The Opinionated Investor™

Unadulterated hot takes on Products, Investments, and Life!

Category: Books

  • From Book to Business: How ‘Unreasonable Hospitality’ Transformed My Airbnb Hosting

    From Book to Business: How ‘Unreasonable Hospitality’ Transformed My Airbnb Hosting

    When I first started renting out spare bedrooms in my house on Airbnb, little did I know about hospitality. It quickly became evident to me that my modest offering of a few spare bedrooms simply couldn’t match up competing with larger properties with amenities like pools, spas, and scenic patios. Then, How do I create…

  • Book Review: Zero to One

    Book Review: Zero to One

    Unusual insight by Peter Thiel – founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies – from his book Zero to One. On failure of Solyndra and a dozen other cleantech startups between 2008 – 2012: “The most obvious clue was sartorial: cleantech executives were running around wearing suits and ties. This was a huge red flag, because…

  • Book Review: The Outsiders

    Book Review: The Outsiders

    A great tale of lesser known eight unconventional CEOs, who ran their companies to maximize shareholder value. A dollar invested in these companies, on average, became $688 during 25 years these CEOs were at the helm, easily dwarfing the returns from S&P! What these 8 CEOs had in common? They were master capital allocators! Whereas…

  • Book Review: The Hard Thing About Hard Things

    Book Review: The Hard Thing About Hard Things

    How NOT to give feedback: Shit Sandwich! Remember those early self help “management” books that suggest if you’re giving someone critical feedback you do it in three steps: 1. Start by appreciating the person – “the bread”2. Critical feedback – “the shit”3. End by talking positive attributes of the person – “the bread” Essentially, shit…

  • Book Recommendations?

    Book Recommendations?

    As I was moving apartments last week, got a chance to look back at the book collection I’ve garnered in the last couple of years. This doesn’t include all the books I’ve managed to get from different libraries, but still on track for a book a month challenge this year. Now, seeking recommendations for what…