Description
Book SynopsisTom Alberg, a venture capitalist who was one of the first investors in Amazon, draws on his experience in Seattle’s tech boom to offer a vision for how cities and businesses can build a brighter future together. He explores how cities can soar to prosperity by creating the conditions that encourage innovation.
Trade ReviewTom saw something in Amazon before most people did. . . . That leap of faith led to a long-term partnership as Tom continued to collaborate with me over more than two decades on Amazon’s board. -- Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO, Amazon
Empowering everyone and every organization on the planet to achieve more begins locally. In
Flywheels, Tom Alberg delves into how the Seattle area and other communities are building tech platforms that drive innovation while also doing good, providing a thoughtful approach to building livable communities that we can all learn from. -- Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft
Throughout his distinguished career, Tom Alberg has been at the center of companies that have come to define Seattle, including Boeing, McCaw, and Amazon. In
Flywheels, Alberg provides a view into the boardroom decisions that shaped these companies combined with a citizen's view of both the resulting prosperity and problems. Alberg provides insightful analysis of the key inputs to the flywheel for creating a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in other cities as well as solutions to the resulting traffic and housing crisis in Seattle. A must-read for any business and civic-minded leader. -- Bill Carr, coauthor of
Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside AmazonIf you really want to understand how to build a tech hub, read this book. Tom Alberg, a leading venture capitalist, tells the inside story of how and why Seattle's culture of openness and risk propelled it to the leading ranks of global innovation centers, home to companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and more. But Alberg goes beyond tech boosterism to create a guidebook and game plan for addressing today's new urban crisis of housing unaffordability, inequality, and homelessness. Drawing on examples like Tulsa's pioneering efforts to harness remote workers, new models of public-private partnership are required to truly keep the urban flywheel turning for post-pandemic prosperity. -- Richard Florida, author of
The Rise of the Creative Class and
The New Urban CrisisA fascinating first-person account of the companies, people, and regional assets that made Seattle into a global tech powerhouse, written by someone who knows its innovation ecosystem better than any other. Alberg shows not only how it was done but also how high-tech capitals—and cities everywhere—can do it even better through strong leadership, long-term thinking, and a commitment to livability for all. Essential reading for navigating times of extraordinary change and tech-driven disruption. -- Margaret O’Mara, author of
The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of AmericaIn
Flywheels, the venture capitalist Tom Alberg makes a powerful case for business and government to work together to solve our most pressing urban problems—problems that can’t be solved by either alone. I have watched Tom put this belief into practice, moving leaders from corporate and civic life toward our common goals through Challenge Seattle, a group of twenty-one CEOs that I lead. Tom was one of the first members. At our roundtable discussions, he has pressed some of our region’s most successful business leaders to put their appetite for innovation toward finding solutions to homelessness, transportation, and a host of other urban challenges. This book pushes that work forward in ways that will resonate in cities across the country. -- Christine Gregoire, former governor of Washington and CEO of Challenge Seattle
Seattle’s emergence as a global hub of creativity and innovation is a history that had not been written—until now. Uniquely positioned to write it, Tom Alberg simultaneously offers a guide for others who would create similar flywheels of prosperity in their own regions. His curiosity, appreciation for research institutions, and humanity shine through on every page. -- Ed Lazowska, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington
Exceptionally well written, organized and presented. * Midwest Book Reviews *
Table of ContentsForeword by John Stanton
Part I. Prelude to Jeff Bezos’s Day 11. Opportunities and Challenges of Cities
2. Foundations of the Economic Flywheel
3. Seattle’s Flywheels Begin Spinning
4. Microsoft and Amazon Innovate to Success
Part II5. On the Precipice of the Future
6. Investing in the Future: Talent and Capital
7. Models for Success: Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Kansas City
Part III8. Livable Cities
9. Public Safety and Privacy
10. Homelessness and PreK–12 Education
11. Transportation and Environment
Part IV12. Government and Business: Conflicts and Cooperation
13. The Future of Cities
Acknowledgments
Note on Sources
Notes
Index
