Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin is definitely the most honest business book that I’ve listened to. The audiobook has a listening length of 9 hours. It felt like having 9 hours, on-to-one, with Rand – as if we were sat in a bar and he narrated his life and business story!
I’ll admit, I’m a big fan of Rand. I’ve had the opportunity to chat with him at Turing Fest Edinburgh. I’ve also listened to him speak at other in-person and online events. Three of his qualities stand out – transparency, authenticity, and generosity. No wonder those qualities got baked into the values of MOZ – TAGFEE.
A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Business World
The book is a field guide indeed. It’s much like the story of Star Wars: A New Hope. Rand’s world before MOZ. The rise of Google and SEO. The challenges thrown at him. The battle against the algorithms. Setting up MOZ. Growing MOZ. Getting consumed by MOZ. Learning life and business lessons through MOZ.
The entire book is packed with information for everyone in any department of any business (start-ups mostly). The information is not just high level fluff. Rand goes all in, brutally honest, revealing so much! There’s so much transparency and generosity in this book, I was wondering how the current team at MOZ feel about all that Rand shares 🤔😄
Things that Stuck with Me
- The truth shall set you free – at all times. Honesty matters, both in personal and business life.
- The reality of start-ups – how not to fall for the glitz and glamour, and the right reasons to be part of one.
- Start-up economy – all about funding and finance.
- Why values matter – the guiding light through bright and dark times.
- How to fuel growth by implementing marketing flywheels.
- Putting the customer first, putting yourself in their shoes, and building products that will bring value to them.
- How to hire, build and nurture teams, and also making tough decisions.
- Knowing when to stop digging. Knowing when to quit!
Not often do we come across start-up founders who we root for. Rand is one of those unique people who we want to see win. Does he win? Well, it’s the journey that matters. Get yourself a copy of the book or audiobook and let Rand take you along on that journey.
What Happened Next?
Rand Fishkin went on to found SparkToro. Take a trial of SparkToro, it’s a great audience research tool. Do follow his blog, Twitter, and LinkedIn where he still shares a ton of what he learns.
Read these great summaries of Lost and Founder
https://lifeclub.org/books/lost-and-founder-rand-fishkin-review-summary
https://waiyancan.com/summary-lost-and-founder-rand-fishkin/
https://waiyancan.com/summary-lost-and-founder-rand-fishkin-pt2/