Founder vs Investor: The Honest Truth About Venture Capital from Startup to IPO

Read by the authors.

“The rarest of business books, one that provides genuinely actionable counsel delivered without empty cliches.” – KIRKUS

How many world-changing startups will fail because the founders and investors never figure out how to work together? Founder Elizabeth Zalman and Investor Jerry Neumann square off in this one-of-a-kind book, exposing how startups are built, broken, and fought over.

Every iconic tech company was once a startup. And while these companies like to paint an origin story full of surefooted confidence, the truth is usually something different: the early life of most startups is pure chaos.

This chaos comes from the vastly different motivations and incentives between those with the vision and those with the money. From fundraising paranoia to boardroom coups, Zalman and Neumann train their inimitable voices on the gulf between what founders and investors promise to do and what they end up actually doing.

Founder vs Investor is the brutal truth, from each side’s perspective, of the pitfalls of this tenuous relationship—where bad blood can turn sure things into shattered dreams. It is the only book written by insiders with the temerity to pull back the curtain on the world of high growth venture-backed startups.

Accompanying charts, tables, and a glossary are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

© 2023 HarperCollins Leadership (Audiobook): 9781400242818

Release date

Audiobook: September 12, 2023