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The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups from Death by Politics
The famed political advisor to Uber, FanDuel, Lemonade, Tesla and other startups reveals what really happens at the intersection of politics, tech and business
Most new startups today are in highly regulated industries with strong incumbents - transportation, hotels, drones, energy, gaming, education, health care, cannabis, finance, liquor, insurance. The more startups try to snatch a piece of the establishment's pie, the more they risk running into a political wall. That's where Bradley Tusk comes in.
Described as "Silicon Valley's Political Savior" (Fast Company) "Uber's Political Genius" ( Vanity Fair ) and "Silicon Valley's Favorite Fixer" ( TechCrunch ) Tusk deploys the skills and knowledge he developed working with Chuck Schumer, Michael Bloomberg, Rod Blagojevich, and other political and business legends to help startups fight back. This book goes behind the scenes on how he helped stop the taxi industry from killing Uber in its infancy, how he held insurance companies at bay while startup Lemonade launched in each state, and how he helped online sports betting sites FanDuel and Draft Kings escape the regulatory death grip casinos tried to put on them.
As Tusk writes, "Every new company is essentially a tech startup. And when you disrupt someone in any industry, they don't say thank you. They punch you in the nose. These are the lessons startups need to learn to punch back and survive the clutches of politics." Combining a firsthand glimpse behind the curtain with tangible advice for how any new venture can play the political game, THE FIXER is a must-read for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Most new startups today are in highly regulated industries with strong incumbents - transportation, hotels, drones, energy, gaming, education, health care, cannabis, finance, liquor, insurance. The more startups try to snatch a piece of the establishment's pie, the more they risk running into a political wall. That's where Bradley Tusk comes in.
Described as "Silicon Valley's Political Savior" (Fast Company) "Uber's Political Genius" ( Vanity Fair ) and "Silicon Valley's Favorite Fixer" ( TechCrunch ) Tusk deploys the skills and knowledge he developed working with Chuck Schumer, Michael Bloomberg, Rod Blagojevich, and other political and business legends to help startups fight back. This book goes behind the scenes on how he helped stop the taxi industry from killing Uber in its infancy, how he held insurance companies at bay while startup Lemonade launched in each state, and how he helped online sports betting sites FanDuel and Draft Kings escape the regulatory death grip casinos tried to put on them.
As Tusk writes, "Every new company is essentially a tech startup. And when you disrupt someone in any industry, they don't say thank you. They punch you in the nose. These are the lessons startups need to learn to punch back and survive the clutches of politics." Combining a firsthand glimpse behind the curtain with tangible advice for how any new venture can play the political game, THE FIXER is a must-read for aspiring entrepreneurs.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published September 18, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
November 9, 2018
Basically four hours of marketing for Tusk (himself, his consulting firm, his venture firm, and his clients), but did include interesting info about how Uber, Fanduel, and some political issues were fought. While I strongly disagree with his pretty generic leftist (and enough inside a bubble or self serving that he doesn't even think about it), but it's more about tactics than issues, except for his (misguided) advocacy of mobile direct voting.
February 21, 2021
First read of the year!
I bought this book last year to know how to protect our start-up from political battles. Because as Bradley Tusk well said "When you disrupt someone, in industry or politics, they don't thank you for it. They punch you in the face." However, funnily enough, I did not have enough time when we were dealing with internal battles. After a peaceful and relaxing festive season, I thought it is a good idea to continue and finish this book before starting a new one.
Here is the key summary from the book:
If you are a start-up cofounder, you also need to incorporate some political analysis into your growth strategy. Growth and market expansion are vital in start-ups, so you should analyse the political and regulatory outlook. You need to consider what laws may permit or limit your activity and whether the political climate is pro-innovation or a little conservative. My start-up is in the most regulated area -banking and financial services- so my key takeaway from this book is this. Considering how powerful your opponents are also important if you especially weigh up potential new markets. That way, you can be best prepared for any political and strategical battles ahead of you.
I bought this book last year to know how to protect our start-up from political battles. Because as Bradley Tusk well said "When you disrupt someone, in industry or politics, they don't thank you for it. They punch you in the face." However, funnily enough, I did not have enough time when we were dealing with internal battles. After a peaceful and relaxing festive season, I thought it is a good idea to continue and finish this book before starting a new one.
