Masters of Scale

Surprising truths from the world’s most successful entrepreneurs


What can you learn from a Silicon Valley legend and a pantheon of iconic leaders? The key to scaling a successful business isn't talent, network or strategy. It's an entrepreneurial mindset - and that mindset can be cultivated.

Behind the scenes in Silicon Valley, Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn, investor at Greylock) is a sought-after advisor to heads of companies and heads of state. On his podcast Masters of Scale, he sits down with an all-star list of visionary founders and leaders, digging into the surprising strategies that power their growth. In this book, he draws on their most riveting, revealing stories - as well his own experience as a founder and investor - to distil the counterintuitive secrets behind the most extraordinary success stories of our times.

Here, Hoffman teams up with Masters of Scale's executive producers to offer a rare window into the entrepreneurial mind. They share surprising, never-before-told stories from leaders of the world's most iconic companies, including Apple, Nike, Netflix, Spotify, Starbucks, Google, Instagram and Microsoft, as well as the bold, disruptive startups - from 23andMe to TaskRabbit, from the Black List to the Bevel razor - solving the problems of the twenty-first century.

Through vivid storytelling and straightforward analysis, Masters of Scale distils their collective insights into a set of counterintuitive principles that anyone can use. How do you find a winning idea and turn it into a scalable venture? What can you learn from a 'squirmy no'? When should you stop listening to your customers? Which fires should you put out right away, and which should you let burn? And can you really make money while making the world a better place? (Answer: Yes. But you have to do the work to keep your profits and values aligned.)

Based on more than 100 interviews, and incorporating new material never aired on the podcast, Masters of Scale offers a unique insider's guide, filled with insights, wisdom, and strategies that will inspire you to reimagine how you do business today.