Startup

This is Kaplans book about his experience with building Go corporation (early PDA's). I saw how intense his experience was and decided that I was going to have my own company one day.

on HN, 2008

Jerry started "GO," the company that was the first to bring to market "pen computing." His company raised over 75M and spent it all on a product that the market did not want. It is a great read. A time before the concept of "product/market" fit had entered main-stream vocabulary

on HN, 2010

Definitely agree on that last point, and recommended folks read Jerry Kaplan's _StartUp_ which tells the story of how MS wiped out Go Corp. and eliminated PenPoint from the marketplace:

on HN, 2025

Jerry Kaplan's _StartUp_ is a classic which shows the dark underbelly of deal-making and press-release creation, and why we can't have nice things if they aren't being made so as to ensure the profit of a dominant player:

on HN, 2023

Recounts the true story of GO Corporation and the folks involved including John Doer and Bill Campbell. Been awhile since I picked this up but I remember it was a fun read.

on HN, 2009

and for a more recent spin on things, look at the folks who crashed and burned such as Jerry Kaplan:

on HN, 2025

"Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure" by Jerry Kaplan was also very good.

on HN, 2009