Here is the key summary from the book:
If you are a start-up cofounder, you also need to incorporate some political analysis into your growth strategy. Growth and market expansion are vital in start-ups, so you should analyse the political and regulatory outlook. You need to consider what laws may permit or limit your activity and whether the political climate is pro-innovation or a little conservative. My start-up is in the most regulated area -banking and financial services- so my key takeaway from this book is this. Considering how powerful your opponents are also important if you especially weigh up potential new markets. That way, you can be best prepared for any political and strategical battles ahead of you.
April 1, 2020
I guess this is the guy you want to hire if you want to help businesses get around regulation--though he doesn't mention that part where Uber actually and flagrantly broke the law. The insights into the boys club of NY politics is interesting as is the gross sausage-making of politics. It was a pretty honest view of how companies win political battles.
October 22, 2020
On the very first page of this book, there are two inexcusable cliches: "raining cats and dogs" and "ninth circle of hell" (referring to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport). Those almost made me close the book right away. Yet although the writing may not shine, the book actually offers a wonderful look at modern politics, from someone who worked for some of the biggest names in that business Ed Rendell, Chuck Schumer, Mike Bloomberg, (lamentably) Rod Blagojevich, and others.
Bradley Tusk correctly notes the incredibly insecure and approval-hungry nature of most politicians (Bloomberg is the exception), and hilariously describes running the Illinois as deputy governor while Blagojevich focused on jogging and tailoring his suits (Blagojevich once refused to even read the list of bills he had to sign or veto, because he was going to his tailor, and Tusk almost elides saying that he performed this job himself.) His description of running Bloomberg's 2009 mayoral re-election bid is a great example of playing every angle, from getting a new endorsement every day (he says you have to keep giving the press shiny objects otherwise they do more digging), to geotargeting ads in April to Congressman Anthony Weiner's zip code, so he himself would see how powerful Bloomberg was and would decide not to run, to getting promises of unions like the SEIU and UFT to not hold fundraisers for their opponent, Bill Thompson.
Then the author left and started a political advising firm for startups, like Uber, Handy, Eaze, and FanDuel. He took his political knowledge to become the master at the outside game of public advocacy. He mobilized tens of thousands of Uber drivers to convince 26 city council members to back off Bill deBlasio's new Uber law. He passed special laws in a dozen of states to allow online sports betting, by mobilizing FanDuels and SportsKing's usually non-political fan base to register and write. He got unions to back Handy's new cleaning service by providing worker benefits to a previously grey economy sector, and lobbied local California city councils to support Eaze's marijuana delivery by sharing polls and patient testimonials.
So this is great look at modern politics from both the outside and inside, and shows how and why politicians move, and how to get them to do what you want. There are good lessons all around.
Bradley Tusk correctly notes the incredibly insecure and approval-hungry nature of most politicians (Bloomberg is the exception), and hilariously describes running the Illinois as deputy governor while Blagojevich focused on jogging and tailoring his suits (Blagojevich once refused to even read the list of bills he had to sign or veto, because he was going to his tailor, and Tusk almost elides saying that he performed this job himself.) His description of running Bloomberg's 2009 mayoral re-election bid is a great example of playing every angle, from getting a new endorsement every day (he says you have to keep giving the press shiny objects otherwise they do more digging), to geotargeting ads in April to Congressman Anthony Weiner's zip code, so he himself would see how powerful Bloomberg was and would decide not to run, to getting promises of unions like the SEIU and UFT to not hold fundraisers for their opponent, Bill Thompson.
Then the author left and started a political advising firm for startups, like Uber, Handy, Eaze, and FanDuel. He took his political knowledge to become the master at the outside game of public advocacy. He mobilized tens of thousands of Uber drivers to convince 26 city council members to back off Bill deBlasio's new Uber law. He passed special laws in a dozen of states to allow online sports betting, by mobilizing FanDuels and SportsKing's usually non-political fan base to register and write. He got unions to back Handy's new cleaning service by providing worker benefits to a previously grey economy sector, and lobbied local California city councils to support Eaze's marijuana delivery by sharing polls and patient testimonials.
