Power Up - by Magdalena Yesil (Hardcover)

About the Book

Pioneering Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor Magdalena Yesil came to the United States in 1976 with two suitcases and $43, blind to the challenges she would face as a woman and an immigrant in Silicon Valley. Today, she is best known as the first investor and a founding board member of Salesforce, the now multi-billion-dollar company that ushered in the era of cloud-based computing. In Power Up, Yesil shares not just her own insight but that of more than two dozen top women entrepreneurs on topics such as: owning career choices while managing risk, getting credit for your work, and recruiting allies in the movement toward a supportive workplace for everyone.

Book Synopsis

With empowering insights to help women navigate the narrowest corridors of sexism, tech-industry pioneer Magdalena Yesil shares on-the-ground career advice that is as powerful as any MBA

Pioneering Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor Magdalena Yesil came to the United States in 1976 with two suitcases and $43, blind to the challenges she would face as a woman and immigrant in Silicon Valley. Today, she is best known as the first investor and a founding board member of Salesforce, the now-multibillion dollar company that ushered in the era of cloud-based computing.

In Power Up: How Smart Women Win in the New Economy, Yesil urges women to look beyond the alarming gender statistics of the workplace and feel confident entering tech or any field-but also to be prepared to deal with the challenges. She shares what she experienced as a woman in Silicon Valley with surprising candor and heart, relying not just on her insight but that of more than a dozen top women entrepreneurs to offer pragmatic takeaways on topics such as:

Â- Owning career choices while managing risk
Â- Getting credit for your work
Â- Managing sexual dynamics
Â- Recruiting allies in the movement toward a supportive workplace for everyone

Pragmatic, incisive, and full of highly actionable advice, Yesil prepares ambitious women to break glass ceilings and rise to the top in the New Silicon Valley -- and beyond.

Review Quotes

"Magdalena and I worked together in the early days of the Internet, introducing concepts that were completely revolutionary, such as the electronic wallet. She is a fearless entrepreneur who worked hard to help early online merchants get off the ground. Some of them went on to become giants, like Amazon. I urge women to be bold like Magdalena and follow their dreams."
--Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google and parent company Alphabet

"Power Up offers the no-nonsense optimism and encouragement women need to persevere in technology, an industry where so much is stacked against them. It's crammed with sage advice and insider stories to enlighten the next-generation of women in tech."
--Adriana Gascoigne, Founder and CEO of Girls in Tech

"I wish I could have given Magdalena Yesil's book to my two daughters when they graduated from college. It's the perfect gift for any young woman navigating her career. I am definitely giving it to my two girls, and just as importantly, to their boyfriends, too.
--Steve Blank, entrepreneur, professor, and author of The Startup Owner's Manual and Four Steps to Epiphany


"Magdalena Yesil offers powerful leadership lessons from her journey to becoming a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor. She drops the reader into vividly recounted, career-defining moments to help them navigate and overcome gender bias in their own lives."
--Caroline Simard, Senior Director of Research at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University

"My professional mission is to empower women through fashion. Power Up resonated strongly with me. I highly recommend its confident career guidance from an impressive roster of top women leaders."
--Karen Watkins, Chief Operating Officer of Christian Dior

"Technology is changing how business is conducted in all industries. Women who seize technology related opportunities and put the advice offered in Power Up to work will confidently transform businesses and emerge as future leaders of the new economy."
--Ron Conway, Founder of SVAngel

"This book is a must-read for anyone in business. Power Up gives real, pragmatic advice on how to charter your own destiny, especially when the odds are stacked against you."
--Julie Wainwright, Founder and CEO of The RealReal

"This book should be required reading for anyone building a company or making a career as we head into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The lessons Magdalena Yesil offers from her remarkable work pioneering the commercial Internet are more relevant than ever."
--Murat Sonmez, member of the World Economic Forum Managing Board

"When I reached out to Magdalena in my early days of founding Pono, I benefited greatly from her wisdom and guidance. She is a pragmatic, down to earth person who helped me a lot."
--Neil Young, composer, musician, and Founder of digital music startup Pono

About the Author

Magdalena Yesil is a founder, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist of many of the world's top technology companies, including Salesforce, where she was the first investor and founding board member. Her investing career started at US Venture Partners. She is a founder of Broadway Angels, an angel group of female investors. A technology pioneer, Yesil cofounded three companies dedicated to commercializing Internet access, e-commerce infrastructure, and electronic payments. UUnet, CyberCash, and MarketPay earned her the Entrepreneur of the Year title from Red Herring magazine. Her current company, DriveInformed, uses technology to bring trust and transparency to the auto finance industry.