{"product_id":"behind-the-startup-9789360454654","title":"Behind the Startup","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Benjamin Shestakofsky\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Westland Publications Limited\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Westland Publications Limited\u003cbr\u003e • Subject: Business Management\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: General\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eAbout the Book \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eTHIS BOOK ANALYSES HOW VENTURE CAPITAL INFLUENCES THE FUNCTIONING OF STARTUPS AND AFFECTS ALL STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS AND FOUNDERS. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003cbr\u003e This systematic analysis of everyday life inside a tech startup dissects the logic of venture capital and its consequences for entrepreneurs, workers, and societies. \u003cbr\u003e In recent years, dreams about our technological future have soured as digital platforms have undermined privacy, eroded labor rights, and weakened democratic discourse. In light of the negative consequences of innovation, some blame harmful algorithms or greedy CEOs. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eBehind the Startup\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e focuses instead on the role of capital and the influence of financiers. Drawing on nineteen months of participant-observation research inside a successful Silicon Valley startup, this book examines how the company was organized to meet the needs of the venture capital investors who funded it. \u003cbr\u003e Investors push startups to scale as quickly as possible to inflate the value of their asset. Benjamin Shestakofsky shows how these demands create organizational problems that managers solve by combining high-tech systems with low-wage human labor. With its focus on the financialization of innovation, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eBehind the Startup\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e explains how the gains generated by these companies are funneled into the pockets of a small cadre of elite investors and entrepreneurs. To promote innovation that benefits the many rather than the few, Shestakofsky compellingly argues that we must focus less on fixing the technology and more on changing the financial infrastructure that supports it. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eAbout the Author \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Benjamin Shestakofsky is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is affiliated with AI at Wharton and the Center on Digital Culture and Society.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Westland Publications Limited","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":52485338628398,"sku":"9789360454654","price":390.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0948\/3786\/6798\/files\/9789360454654.webp?v=1787297406","url":"https:\/\/trade.atlanticbooks.com\/products\/behind-the-startup-9789360454654","provider":"Atlantic Publishers \u0026 Distributors (P) Ltd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}