Burn Rate (book)
Encyclopedia
Burn Rate: How I Survived the Gold Rush Years on the Internet, by Michael Wolff
is the account of Wolff's dotcom
company, Wolff New Media, in 1997.
" of the title refers to the cash drain of the startup company. Most of the plot revolves around Wolff's attempts to get funding from various sources: AOL
, The Washington Post
and Magellan. Wolff recounts a growing animosity with his financial backers: Robert Machinist, Alan Patricof
and Jon Rubin. In the end, Wolff decides to abandon the company, resigning his position, cashing his uncollected salary, and returning to his roots as a journalist, by writing a tell-all book.
In side-light chapters to the "burn rate" plot, Wolff discusses his interactions with Internet
pioneers such as Louis Rossetto
, his confusion about what the Internet is, where it is headed. In particular Wolff is concerned with how "media" on the Internet compares to traditional edited media, with interactive "chat" being more important than edited story-line content: "people don't read on the Internet".
. The book was released that fall, and has now had 4 editions and hardback and paperback versions.
. From Robert Machinist, whom he labels as the "larger than life anti-hero" of the book, there was satisfaction at Burn Rate notoriety generating more business.
The Village Voice noted that Wolff had omitted to tell a part of the story of Wolff New Media's implosion: that while Wolff deferring his own salary to keep the company afloat, he encouraged his employees to do the same. When Wolff collected his owed salary and exhausted the companies cash reserves, the rest of the employees were unable to collect their deferred salary.
Michael Wolff (journalist)
Michael Wolff is an American author, essayist, and journalist. He currently writes a regular column for Vanity Fair magazine. He is well known for his acerbic, combative, and humorous style...
is the account of Wolff's dotcom
Dot-com company
A dot-com company, or simply a dot-com , is a company that does most of its business on the Internet, usually through a website that uses the popular top-level domain, ".com" .While the term can refer to present-day companies, it is also used specifically to refer to companies with...
company, Wolff New Media, in 1997.
Content
The "burn rateBurn rate
Burn rate is a synonymous term for negative cash flow. It is a measure for how fast a company will use up its shareholder capital. If the shareholder capital is exhausted, the company will either have to start making a profit, find additional funding, or close down.The term came into common use...
" of the title refers to the cash drain of the startup company. Most of the plot revolves around Wolff's attempts to get funding from various sources: AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
and Magellan. Wolff recounts a growing animosity with his financial backers: Robert Machinist, Alan Patricof
Alan Patricof
Alan Patricof is an American investor and one of the early pioneers of the venture capital and private equity industries. Patricof founded Apax Partners , which is today one of the largest private equity firms globally.-Career:Over the course of his 40-year career in...
and Jon Rubin. In the end, Wolff decides to abandon the company, resigning his position, cashing his uncollected salary, and returning to his roots as a journalist, by writing a tell-all book.
In side-light chapters to the "burn rate" plot, Wolff discusses his interactions with Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
pioneers such as Louis Rossetto
Louis Rossetto
Louis Rossetto is an American journalist and "radical libertarian." He is best known as the founder and former publisher of Wired magazine.- Early life and career :Rossetto was born and grew up on Long Island, New York....
, his confusion about what the Internet is, where it is headed. In particular Wolff is concerned with how "media" on the Internet compares to traditional edited media, with interactive "chat" being more important than edited story-line content: "people don't read on the Internet".
Publication history
Burn Rate was excerpted in the June 1998 issue of WiredWired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
. The book was released that fall, and has now had 4 editions and hardback and paperback versions.
Reactions
In October 1998, , Wolff wrote that Isabal Maxwell and Dan Hayden of Magellan complained about their portrayals. He also notes "letters from lawyers" from Jon Rubin and Alan PatricofAlan Patricof
Alan Patricof is an American investor and one of the early pioneers of the venture capital and private equity industries. Patricof founded Apax Partners , which is today one of the largest private equity firms globally.-Career:Over the course of his 40-year career in...
. From Robert Machinist, whom he labels as the "larger than life anti-hero" of the book, there was satisfaction at Burn Rate notoriety generating more business.
The Village Voice noted that Wolff had omitted to tell a part of the story of Wolff New Media's implosion: that while Wolff deferring his own salary to keep the company afloat, he encouraged his employees to do the same. When Wolff collected his owed salary and exhausted the companies cash reserves, the rest of the employees were unable to collect their deferred salary.
Reviews
- Business Week
- CNN
- Complete Review, The
- New York Times, The (Hafnert)
- New York Times, The (Lehmann-Haupt)
- New York Times, The (Stead)
- Salon.com
- San Francisco Chronicle, The
- Slate
- strategy+business
- Suck
- Writers Write (July 1998)