The Paypal Wars by Eric Jackson (2004, Hardcover)

From the Inside Flap:


When Peter Thiel, a California hedge fund manager, and Max Levchin, a Ukrainian engineer, launched an online payment Web site in 1999, they hoped their service could improve the lives of millions of people around the globe. But when their startup, PayPal, survived the dot-com crash only to find itself besieged by an unimaginable series of challenges, that dream threatened to become a nightmare.

Chronicled here for the first time, PayPal's history-as told by former insider Eric Jackson-is an engrossing story of human struggle and perseverance against overwhelming odds. PayPal went from unknown startup to online powerhouse in just two years, but for the company's employees it was not an easy journey. The entrepreneurs that Thiel and Levchin recruited to overhaul world currency markets first had to face one of the greatest series of trials ever thrown at a Silicon Valley company before making Internet history.

Jackson's lively, blow-by-blow account of PayPal's death-defying beginnings and ferocious battles offers a detailed perspective that only an insider could provide. Read The PayPal Wars and you'll learn how:

EBay unleashed a no-holds-barred effort to dislodge an unwelcome PayPal from its site.
Organized crime attempted to ransack PayPal-but the company fought back.
Turmoil pushed PayPal to the brink of insolvency before it turned its business around.
Faced with these daunting challenges, PayPal survived thanks to a unique corporate culture that empowered its talented employees to push the envelope. But an entrepreneurial environment and gifted people weren't enough to ward off every threat. "Our clashes with the credit card associations, the banking lobby, state regulators, foreign Mafioso, and litigation-happy lawyers significantly increased after our IPO," writes Jackson, adding that the public offering that was meant to strengthen PayPal with an infusion of cash ironically attracted a rogue's gallery of foes instead.

"The modern business environment," Jackson concludes, "turned out to be more hostile than even our fiercest competitor." This somber warning-that regulators, lawyers, and lobbyists threaten to undermine American entrepreneurship-makes The PayPal Wars a timely read for every businessman, investor, and concerned citizen.

This book is a great read and would make a great companion to "The Perfect Store". Jackson writes with gusto and calls it as he see's it! Every eBay scholar who lived thru these times will be facinated to find out what was actually going on at this company while we were collecting the $10 and $20 refferal fees offered to new customers.

I was one of the first 1,000 to sign up at x.com. I remember talking to Elon Musk on the phone. It's amazing that x and paypal even made it off the ground in retrospect. One of the things I find interesting in the book is the mention of the paypal world domination clock. In the wake of Gpay by google, this book will make some interesting reading and could help one imagine what is going on currently.

Have you ever heard of the Paypal robot?

Wondered why you can't buy adult items with Paypal?

Wondered why Paypal missed out on online gambling, one of the biggest revenue generators on the net?

What happened to "Free" paypal accounts?

You'll find all those answers in this great book! A must have if involved in ecommerce!