This book is a collection of interviews with the founders of various software start-ups. The interviews are engaging, frank and at times amusing, giving a good hard look at real life in a start-up. Many people say it’s inspirational and maybe it is, but it’s also frightening, because there’s hardly an entrepreneur in the book who hasn’t sunk to the lowest depths of despair before climbing out to see success. Still, for struggling start-uppers, I suppose it’s reassuring to see that everyone struggles, and that behind the facade of easy success at a young age lies a great deal of struggle.

One interview I particularly liked was James Hong’s, of Hot or Not fame. His account was by far the funniest, of how his staid, Chinese immigrant parents were the first fans of the site and also its first censors. That was really hilarious. I also liked the ones by women (Caterina Fake and Mena Trott of Flickr and Six Apart respectively) telling what it’s like to be a woman in a male-dominated industry. I enjoyed reading the behind-the-scenes accounts of my favourite apps like Gmail and the 37Signals suite, too.

Many of the interviewees actually give very similar advice. Don’t get over-funded – that’s like a death-knell. Hire wisely – it can make or break you. Focus on what your users need. Build your minimum feature set and put it out there. Simplify, simplify, simplify.

All in all, worthy reading for anyone engaged in “Web 2.0” (strangely I can’t think of a better word for it – i.e. not Stone Age Internet) and especially for aspiring entrepreneurs.