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The PayPal Wars: Battles with eBay, the Media, the Mafia, and the Rest of Planet Earth
 
 
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The PayPal Wars: Battles with eBay, the Media, the Mafia, and the Rest of Planet Earth [Kindle Edition]

Eric M. Jackson (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews) |
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When Peter Thiel and Max Levchin launched an online payment website in 1999, they hoped their service could improve the lives of millions around the globe. But when their start-up, PayPal, survived the dot.com crash only to find itself besieged by unimaginable challenges, that dream threatened to become a nightmare. PayPal's history - as told by former insider Eric Jackson - is an engrossing study of human struggle and perseverance against overwhelming odds. The entrepreneurs that Thiel and Levchin recruited to overhaul world currency markets first had to face some of the greatest trials ever thrown at a Silicon Valley company before they could make internet history. Business guru Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence, called the hardcover edition of The PayPal Wars a real page turner that featured what he called the best description of business strategy unfolding in a world changing at warp speed. The new paperback edition will feature updated material and even more insights on the state of internet commerce.

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Eric M. Jackson
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By S. Bailey VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Once upon a time there was a brave little start-up called PayPal. It fought many battles but the people loved it, until an evil giant ate it up...

I've seen this book described as "like a thriller", and while I think that's overstating the case rather, it's a lot more exciting than you'd imagine. What made it particularly interesting for me was that I remember most of this: the stunt where PayPal's initial funding was sent to it from a VC's phone, the fight with Billpoint, and the absolute shock when eBay finally bought them.

The author was the marketing guy, so anyone expecting much in the way of technical detail either on the engineering or finance side is going to be disappointed. What you get instead is an insider's view of the rollercoaster ride that was PayPal's first few years. Anyone used to the rather faceless corporation they've become might find it intriguing to find out that they were once just a bunch of guys, doing business off a ping-pong table, and how frequently they came so close to going under.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Fight for Survival 15 Nov 2009
Format:Paperback
This is a story about PayPal's history and its fight for survival. Warren Buffett coined a term called a moat to describe a company's competitive advantage over its competitors. This book is a great example of a company with a moat. PayPal had such loyal customers that eBay could not even beat it. Finally, eBay gave up and acquired PayPal. This book is just a fabulous story of a small company fighting against a giant.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market
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Enjoyable read. 6 Nov 2011
By Eddie-B
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you want to find out how PayPal grew to be a big internet presence then read this book. The author was involved in the early days of PayPal and details the struggles with competitors to grow and to gain ascendancy (classic "get big quick" to survive. Some of the characters in the book have gone on to play significant parts in other web companies such as Facebook and Slide which, for me, adds extra interest to this book. Written in a very easy to read and straightforward style.
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Popular Highlights

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&quote;
Robert Metcalfe, the inventor of Ethernet and founder of 3Com, coined Metcalfes Law as a way of understanding the power of networks. He claimed that the value of a network equals the square of its users, implying that a network with twice as many users as a competitor is four times as valuable.4 &quote;
Highlighted by 11 Kindle users
&quote;
Our CEO maintained that creating a successful payments service could only happen if we achieved something called a network effect. An interactive, inter-connected system, he explained, could exist only if it conferred value on the people who voluntarily chose to join it. The more people participating in it, the more beneficial the network would become since all the members could interact together. Hence a large, established network is very valuable to enter and very costly to leave; in essence it locks in its members and prevents would-be competitors from getting off the ground. &quote;
Highlighted by 8 Kindle users
&quote;
Worse still, since few users kept account balances the vast majority of them used credit cards to fund their payments, a decision costing Confinity a 2% fee to the credit card associations on each transaction. Every time someone signed up and used PayPal, we lost more money. &quote;
Highlighted by 7 Kindle users

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