ALMOST; 12 Electric Months Chasing A Silicon Valley DreamMY NEW BOOK: I don’t get emotional very often, but please bear with me. Six years ago, for a year, along with my co-author Hap Klopp, I followed a
Silicon Valley company as it attempted to change the world. It almost did. It was almost bought by Apple. It almost became a worldwide brand. And for years, we almost got this book published. Well, here it is, advance copy of the hardcover in my hand, and I have to say the publisher did a pretty stunning job.
I went into journalism to tell a story like this. I fell in love with long-form journalism with the dream of someday getting to tell a story like this. I founded this website, Cape Cod Wave, inspired by this story. It was extraordinarily exciting bearing witness to a group of people who almost changed the world.
I have never worked harder on a project in my life. For years, Hap and I channeled Winston Churchill: Never Give Up. We found a powerful New York agent, who loved the book. But it is a story of failure and the lessons learned from failure. And we learned that the New York publishers loved the narrative but didn’t think anyone wanted anything but success stories. We disagreed, and contend you learn more from failure than you do from success.
And in Silicon Valley, the beating heart of American innovation, failure is the secret sauce.
So that’s the premise. A company is not just a bunch of stock and product. A company is people with dreams. ALMOST is the story of such a company.
Finally, and most importantly, I dedicated the book to Derek. I think about and miss my son every hour of every day. And he knew all about this project. I wish he could have seen this. I wish my parents could have seen this. Anyway, now you did. The ebook is out now. The hardcover can be pre-ordered and will be released Feburary 5. Please check out ALMOST; 12 Electric Months Chasing A Silicon Valley Dream
For a more local story on technology, see Cape Cod Technology Starts It Up Again
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— Brian Tarcy