So this is great look at modern politics from both the outside and inside, and shows how and why politicians move, and how to get them to do what you want. There are good lessons all around.
March 24, 2021
Bradley Tusk is the kind of mofo I like!
Very short and to the point, just like the narratives behind his amazingly successful campaigns against cronies, entrenched lobbies, and hypocritical politicians.
Regulatory capture is arguably the single biggest barrier that prevents tech innovation and capitalism from working their magic in improving people's lives, and Tusk does a fantastic job showing how and why it's so important and valuable to take on corrupt regulators.
Very short and to the point, just like the narratives behind his amazingly successful campaigns against cronies, entrenched lobbies, and hypocritical politicians.
Regulatory capture is arguably the single biggest barrier that prevents tech innovation and capitalism from working their magic in improving people's lives, and Tusk does a fantastic job showing how and why it's so important and valuable to take on corrupt regulators.
November 24, 2018
Maybe it’s my own fault, but I was hoping for a little more insight into “saving startups” from “politics”. This book is the memoir of a guy who essentially had unlimited funds (millions and millions of dollars) to use to fight the government. There’s no talk of startups until halfway through the book; the first half reads like a gossip magazine, with a bunch of tangential details about the personalities and quirks of the various politicians Tusk worked for prior to starting his company. “Rich guy with ‘nothing to lose but time’ helps start upsusing essentially unlimited resources” hardly qualifies as an adventure in my opinion. It took me almost two months to read it because it dragged so much that i put it aside and read three full novels before returning to this book.
October 28, 2019
Nice and interesting read.
The book itself feels more like part of the ecosystem of Tusk ventures rather than an actual autobiography.
Still the author does a great job keeping it fast paced, providing enough information without being tiring, describing both his wins and losses and ending it with a nice note of what he believes the future should hold for disrupting industries or systems.
Furthermore, it is a really interesting perspective learning how disruptive companies need politics/politicians to actually win the fight of dominating their sector and Tusk seems like the right guy to make it happen.
The book itself feels more like part of the ecosystem of Tusk ventures rather than an actual autobiography.
Still the author does a great job keeping it fast paced, providing enough information without being tiring, describing both his wins and losses and ending it with a nice note of what he believes the future should hold for disrupting industries or systems.
Furthermore, it is a really interesting perspective learning how disruptive companies need politics/politicians to actually win the fight of dominating their sector and Tusk seems like the right guy to make it happen.
November 29, 2018
A cynical but practical look at how politicians think and act--and how this can be used to a new business' advantage when faced with regulatory or legal hurdles. Tusk describes his experiences both positive and negative; his stint as deputy governor working for Rod Blagojevich is a real eye-opener as his work for Uber and Tesla, among others. A quick read--I got through this in 4-5 hours.
January 19, 2019
Really liked it. The combo space of start-ups and political strategy is not something I've read a lot about, and this book is tells his story both in politics and as an adviser for start-ups. The most famous examples were running Bloomberg's third campaign, and advising Uber against DeBlasio.
October 5, 2018
I loved this book. A non-fiction page turner. When do you get to say that? Interesting, illuminating. Highly recommended.
October 14, 2018
Entertaining & informative book about Bradley Tusk's Career in Politics & Experience helping startups face political challenges.
Anything is possible with the right team, strategy & execution.
Anything is possible with the right team, strategy & execution.
December 31, 2018
Repetitive at times, and the early political memoir and later half-baked policy proposal sections are meh, but the crunchy middle on startups handling regulation is worth the price of admission.
January 18, 2024
I can't decide if Bradley Tusk simply lacks all self-awareness or is an actual sociopath. That sounds dramatic, I get it, but I encourage you to read this book and come to some other conclusion.
A prime example: the chapter entitled Not Being Qualifed for a Job Shouldn't Stop You which describes his stint as the deputy governor of Illinois, the highest non-elected position in the state government. Tusk has no meaningful connection to Illinois, is only 29 years old, and has mostly worked in communications for politicians. It's only seven years later when Rod Blagojevich is indicted that he realizes that he was picked because he didn't know what he was doing and they could easily pull the wool over his eyes (that's if you believe Tusk's telling of the story - I suppose it's possible he knew about the corruption and just didn't get caught).
