produces a provocative exploration of how best to utilize the undergraduate years.   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This is an inside account of the venture capitalists at work, detailing the drama, risk-taking and excitement which characterized the glory days of a great business adventure. For two years, Randall Stross gained unprecedented access to the venture capitalists at Benchmark. He brings to life their gutsy deals, testosterone-pumped conversations and the round-the-clock meetings that launched the eBoys and their clients into the stratosphere of mega-wealth.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50248916042001,"sku":"GOR001753597","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1587991357.jpg?v=1751432040"},{"product_id":"practical-education-book-randall-stross-9780804797481","title":"A Practical Education","description":"The liberal arts major is often lampooned: lacking in \"skills,\" unqualified for a professional career, underemployed. 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In this book he will reveal for the first time the astonishing scale and scope of what Google is setting out to accomplish, including such potentially disruptive initiatives as free downloadable software, which could put providers like Microsoft out of business, and Google Earth satellite technology, which is rapidly mapping the entire surface of the Earth in high-powered detail. Stross explores the profound implications of these plans, not only for the business world, but for our culture at large.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50373873729809,"sku":"CIN1416546960G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51416919802129,"sku":"CIN1416546960VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1416546960.jpg?v=1750987036"},{"product_id":"launch-pad-book-randall-stross-9781591846581","title":"The Launch Pad","description":"\u003cb\u003eA behind-the-scenes look at how tomorrow's hottest startups are being primed for greatness\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Investment firm Y Combinator is the most sought-after home for startups in Silicon Valley. 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