Greenburger risked it all to buy three older loft buildings at 50 West Street near the current 9/11 Memorial. He ultimately dreamed of one day erecting a magnificent skyscraper in their place. But disaster struck in 2008, just as his plans were coming together, and development came to a screeching halt. The global financial crisis had made the land practically worthless and it would be years before he could get back on track, but he refused to give up on his dream.Today, 50 West is a striking 780-foot skyscraper with curved glass windows that has become an iconic feature on the city skyline—but it took much more than a financial investment to get there. It required Greenburger to do what he does best—take huge risks at every turn.During his parallel careers, Francis J. Greenburger has made publishing and real-estate history. Whether risking the reputation of his agency for the super -star authors of tomorrow, such as James Patterson to Dan Brown, or pioneering the New York co-op market by taking “hopeless” properties and turning them into prized homes, he has successfully navigated the worlds of business, politics, and social change to become the quintessential American entrepreneur.A math and business prodigy who started working for his father at the age of 12. After a stop–and-start academic career, he voluntarily left one of the most elite and academically distinguished New York City high schools and started his adult life at 15. Greenburger has made it his life’s work to find value where others never thought to look, and his keen instincts and innovative strategies have taken him from a high-school "dropout" to a well-educated self-made billionaire.Francis has mastered the "risk game." Now, with Rebecca Paley’s gripping prose, he takes us behind the scenes in Risk Game and reveals firsthand how he has become a self-made force in the competitive world of New York real estate—and a champion for nonprofit organizations in the fields of art, education, and, most recently, social and criminal justice.

    I succeeded, despite all the odds and curveballs thrown my way, and you can too. I'm here to tell you, that you do have what it takes to start a business, change careers and be successful, and I'm going to show you how.'In What It Takes, Raegan Moya-Jones shares inspiration, advice and a healthy dose of real talk about what it's like to be an entrepreneur. As the founder and former CEO of aden + anais, a boutique baby swaddle company, Raegan learnt that success isn't about an Ivy League education and an influential network, success is about trusting your instincts, following your gut and knowing which rules to follow and which to break.Raegan's extraordinary story proves that it's never too late to follow your dreams. Empowering and energising, What It Takes will give you the kick up the arse you need to reach your full potential. So get ready to check your doubts at the door and jump in.'An inspiring story for anyone who wants to change their career, play by their own rules, and build a successful business in the process' Rebecca Minkoff, Founder & Creative Director

    A well-timed purchase or a well-planned merger can boost both the immediate financial position and the long-term outlook for your organization.Conversely, these transactions can quickly spell your company's doom if they are not conceived and executed carefully, legally, and sensibly. Whether you're an M&A veteran or find yourself at the table for the first time, it's crucial to have an authoritative, soup-to-nuts reference to guide you through the many complex steps involved in these major business strategies.Mergers & Acquisitions from A to Z is a practical, hands-on resource for M&A participants on all sides of the transaction. The fully updated second edition covers the latest trends and best practices for structuring profitable deals, new rules and regulations in the age of the Sarbanes-Oxley act, and more. Clear and jargon-free, this authoritative book begins with a thorough overview, and then gives you extensive knowledge of the entire transaction process including:* Preparing for a Merger or Acquisition and Initiating the Deal. Understanding both the seller's and buyer's perspective is key, regardless of what your own role is in the transaction.* Preliminary Considerations and Documentation. The authors present the pros and cons of creating a letter of intent, and how to decide which kind to use (binding, non-binding, or hybrid).* Due Diligence. A thorough legal, financial, and operational analysis of the target business will identify and quantify any areas of concern.* Regulatory Considerations. These include general areas such as environmental, antitrust, securities, and others, as well as those issues specific to your industry or the situation.* Structuring the Deal. The architecture of the transaction will have profound effects on tax, accounting, shareholder, and other financial considerations for all the businesses involved.*Valuation and Pricing. Learn which valuation methods to use, and why the established value is only one component in calculating the actual purchase price.* Financing. How to determine if seller financing, venture capital, securities, and/or other alternatives are proper choices for your transaction.The book also offers complete sample documents including acquisition agreements and other legally required papers, strategies for alleviating post-closing challenges, and ""managing the deal-killers,"" the all-too-common mistakes and pitfalls that can derail even the most promising mergers and acquisitions. Finally, the authors take a look at a few of the alternatives to the M&A approach, including joint ventures, franchising, licensing, strategic alliances, and many others.The power your company can generate in concert with another is immense. With Mergers & Acquisitions from A to Z, you've got the crucial information and versatile tools to make the connection stronger, more durable, and more profitable for all involved."