Now, Tusk seems to realize this is bad and mentions three times in two pages that a "mature adult" wouldn't have put up with working for Blagojevich. But despite this, I'll remind you that the chapter is entitled Not Being Qualifed for a Job Shouldn't Stop You. Like is he just unaware of how bad this makes him look or is he just a sociopath who doesn't care because he had power.
Tusk embodies the worst of politics - he is cynical and appears to have no real political beliefs. He believes in power and attention. He even seems to doubt that politicians have any beliefs and thinks that they're primarily driven by a need for attention. Maybe I'm just naive here, but as someone who has political beliefs, I choose to believe that at least some of the people working in politics have real beliefs too.
Tusk has a habit of name dropping, and that includes his clients, which seem to be a laundry list of questionable businesses, including Uber, Tesla, charter schools, Walmart, etc. I'm a lawyer and I act for clients I don't agree with, so this isn't me saying that he's bad because he's acted for these companies. What's surprising that he seems to genuinely believe that he is the good guy in these stories.
Anyway, I absolutely recommend this as a hate read - very skimmable, very quick, very hateable - pick it up at your local library! I do not recommend this to start-up founders who are looking for advice on how to manage political risk as it is primarily war stories, not actual advice.
A prime example: the chapter entitled Not Being Qualifed for a Job Shouldn't Stop You which describes his stint as the deputy governor of Illinois, the highest non-elected position in the state government. Tusk has no meaningful connection to Illinois, is only 29 years old, and has mostly worked in communications for politicians. It's only seven years later when Rod Blagojevich is indicted that he realizes that he was picked because he didn't know what he was doing and they could easily pull the wool over his eyes (that's if you believe Tusk's telling of the story - I suppose it's possible he knew about the corruption and just didn't get caught).
Now, Tusk seems to realize this is bad and mentions three times in two pages that a "mature adult" wouldn't have put up with working for Blagojevich. But despite this, I'll remind you that the chapter is entitled Not Being Qualifed for a Job Shouldn't Stop You. Like is he just unaware of how bad this makes him look or is he just a sociopath who doesn't care because he had power.
Tusk embodies the worst of politics - he is cynical and appears to have no real political beliefs. He believes in power and attention. He even seems to doubt that politicians have any beliefs and thinks that they're primarily driven by a need for attention. Maybe I'm just naive here, but as someone who has political beliefs, I choose to believe that at least some of the people working in politics have real beliefs too.
Tusk has a habit of name dropping, and that includes his clients, which seem to be a laundry list of questionable businesses, including Uber, Tesla, charter schools, Walmart, etc. I'm a lawyer and I act for clients I don't agree with, so this isn't me saying that he's bad because he's acted for these companies. What's surprising that he seems to genuinely believe that he is the good guy in these stories.
Anyway, I absolutely recommend this as a hate read - very skimmable, very quick, very hateable - pick it up at your local library! I do not recommend this to start-up founders who are looking for advice on how to manage political risk as it is primarily war stories, not actual advice.
Read
November 12, 2018This is clearly an ad-posting-as-political-memoir. And it certainly has the suspicion of much self-aggrandizement. But if you ignore those points, it does show a side of politicians not often discussed — how they chicken out.
• Anthony Weiner was considered Bloomberg’s biggest threat to his re-election. The author dug up political dirt (he was doing pay-to-play) and run ads in Weiner’s zip code. This intimated him enough so that he didn’t even run. (again, never mind about the validity of the conjectures that a, Weiner was the biggest; and b, taking him out was the reason why Bloomberg got re-elected).
• De Blasio wanted to pass a law limiting Uber’s growth in NYC. The author tied two issues to De Blasio in press: taxi drivers sometimes deny colored people and taxi industry is the mayor’s big donors. But the most effective measure (IMO) was Uber app showing a De Blasio button (only in NYC) getting their user base riled up against him. Eventually the proposed legislation was tabled. (Never mind this smells copyright infringement everywhere of the classic David v Uber Goliath story. And never mind that in August 2018 the mayor signed a law limiting the growth of Uber and Lyft.)
