Dead Money

https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Money-Novel-Jakob-Kerr-ebook/dp/B0D2W1B4KN?ref_=ast_author_mpb

If you're looking for a book to read this holiday weekend, I highly recommend this one.

What we've got here is something conventionally called a thriller, and normally I don't read that kind of book, but reviews have been great and the action all takes place in the heart of San Francisco tech.

Jakob Kerr gets it right. Probably because he was one of the first employees at Airbnb. He could afford to take years off to write a book. And the funny thing is he's just gone to work for Anthropic, you know, the AI firm that just settled with authors. But all the hype says he's a lawyer, a role he hasn't played in a long time, he's a master of communications at these enterprises, but knowing the law Kerr could construct an interesting legal wrinkle that gets the book going.

So what we've got is a murder. Of a guy who runs an Uber-type company. He's loosely based on Travis Kalanick. If you're a student of the game, you can recognize the real people behind the characters.

Like Eleanor... She's obviously based on Sheryl Sandberg, albeit with a bit more self-knowledge.

As for Hammersmith the VC... Kerr gets Sand Hill Road down right.

What makes the book so fascinating is not the plot, but the characterization of the world-beating techies. You've got the one only looking out for himself. The eccentric brilliant coder. The dreamer... They've all come together to make billions, and they all believe their sh*t doesn't stink and they're above the law.

So they're pursuing the killer. And Mackenzie is translating for the FBI, she works for the VC, and she too started off in law, but gave up a gig at the big firm to go to the coast and try to make her fortune.

Furthermore, there's a lot of lessons in this book. If you're directionless, you might want to read "Dead Money" to learn the score.

"Dead Money" is the best fiction book about the tech culture I've ever read. And fiction is more honest than nonfiction, meaning there are some great nonfiction tales about tech, but usually the author is too invested, or at arm's length, and can't see what is really going in. "Dead Money" tells you the truth.

Having said that, the last section of the book, which concentrates on the plot, becomes somewhat fantastical, kind of like a movie, with twists and a scene at a popular location I won't name, however the ending redeems the book.

This is an easy read. It will call out to you after you've read just a little bit, you will be hooked.

Wisdom is dropped throughout, I'm going to list some of what is said:

"Hammersmith had always been proof of an old Silicon Valley axiom: The worse a man dressed, the richer he was."

If you're rich you don't have to prove anything. You're satisfied with who you are. Sure, you want more, but you don't have to advertise your wealth, you're above that.

"It doesn't matter how original your idea is: All that matters is how well you execute it."

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Who has the perseverance to bring an idea to fruition? Very few.

"He wore expensive un-scuffed leather boots, the type favored by men who consider themselves outdoorsy because they take an annual trip to the Yellowstone Club."

Kerr nails the players. He makes you laugh. People don't understand that you can see right through their trappings.

"You work yourself into the right places, get connected to the right people. Eventually you'll be met with an opportunity... A chance at something truly big."

You've got to be in the game. Even founders can't exist outside the game, they need the VC's money. I've found this paradigm in music. Those who think they know the most, who drop names, are often completely outside the game.

Once you get a toehold, you've got to find a way to advance. Will you choose to do what Mackenzie does? If you want the big money you have to play by different rules.

"Humans have yet to discover a sum of money large enough that they couldn't find a manner of wasting it."

My grandmother gave each grandkid 10k upon her death. She would harangue my mother over the details of the giving and how it would be used. And my mother's response was, THEY CAN SPEND $10,000 IN A DAY!

"Our world is not built on fairness. It's not built on right and wrong, hard work, smarts. It's built on one thing and one thing only: ruthlessness. Our system rewards those who sacrifice. Those who are ruthless enough to give things up in pursuit of their goal. Give up their friends, give up their time, give up their ideas about the way they thought their life was supposed to go."

Wow, I should just send these words to all the people complaining to me that the system is stacked against them, that with a level playing field they'd succeed. IT'S NOT A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD! And Kerr doesn't embrace the trope that nepo babies will get their comeuppance, oftentimes that's not true. "Ruthlessness" has a bad connotation. Unfortunately, to succeed in business that's usually the way you have to be. Unless you're a worker bee. And sacrifice? That's another thing the wannabes have no idea of. They complain they can't make the car payment and mortgage and can't put shoes on their kids with their Spotify revenue. Who told you to buy a house, have kids, even have a car? You think this is unfathomable, but these are the kinds of sacrifices winners make.

"He texted like a Boomer—sporadically, with unnecessary punctuation"

Boomers HATE hearing this, they consider themselves digitally-savvy and no one can tell them otherwise, even though in most cases this is untrue.


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