    Some are exonerated through DNA evidence, but many more languish in prison because their convictions were based on faulty eyewitness accounts and no DNA is available. Prominent criminal lawyer and law professor Abbe Smith weaves together real life cases to show what it is like to champion the rights of the accused. Smith describes the moral and ethical dilemmas of representing the guilty and the weighty burden of fighting for the innocent, including the victorious story of how she helped free a woman wrongly imprisoned for nearly three decades. For fans of Law and Order and investigative news programs like 20/20, Case of a Lifetime is a chilling look at what really determines a person's innocence.

    Those who hunt Rabbits are rarely able to rope in Elephants. Many organizations, even those that may have a brilliant start, falter in their attempts to achieve transformational growth in their later phases. In The Elephant Catchers, Subroto Bagchi distils his years of on-the-ground learning to explore why this happens and what such organizations and their people must do to climb to the next level and beyond. Through a combination of engaging anecdotes from his experiences as co-founder and subsequently Chairman of Mindtree Ltd and insightful stories from our everyday world, Bagchi demonstrates a crucial point: Organizations with real ambition to get to the top need to embrace the idea of scale and then ensure that it systematically pervades every aspect of its functioning. In doing this, he leads you to evaluate: Is your organization's infrastructure designed to evolve and ultimately mimic the simultaneity of a living organism? Are you constantly nurturing and renewing your brand identity or letting it stagnate and decay? Does your sales force have as many hunters as it has farmers or is it dominated by a grizzly who just waits for the salmon to land in its mouth? In a fiercely competitive environment, are you really stepping 'out of the box' and learning from unusual sources? Are leaders in your organization truly building capacity or merely solving problems?Practical advice on real issues, from how to deal with consultants to the question of succession, words of caution on strategy traps and M&A's and invaluable insights into a whole range of growth-related issues - The Elephant Catchers has it all. Engaging, wise and thoroughly accessible, this book is a must-read for everyone in every organization seeking breakout success.

    is one of the most successful—and influential—companies of our time, the transformational innovator that made computers not just personal but beautiful everyday objects. Technology met design, and our culture was altered forever.And yet very little is known about life inside Apple. The company is pathologically secretive—even with its own designers—about how it comes up with its groundbreaking products: iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and the next “insanely great” thing on the horizon. Here, for the first time, the men and women who worked for and alongside Steve Jobs share their remarkable, nearly forty-year-old story. How Apple survived nearly catastrophic failure early on. How Jobs and his team came to understand and execute design like no one else. And how their philosophy ultimately changed the world.This Fast Company/Byliner Original is unlike any other book about Apple. Author Max Chafkin led a team of “Fast Company” reporters that spent months interviewing more than fifty former Apple execs and insiders, many of whom had never spoken publicly about their work. The result is a compelling and deeply revealing oral history of how design evolved at the most creative enterprise of our time, the company that one entrepreneur says “taught the world taste.”In these interviews, former colleagues describe Jobs at his most brilliant and bombastic—hurling unsatisfactory products across the lab and insulting employees, yet also singling out and celebrating craftsmanship and original work. Without a doubt, Jobs is the single most important figure in the company’s history. But overlooked in Apple’s carefully cultivated mythology are the other ingenious men and women who’ve left an indelible mark on Apple, some of whom think they deserve much more of the credit. At Apple, the stakes were big, and so were the egos.“Design Crazy” takes us behind the mystique and reveals Apple to be a deeply misunderstood company. And the greatest business story of the past two decades is far from over. Two years after the death of Steve Jobs, with many of his former colleagues now at startups like Tesla, Evernote, and Nest Labs, some think the end of Apple’s dominance is only a matter of time. The company has risen to the challenge before, but still the question lingers: Can Apple be Apple without Jobs?ABOUT THE AUTHORMax Chafkin is a contributing writer with “Fast Company.” His work has also been published in “Inc.”, “Vanity Fair,” “The New York Times Magazine,” and “The Best Business Writing 2012.” He lives in Brooklyn.