• In another case against governor who wants to limit a startup on behalf of unions, they threaten to leave the state and pin this “anti-innovation” label on the governor in the media. This worked again.
In general, the takeaway point is that by default the politicians will be on the side of his big donors but if you find enough dirt/bad press/voters protests against them they will back down after political calculations. And if you don’t know how to play such political gorilla warfare, the author is happy to receive your employment.
• Anthony Weiner was considered Bloomberg’s biggest threat to his re-election. The author dug up political dirt (he was doing pay-to-play) and run ads in Weiner’s zip code. This intimated him enough so that he didn’t even run. (again, never mind about the validity of the conjectures that a, Weiner was the biggest; and b, taking him out was the reason why Bloomberg got re-elected).
• De Blasio wanted to pass a law limiting Uber’s growth in NYC. The author tied two issues to De Blasio in press: taxi drivers sometimes deny colored people and taxi industry is the mayor’s big donors. But the most effective measure (IMO) was Uber app showing a De Blasio button (only in NYC) getting their user base riled up against him. Eventually the proposed legislation was tabled. (Never mind this smells copyright infringement everywhere of the classic David v Uber Goliath story. And never mind that in August 2018 the mayor signed a law limiting the growth of Uber and Lyft.)
• In another case against governor who wants to limit a startup on behalf of unions, they threaten to leave the state and pin this “anti-innovation” label on the governor in the media. This worked again.
In general, the takeaway point is that by default the politicians will be on the side of his big donors but if you find enough dirt/bad press/voters protests against them they will back down after political calculations. And if you don’t know how to play such political gorilla warfare, the author is happy to receive your employment.
April 15, 2019
Brutal on De Blasio and Schumer.
Nice little typology of politicians: “rare breed (ie Bloomberg) who actually want to get things done, typical pol (try to validate their insecurities through attention), ideologue (true believer, tea parties etc), ‘I’m just happy to be here’ (backbenchers who don’t do much), ‘corrupt pol’”
Hispanic voters in Bloomberg’s third campaign for mayor don’t like him because he reminds them of dictators back home.
Engineers don’t have the interest/background/mindset to understand how regulations work. Politics have different inputs (fundraising, poll numbers, press coverage) and ultimately elections.
Labeling a local leader “pro tech” or “anti tech” was a powerful lever for firms when lobbying up until say 2016. But now it’s 2019, amazon got booted from nyc, zuck testified in front of congress, and more and more are souring on the gig economy. Interesting to think about how Tusk’s investments will play out amidst a broader cultural environment that no longer is willing to give anything “tech” and “disruptive” the passes they were in the 2000s and early 2010s.
Nice little typology of politicians: “rare breed (ie Bloomberg) who actually want to get things done, typical pol (try to validate their insecurities through attention), ideologue (true believer, tea parties etc), ‘I’m just happy to be here’ (backbenchers who don’t do much), ‘corrupt pol’”
Hispanic voters in Bloomberg’s third campaign for mayor don’t like him because he reminds them of dictators back home.
Engineers don’t have the interest/background/mindset to understand how regulations work. Politics have different inputs (fundraising, poll numbers, press coverage) and ultimately elections.
Labeling a local leader “pro tech” or “anti tech” was a powerful lever for firms when lobbying up until say 2016. But now it’s 2019, amazon got booted from nyc, zuck testified in front of congress, and more and more are souring on the gig economy. Interesting to think about how Tusk’s investments will play out amidst a broader cultural environment that no longer is willing to give anything “tech” and “disruptive” the passes they were in the 2000s and early 2010s.
November 10, 2018
The Fixer is a fun and fascinating look at the life of Bradley Tusk who grew up in the political arena working for people like Bloomberg and Blagojevic (nothing like diametrically opposed leadership styles and administrations) before starting his own business helping start ups navigate the tricky waters of local government. His biggest and most famous client was Uber as it battled the taxis to try and survive as a startup. Tusk takes the reader through many other startups and his time in various political offices that led to the knowledge base he has to share with startups. As to a guide for start ups on what to do there are some helpful checklists for the truly naïve but this is a little light on the in depth detail and is to me a more fun and entertaining read then a serious tome on navigating issues in local government. That being said it is a quick and fun read that I did not want to put down and I wanted to find out what he did next as I read through it. Overall if you have any interest in politics you will find this one enjoyable.
