My highlights from the book:
1. When he spoke about topics that energized him, which seemed to include almost everything, Lewin became so animated-arms gesticulating, eyes ablaze-that his enthusiasm was infectious. “What stood out to me was how engaging he was, almost like this live wire. When Danny was excited about something, you couldn't help but get excited, too."
2. "It was quite a circus when Danny arrived. He just was the most energetic force that you could imagine; it was hard to ignore. I'd come in and listen, and he would be jumping around the whiteboard with this muscular, physical power."
3. The commanders of the unit were not looking for coldblooded killers, nor did they seek robots who would follow orders blindly. They sought innovative men who could, like spies, work alone behind enemy lines, and, like guerrillas, improvise with skill, determination, and well-directed firepower when operating in hostile surroundings. The soldiers in the brigade must also possess above average intelligence and technological savvy.
4. Lior Netzer, a friend who served with Lewin, remembered his surprise when he passed Lewin during a training session involving a ten-mile, hilly walk weighted down with full gear of about 50 pounds. Lewin was known as a strong walker in these types of exercises, rarely showing any visible signs of fatigue. On this particular walk, although he completed it on time, Lewin seemed to be struggling, often crouching down to rest and catch his breath. When asked to explain, Lewin confessed that he had voluntarily doubled his load of gear to prove to himself that he could still finish.
5. Lewin came across a textbook at the library on the topic of parallel algorithms. He was so moved by its depth and beauty that he brought it home, pulling it out of his backpack and telling Anne that he'd never seen such incredible research. Lewin became fixated on the book and its author, MIT Professor Tom Leighton, inspired solely on what he'd learned from the pages of the massive tome. He told Anne that he was determined to meet Leighton. At the time, Lewin's pursuit of the MIT professor must have sounded a bit outlandish to family or friends. For Lewin, however, it was nothing but sincere. He applied to and was accepted to MIT, and after less than four years in Haifa, the young family was packing for Cambridge. Anne was pregnant with their second son.
6. Life is too short to be bored. Only boring people are bored.
7. Every week he would comb the dictionary for the quirkiest, strangestsounding word he could find, write its definition on an index card, and pin it to the fridge "Obstreperous" became one of his favorite words, an ironic choice considering it is used to describe someone who is stubborn, resistant to control, and noisy. Tongue-in-cheek, Lewin used it to describe others, not himself, namely anyone who got in his way. Later, he transformed it into a catch phrase among his co-workers when referring to competitors or naysayers.
8. "It was through that process that I really got the impression that Danny had tremendous drive and no fear. If he didn't know something, he'd go learn it."
9. Lewin didn't need millions. But he desperately needed some money in the bank. The financial woes he and Anne faced were only worsening; they were close to broke. Lewin had his long-term hopes pinned on Akamai, but the company still existed only on paper.
10. The plan is to become a successful company in the right way. That is: have a product, have a market, and have customers who are buying your product. In order to do this well, we have to focus on building the technology and not on fundraising.
11. Lewin used the occasion for an impromptu pep talk, offering up all the reasons he believed Akamai would succeed. He told Leighton that it wasn't just their great technology, smart staff, or exemplary business plan that would guarantee success. “He said we had all those things, of course, but that wasn't why we were going to succeed," said Leighton. Instead, Lewin told him, "We're going to succeed because we're tenacious as hell."
12. Lewin charged forward at full speed.
13. Danny was like ambition and intellect on steroids.
14. "His belief in this thing was so profoundly convincing that I believed, too." On the spot, Friesen pulled out his checkbook and handed them a check for half a million dollars.
15. As for Venrock's last-minute decision, the true cause leaked later: the deal fell through not because Venrock lost faith in Akamai, but because a senior partner in the firm's New York office had butted heads with Lewin. "He thought Danny was arrogant and didn't like his demeanor," said Dagres. Venrock's decision to pass on the deal proved costly: if the firm had taken a 10 percent stake in Akamai for $10 million, it would have been worth $2 billion less than a year later. Dagres said it went down as "one of the dumbest venture moves in history."
16. My goal was to express it in layman's terms so that your grandmother could understand it. And my grandmother could.
17. He was skilled at translating what Akamai did into something that sounded simple and impressive to a mainstream audience.
18. Danny was so focused on getting everyone in the room to experience this euphoric passion, one that made them believe "I don't know exactly what this is, but I need to have this, and I need to have it now."
19. In less than one year, a tiny startup out of MIT had grown to a company with a market valuation greater than that of General Motors.
20. "It's frightening. I have this company of one hundred ten people, headed by one of the biggest businessmen around with lots of money in the bank, and I'm just a graduate student."
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