Pattern Breakers

The Secrets Behind the World's Most Successful Start-Ups

By: Mike Maples Jr, Peter Ziebelman

Narrated by: Mike Maples Jr, Peter Ziebelman

Read by the author, Mike Maples Jr.

'The most important start-up book of the last ten years' - Steve Blank, co-creator of the Lean Startup movement

Based on extensive research and real-world examples, Pattern Breakers, read by co-author Mike Maples Jr, upends accepted wisdom about how to achieve breakthrough success, and provides a playbook for anyone launching a startup or creating a new product.

Pattern Breakers had its roots in the time when Mike Maples, a seasoned venture capitalist, was stumped, unable to get a grip on why some businesses he funded — X (formerly Twitter), Twitch, and Okta, for example — took off, while others, some deemed “most likely to succeed,” shut their doors despite doing everything right. Was it dumb luck that separated gold from dross?

What Maples and Stanford University’s Peter Ziebelman discovered contradicts accepted wisdom and upends today’s formulaic approach to entrepreneurship. They learned that pattern-breaking ideas radically change the traditional rules, and are driven by people with the independent-mindedness and courage to divert from the consensus.

With intriguing and entertaining storytelling based on a lifetime of experience, Pattern Breakers vividly illustrates what differentiates breakthrough ideas from those that initially seem promising but that meet with mediocre results, and why others that initially seem unworthy — and even idiotic — end up radically changing how people live.

'An indispenable guide to start-up success' - Safi Bahcall, author of Loonshots

'Reveals how elite founders don't just navigate uncertainty - they harness it to redefine what's possible' - Annie Duke, author of Thinking in Bets

Critic reviews

The most important start-up book of the last ten years (Steve Blank, co-creator of the Lean Startup movement)

An indispenable guide to start-up success (Safi Bahcall, author of Loonshots)

Reveals how elite founders don't just navigate uncertainty - they harness it to redefine what's possible (Annie Duke, author of Thinking in Bets)

Luck in a start-up might actually be a strategy hiding in something others haven’t seen clearly enough. Pattern breaking often involves the hard work of seeing inflection points before others do (Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow and This Is Marketing)

Mike Maples and Peter Ziebelman are on a relentless pursuit to understand start-up outliers beyond anyone else (Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram)

Pattern Breakers shows why the only path to breakthrough results is to break the mold and be non-consensus, not just right. Maples and Ziebelman offer concrete examples from some of the most impactful start-ups of our time and practical advice that founders can use in their own efforts to change the future (Andy Rachleff, co-founder of Benchmark Capital and Wealthfront)

Entrepreneurship and innovation play a critical role in shaping a better future, and Messrs. Maples and Ziebelman provide helpful guidance (Wall Street Journal)

A useful, accessible package for those seeking a revolutionary path… The authors make their case with conviction and intelligence, bringing new thinking to an old problem (Kirkus Reviews)

Straightforward advice on launching a startup… aspiring entrepreneurs will find sensible suggestions (Publishers Weekly)

Best book on startups I think I’ve ever read

I’ve read many many books in this genre. The clarity of the thinking of this one is great. Took away lots of practical things to do. :)