January 22, 2019
Sorting through regulations
Nothing happens unless you make it happen
Lobbying & Life:
-If it happens in NYC, then everyone will see it and it will set an example
—don’t let regulatory actions come into being in NYC or it’ll happen elsewhere too
-Tusk Ventures: good place to go for moving through regulatory industry
-Control the flow of attention to control politics
-Press can’t make it to your event? Go to them.
-Ask for as much as you can
-Radical transparency: show progress including failure towards every one of your campaign promises
-Bombard candidates home (zip code) with tons of ads: if you run against us this is what you’ll see
-Receive an endorsement every single day, 7 days a week
-Send our summary of progress at 7 AM
-Emails out at 7 AM; you seem responsible
Nothing happens unless you make it happen
Lobbying & Life:
-If it happens in NYC, then everyone will see it and it will set an example
—don’t let regulatory actions come into being in NYC or it’ll happen elsewhere too
-Tusk Ventures: good place to go for moving through regulatory industry
-Control the flow of attention to control politics
-Press can’t make it to your event? Go to them.
-Ask for as much as you can
-Radical transparency: show progress including failure towards every one of your campaign promises
-Bombard candidates home (zip code) with tons of ads: if you run against us this is what you’ll see
-Receive an endorsement every single day, 7 days a week
-Send our summary of progress at 7 AM
-Emails out at 7 AM; you seem responsible
December 31, 2020
I enjoyed this book. It’s very well written and easy to read.
It also provides an interesting perspective on business from a political / regulatory angle too. I’d like to hope that most people in government are not quite as self-serving / self-interested as Bradley makes out but, as Bradley has had far more exposure to these characters than me, he is far better-placed to make this assessment.
I do agree with Bradley that we need higher voter turnout to move politics back towards the centre ground from the current “extremes” that politics seems to cater to around the world at present.
I also appreciated Bradley’s inclusion of a chapter on ‘a quick guide to startup politics’ as a reference for the reader summarily his experiences / advice too.
It also provides an interesting perspective on business from a political / regulatory angle too. I’d like to hope that most people in government are not quite as self-serving / self-interested as Bradley makes out but, as Bradley has had far more exposure to these characters than me, he is far better-placed to make this assessment.
I do agree with Bradley that we need higher voter turnout to move politics back towards the centre ground from the current “extremes” that politics seems to cater to around the world at present.
I also appreciated Bradley’s inclusion of a chapter on ‘a quick guide to startup politics’ as a reference for the reader summarily his experiences / advice too.
May 28, 2019
It's 2/3 personal memoir and 1/3 advice on dealing with the politics of business. I'd give it 3 stars for usefulness. Most businesses don't run into regulation and legal barriers, and for those that do he gives general advice, not tactical how to advice. I'm not surprised, his company does the how to for clients, so he wants you to hire him to do that part. But it was good to know the overall strategy. What bumped it to four stars was his colorful storytelling. He dramatizes everything and has a pretty cynical view of the world of politics. He is really blunt on his opinion of major politicians he has worked (people you have heard of), so it's not a boring book.
January 29, 2020
The bad: Nothing in particular.
The good: Very different from the "usual" startup book. Tusk and his firm provide a unique approach to venture investing, with a clear value proposition to their ventures. The book is well-written and Tusk's background and expertise is well established, and which serves as a segue to his work with startups. Although there are only four startup examples, they cover very different areas and illustrate the possibilities of pushing regulatory/legislative boundaries as a startup. It's great as food for thought, and reads easily and well. Excellent read.
The good: Very different from the "usual" startup book. Tusk and his firm provide a unique approach to venture investing, with a clear value proposition to their ventures. The book is well-written and Tusk's background and expertise is well established, and which serves as a segue to his work with startups. Although there are only four startup examples, they cover very different areas and illustrate the possibilities of pushing regulatory/legislative boundaries as a startup. It's great as food for thought, and reads easily and well. Excellent read.
