The PayPal Wars - 3rd Edition by Eric M Jackson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and the rest of the "PayPal Mafia" are now household names who've reshaped technology, automobiles, space travel, and politics. But two decades ago, they were unsung entrepreneurs attempting to launch a Silicon Valley startup against overwhelming odds.

That improbable journey started in the shadow of Stanford University, when Thiel met Max Levchin, a Ukrainian engineer who recently moved to California. Years before anyone had heard of Bitcoin, the two set out to build an online payment service that could reduce government control over currency by empowering people around the globe. But after their startup, PayPal, survived the dot-com crash only to find itself besieged by an unimaginable series of challenges, that lofty dream threatened to become a nightmare.

Former insider Eric M. Jackson's telling of PayPal's origins is an eyewitness account to technology history, as well as an engrossing story of human struggle and perseverance against overwhelming odds. PayPal went from unknown startup to online powerhouse in just three years, but for the company's team it was not an easy journey. The entrepreneurs that joined together to overhaul world currency markets first had to face one of the greatest series of trials ever thrown at a startup before becoming part of Silicon Valley lore.

Jackson's lively, blow-by-blow account of PayPal's death-defying beginnings and ferocious battles offers a detailed perspective that only an eyewitness could provide. Read The PayPal Wars and you'll learn how:

• Elon Musk joined with Peter Thiel, and how the two future titans would soon square off to control the company.
• Organized crime attempted to ransack PayPal-but the company fought back.
• Government bureaucrats and regulators ferociously tried to shut down the upstart payments service.

Turmoil pushed PayPal to the brink of insolvency before Thiel and his team turned the business around. "Our clashes with the credit card associations, the banking lobby, state regulators, foreign Mafioso, and litigation-happy lawyers significantly increased" as the company's profile grew, writes Jackson, adding that the initial public offering that was meant to strengthen PayPal with an infusion of cash ironically attracted a rogue's gallery of foes instead.

"The modern business environment," Jackson concludes, "turned out to be more hostile than even our fiercest competitor." This somber warning-that regulators, lawyers, and lobbyists threaten to undermine American entrepreneurship-makes The PayPal Wars a timely read for every concerned citizen.

Review Quotes

"Way back in 1981 a business book literally kept me up all night reading...Well, it's happened again...Hate to use the hackneyed term, but it's a real page turner, and among other things it gives the best description of 'business strategy' unfolding in a world changing at warp speed."
--Tom Peters, author, In Search of Excellence

"It's rare that a business book is a page turner, but The PayPal Wars is: I read the whole book on one cross-country flight."
--David Henderson, Tech Central Station

"The PayPal Wars is the Liar's Poker of the Internet era--a gripping, honest tale that captures the craziness and magic of Silicon Valley."
--Jeff Giesea, Entrepreneur and executive coach

"When the history of our time is written, the dot-com boom will loom large, and 22nd-century historians will find no better evidence of the mad genius of the age than in Eric Jackson's The PayPal Wars. It's all here: bursts of creativity; scarifying IPOs, too much caffeine; the Russian mafia. Reading it you just hang on for dear life."
--Brad Miner, senior editor of The Catholic Thing and former literary editor of National Review

"The genius of The PayPal Wars is more than it's being an interesting business story...We see entrepreneurship, government regulation, and the boom-and-bust business cycles in action, presented in a manner in which the author not only sees the immediate 'small' picture, but the larger picture at the same time."
--William Anderson, Mises Institute

"Eric M. Jackson has a real winner...it's an adventure story and a business case study in one! ...The PayPal Wars is strongly recommended reading for anyone interested in Internet business, business in general, or who just wants a darned good book to read."
--Steven D. Laib, IntellectualConservative.com

"The PayPal Wars is a fascinating tale about a rag-tag group of entrepreneurs who set out to change the world. Read this book and you'll be amazed by PayPal's death-defying origins and shocked by what they tell us about the business environment in America."
--Prof. Michael New, The Catholic University of America

"The PayPal Wars offers an inspiring story of how dedicated entrepreneurs can both make a profit and advance the cause of liberty."
--Doug Bandow, Cato Institute

"Reading The PayPal Wars is like watching the last two minutes of a championship football game that is tied 21-21--and then goes into sudden death overtime. It's the rare business book that reads like a page-turning exciting novel. The PayPal Wars is hard to put down."
--Skip McGrath, editor, "EBay Auction Seller's News"

"Eric M. Jackson's The PayPal Wars is an absorbing insider's story about two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs...[who] launched an online payment Web site called PayPal. Every School of Business ought to put this book on its must reading list because it is 'case history' analysis at its best."
--The Washington Times

"Jackson's engaging narrative reads in turn like a spy novel, a business text, and an insider tell-all. One of PayPal's earliest employees and savviest marketers, Jackson documents the full spate of challenges and obstacles faced by start-ups and entrepreneurs, and how visionaries often have to abandon big ideas to keep competitors at bay and to satisfy petty bureaucrats and politicians."
--Radley Balko, Reason Magazine

"Incredible insider's account."
--USA Book News

"PayPal is chronicled as a young, energetic and innovative company, able to turn direction on a dime...eBay is portrayed as a more ponderous company, less likely to innovate...[The PayPal Wars] is intense from cover to cover, and you'll be less naive about the industry for having read it."
--David Steiner, AuctionBytes

"This is a must-read for believers and non-believers alike in the dot-com mania. It captures the highs, lows, tensions and wins in one nail-biting narrative."
--Lisa Romano, Silicon Valley angel investor

About the Author

Eric M. Jackson is a technology executive who played a critical role in building PayPal and subsequently created multiple technology businesses.

Early in his career, Jackson was recruited by Peter Thiel to join the startup team at PayPal, where he oversaw product marketing and designed its revenue model. During Jackson's time at PayPal, the company grew to 25 million users, went public, and was acquired by eBay.

After leaving PayPal, Jackson started multiple venture-backed technology startups. His company CapLinked, whose transaction-management software was called the "go-to place for setting up and closing deals" by the Wall Street Journal. He also co-founded TransitNet, a software company that provides title verification for cryptocurrency. Additionally, Jackson founded World Ahead Media, which he grew to profitability and sold, and served on the boards of multiple organizations.

His book, The PayPal Wars, which chronicles the tumultuous origins of PayPal, won the Writers Notes Book Award and was hailed by Tom Peters as "the best description of business strategy unfolding in a world changing at warp speed."

A frequent commentator on technology and policy, Jackson has appeared on Bloomberg, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, and has been the keynote speaker at events hosted by the Cato Institute and Reason Foundation.

Jackson graduated with honors from Stanford University. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Stacey and their two daughters.