Description

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A fresh look at the boom in entrepreneurship and start-ups – and how it's changing the world of work.

Does it feel like everyone you know is thinking about starting a business? That's because they are. In the last few years new businesses have been launched in record numbers, with more of us than ever deciding to go it alone or become entrepreneurs.

Fuelled by new technologies like artificial intelligence and automation, this trend is only just beginning, with traditional firms due to be automated in the same way that farms and factories were in the last few decades.

Start-Up Century explains why this shift is happening, and what it will mean to live in a world where most of us are self-employed, or work in small entrepreneurial endeavours. It details the entrepreneurial frontiers ahead of us, the opportunities to be seized, and products to be built in fields as diverse as robotics to healthcare, energy and construction. And it covers the many challenges that this new way of working presents, setting out ideas and policies to help us close the digital divide, make education relevant again, make our public services more innovative and inspire a new generation to build the solutions the world needs.

In the face of rapid changes to the way we work and the technologies available to us, Start-Up Century sets out an overwhelmingly positive view of how individuals and start-ups, not corporates, will solve the challenges of the twenty-first century.

Authored by James Wise, the venture capitalist and technology commentator, Start-Up Century is packed with personal tales and interviews with everyone from teenage side-hustlers to the CEOs of multi-billion-dollar successes. This is a book for every aspiring entrepreneur, and anyone interested in the policy changes needed to support them.

About the Author

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James Wise is a venture capitalist and writer. He has worked with some of the most successful technology companies of the last decade as they've grown from their founders' living rooms to Nasdaq IPOs and is a Partner at Balderton Capital. He has worked as an advisor to UK Parliament, a charity trustee and serves as a member of the UK Government's Industrial Development Advisory Board. He has written about the evolving opportunities and challenges posed by new technologies for The Times, the Guardian and the Telegraph and appeared on the BBC, Sky News and Bloomberg.

Praise For…

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“Attempting entrepreneurship changed my life. This brilliant book is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand why the world has changed irrevocably and we are all entrepreneurs now.” —Baroness Martha Lane-Fox, Chancellor, The Open University, Board of Chanel and previously Board of Twitter

“We need more entrepreneurs, risk-takers and wealth creators. This vital book is packed with good ideas that will help budding entrepreneurs seize on new technologies and succeed in a fiercely competitive world.” —Sir James Dyson, Chief Engineer and Founder of Dyson

“Every technological revolution changes the conditions for business and the conditions of work. Understanding how the change is happening now and how it can be facilitated is crucial for the social and economic success of any country. This book is a guide for both understanding and effective action.” —Professor Carlota Perez, Author of Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital

“Careers will be wildly different in the era ahead, driven by a surge in entrepreneurship and the human desire to stand out through creativity as productivity is achieved through compute. In Start-Up Century, James captures the forces at play to empower people with ideas to build.” —Scott Belsky, Founder of Behance and Author of The Messy Middle

“James argues insightfully why, today more than ever, is the time to start up and what governments and institutions do to support the self-employed. If you are not yet convinced entrepreneurship is good for the world, read this!” —Maria Raga, Former CEO of Depop

“New technologies, especially AI, are opening up entrepreneurial opportunities everywhere. This timely book covers how we can best navigate this new world of work and the challenges it presents.” —Suranga Chandratillake OBE, Partner at Balderton and Member of the Prime Minister's Council of Science and Technology

“A fascinating book, bursting with bold and practical ideas for how we can flourish in the 21st century, from one of the great technological minds of our time.” —Daniel Susskind, Author of A World Without Work and Growth: A Reckoning

“In this fascinating book, James explains why entrepreneurship has never been more prevalent – or more important. An in-depth analysis and useful guide to what's causing this shift, it's also a powerful rallying cry for why start-ups are so essential to our future. The next few decades will be driven by builders rather than big companies. Start-Up Century shows why.” —Mustafa Suleyman, Co-founder and CEO of Inflection AI and Author of The Coming Wave