'The most important start-up book of the last ten years' - Steve Blank co-creator of the Lean
Start-up movement Based on extensive research and real-world examples Pattern Breakers
upends accepted wisdom about how to achieve breakthrough success and provides a playbook for
anyone launching a start-up or creating a new product. Pattern Breakers had its roots in the
time when Mike Maples a seasoned venture capitalist was stumped unable to get a grip on why
some businesses he funded - X (formerly Twitter) Twitch and Okta for example - took off
while others considered likely to succeed shut their doors despite seemingly doing everything
right. Was it dumb luck that separated gold from dross? What Maples and Stanford University's
Peter Ziebelman discovered contradicts accepted wisdom and upends today's formulaic approach to
entrepreneurship. They learned that pattern-breaking ideas radically change the traditional
rules and are driven by people with the independent-mindedness and courage to divert from the
consensus. With intriguing and entertaining storytelling based on a lifetime of experience
Pattern Breakers vividly illustrates what differentiates breakthrough ideas from those that
initially seem promising but that meet with mediocre results and why others that may initially
seem unworthy - and even idiotic - end up radically changing how people live. 'An
indispensable guide to start-up success' - Safi Bahcall author of Loonshots 'Reveals how
elite founders don't just navigate uncertainty - they harness it to redefine what's possible' -
Annie Duke author of Thinking in Bets