July 16, 2020
Sometimes I sit back and wonder how some startups managed to challenge the biggest cities in the world and win against all odds - this book gives you a pretty clear sense of how. As a Canadian, understanding the nuances in American politics (elected senior bureaucratic roles vs appointed) was a real aha moment. All in all a fascinating book and funny to hear from someone who was in the trenches in pivotal moments of history (9/11, Uber battles, corruption scandals, etc). I also really loved the footnotes - don't skip them, there are some real gems in there.
December 19, 2018
This author tells it like it is...and if how he sees it is true its a pretty depressing reality of our political system.... but he sure knows how to get stuff done. Lots of lessons in this book whether or not you need to work with politicians but if you lead a company that intersects with any political factions or you are trying to disrupt almost any traditional industry you need to read this one. And, as a side benefit it is also rather entertaining.
February 4, 2020
This is an interesting read, how politics (gov't) impacts startups' scaling efforts. Bradley gives details on how to solve issues impacting companies as they work to deploy their business model to the market.
At the same time, this book is a sad tale to how politicians/gov't and entrenched companies use laws and regulations to halt progress––and a sad tale to the huge amounts of $$ spent to overcome.
At the same time, this book is a sad tale to how politicians/gov't and entrenched companies use laws and regulations to halt progress––and a sad tale to the huge amounts of $$ spent to overcome.
February 26, 2024
An enjoyable ride behind the scenes of political decision making and the political challenges that innovative startups may face. At times, the book felt like an extended pitch for Tusk Ventures, and (imho) it might have worked better if the actual work with startups had a larger share of the book, but it was still worth the time to read (listen to). The implications of the final idea are intriguing and that idea merits wider consideration.
October 22, 2018
“You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you.”
The most important message in Brad Tusk’s The Fixer is: Startups that don’t play the political game will get whipped by powerful incumbents. This book teaches you the basics of the game. It’s entertaining, concise, and educational. Highly recommended for all startup execs and founders.
The most important message in Brad Tusk’s The Fixer is: Startups that don’t play the political game will get whipped by powerful incumbents. This book teaches you the basics of the game. It’s entertaining, concise, and educational. Highly recommended for all startup execs and founders.
December 24, 2018
Phenomenal. I’m in sales, and my favorite practice — which proves to be a white whale — is strategic relationship & decision making influentials, such as applying game theory to win a decision in a more controlled manner than just “selling.” Tusk has built a multi-millon dollar business out of that strategic approach, niche of politics. A top 2018 business read.
January 24, 2019
It is pretty nice memoir style book - easy to read and covers fresh events. As it is common for memoir, the major flaw is that everything is too smooth, too politically correct and too nice (after all all people mentioned are alive and can be very powerful). So if you are interested about real details of Uber or Fantasy Sport legislation fight, search for something else.
January 3, 2020
An account of Bradley Tusk's idea of a new uncharted territory of doing business i.e. a Blue Ocean of taking cash/equity from upcoming start-ups to help them glide over political hurdles...The most popular adventure being from Uber. Overall a quick n interesting read...most information is good to know..and serves the purpose of reading to an extent of 3/5
November 10, 2020
This was not at all what I was expecting, but it was quite entertaining if at times infuriating - "and then I got a phone call asking me to be Deputy Governor!" I think the NY City Hall parts were my favorite, more insight into how to achieve useful things. Fascinating to see the small descriptions of Bloomberg in 2016 in the light of his 2020 run, as well.
March 19, 2021
Loved the first 3 sections. Last two sections are skippable (they're one big collection of case studies of his firm).
Total page turner and a breezy read. Really enjoyed the stories with fun/nasty details of what happens in the world of politics. Seeing some of the laws by which that world operates was revelatory to me
as a rationality/logic-oriented person.
Total page turner and a breezy read. Really enjoyed the stories with fun/nasty details of what happens in the world of politics. Seeing some of the laws by which that world operates was revelatory to me
as a rationality/logic-oriented person.
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