How to Rule the World (Book)

I was looking for a discussion on this book.

Was a fascinating look into how different college experiences can be, how insular the venture ecosystem seems, and the gross efforts powerful people make to keep that power. I’d love to know how true to life the undergrad->tech power pipeline is.

I’ve never lived in CA, worked for a unicorn or big tech. Didn’t go to an Ivy. I took the route of state school to startups in second tier markets. I’d never heard of VC until a few years into career. Hard to fathom how different the Stanford experience is, as described.

I walked away from the book feeling jaded. It makes everything about career and company success feel dirty in a manner I’ve never experienced first hand.

Amazingly, nobody submitted this already.

It's a recent book by a current Stanford undergrad on becoming connected to the startup world as a student. New York Times review: [1]

Anyone who's been around Stanford and Silicon Valley will find it either amusing or interesting.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/books/review/theo-baker-h...