Burn Rate

Burn Rate chronicles Michael Wolff's turbulent journey through the early days of the internet boom in the 1990s. As founder of Wolff New Media, he navigates the challenges of running a digital startup while burning through investor cash at an alarming rate. The narrative tracks Wolff's relentless pursuit of funding from major players like AOL and The Washington Post, while his relationships with financial backers grow increasingly strained. His firsthand encounters with internet pioneers and tech visionaries provide context for the era's rapid transformation. Through his experiences, Wolff grapples with fundamental questions about the internet's nature and future direction. The book examines the clash between traditional media values and emerging digital culture. Burn Rate serves as both a time capsule of the 1990s tech bubble and a cautionary tale about the tensions between entrepreneurial ambition and business reality.

Readers found this insider account of 1990s internet startups to be candid but self-serving. Many questioned Wolff's reliability as a narrator, noting his tendency to portray himself as the smartest person in every room. Liked: - Raw details about startup culture and dot-com era chaos - Fast-paced writing style - Behind-the-scenes look at early internet companies - Clear explanations of complex business concepts Disliked: - Wolff's arrogant, boastful tone - Accuracy concerns about conversations and events - Too much focus on the author vs the industry - Lack of fact-checking or outside perspectives Ratings: Goodreads: 3.6/5 (242 ratings) Amazon: 3.5/5 (89 reviews) Reader Quote: "Wolff tells a great story but comes across as completely untrustworthy. Made me wonder how much was true versus ego-driven fiction." - Goodreads review The book's entertainment value and historical significance are consistently noted, even by critical readers.

Disrupted by Daniel Lyons This memoir chronicles a journalist's experience inside a startup during the tech bubble, exposing the culture clash between traditional media and Silicon Valley.

Hatching Twitter by Nick Bilton The story reveals the power struggles and conflicts between Twitter's founders as they built their social media empire.

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou This investigation uncovers the rise and fall of Theranos through interviews with employees and documents that expose the deception at the heart of the startup.

Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber by Mike Isaac The book traces Uber's transformation from startup to global company while documenting the internal battles and controversial leadership of Travis Kalanick.

The Everything Store by Brad Stone This account details Amazon's growth from online bookstore to tech giant through interviews with employees and competitors while examining Jeff Bezos's leadership methods.

🔹 Michael Wolff went on to write several explosive bestsellers about the Trump presidency, including "Fire and Fury" and "Siege," marking a dramatic shift from his tech industry coverage. 🔹 The term "burn rate" became a crucial metric during the dot-com era, referring to how quickly a company depleted its capital - some startups were burning through millions per month. 🔹 New York's Silicon Alley, centered in Manhattan's Flatiron District, emerged as the East Coast's answer to Silicon Valley, hosting over 800 Internet companies by 1999. 🔹 AOL, one of the potential investors mentioned in the book, would later complete a historic $165 billion merger with Time Warner in 2000, widely considered one of the worst deals in corporate history. 🔹 The dot-com bubble that forms the backdrop of "Burn Rate" ultimately burst in 2000, wiping out $5 trillion in market value and causing the closure of nearly 5,000 Internet companies.