    The world's leading guide to raising money online, The Crowdfunding Bible shows you how to launch, market and successfully run a high-tech fundraising campaign, regardless of industry or budget. It reveals the secrets to catching the media and public's eye, and attracting donors, in a language that everyone can understand. From books to films, albums, events and consumer products and video games, dive in to discover the new world of venture capital waiting at your fingertips. FEATURES: Best Crowdfunding Sites and Services / Full Guides: How to Start & Promote Any Project / Expert Tips and Advice / PR and Social Media Strategies / Advice from Top Creators.

    Fortunately, Working for Yourself provides all the information you need to stay on top of it all. An independent contractor himself, Stephen Fishman shows you everything you need to know to meet business start-up requirements, pick a business structure, set up home or outside offices, obtain permits and licenses, price your services or products, comply with strict IRS rules, establish sound business relationships, avoid unfair contracts, draft good agreements, keep good records, get paid in full and on time, and much, much more! The 6th edition is completely revised to provide the up-to-date information you need, including the most current tax rates and changes in the law. Whether you already work for yourself or are thinking about making the move, Working for Yourself will help make sure you do it right.

    Barbara S. Peterson has been reporting on JetBlue since the “Jet who?” days when few outsiders believed in the company. Drawing on exclusive interviews with more than seventy-five insiders, from mechanics on the tarmac to the CEO, she weaves together a dynamic story of how JetBlue has blended outstanding customer service, inspirational leadership, savvy marketing, and disciplined financial management to come out on top. “It’s fun to read about simple ideas that change the way we do things . . . and it’s always fun to watch the whoosh of good ideas hit the brick walls of habit and bureaucracy. . . .The smart, fast, little guy wins!” —Los Angeles Times “A quick, breezy read studded with mini-profiles, snippets of aviation history and amusing anecdotes.” —The Wall Street Journal “An engaging peek into the open cockpits of the airline industry, its foibles and pitfalls, written by someone who knows the industry, yet still loves to fly. This book is the chronicle of one little airline that could.” —Book Page “Peterson moves beyond personalities to detail how Neeleman crafted more of a branded travel experience than an airline.” —BusinessWeek “[Peterson] gets the inside scoop on JetBlue’s quirky corporate culture and Neeleman’s fresh approach to an antiquated business model.” —Advertising Age

    Topics include discussions about Business Combination, Consolidated Financial Statements - On the date of acquisition, Subsequent to date of acquisition, Financially Distressed Corporations, Accounting for Foreign Exchange.

    They're burning through cash, sales have stalled, and investors are nowhere to be found. Welcome to the reality of the new tech boom. Sure, it has produced its glittering share of billion-dollar "exits." But for the vast majority of startups life is nasty, brutish, and short on glamour. NO EXIT explores the feverish world of company founders who are desperately trying to keep their dream afloat. It’s a harrowing and hilarious look at the Silicon Valley no one sees. This is an extended version of a story that appears in the May 2014 issue of WIRED magazine.

     Criminal attorney Max Harrison takes on a case for an old school friend, Wayne Snowden. Wayne has been charged with the attempted murder of an old flame, but it quickly becomes evident that the prosecution is not interested in this conviction. So why are they still pressing ahead with the charge? What is Wayne hiding? This thrilling legal short story will take you for a ride through the courtroom and leave you with twists and turns that you didn’t see coming.

    With fresh insights and a penetrating eye, New York Times reporter Constance L. Hays examines a century of Coca-Cola history through deft portraits of the charismatic, driven men who used luck, spin, and the open door of enterprise to turn a beverage with no nutritional value into a remedy, a refreshment, and an international object of consumer desire. The rise of Coke is also a catalog of carbonation, soda fountains, dynastic bottling businesses, global expansion, and outsize promotional campaigns, not all of which succeeded. By examining relationships at every level of the company, Hays reveals the psyche of a great American corporation–and also tells a larger story about business and this nation’s culture.

    But by the year 1900, a new type of lawyer was born, one who understood business as well as the law. Working hand in glove with their clients, over the next two decades these New York City "white shoe" lawyers devised and implemented legal strategies that would drive the business world throughout the twentieth century. These lawyers were architects of the monopolistic new corporations so despised by many, and acted as guardians who helped the kings of industry fend off government overreaching. Yet they also quietly steered their robber baron clients away from a "public be damned" attitude toward more enlightened corporate behavior during a period of progressive, turbulent change in America.Author John Oller, himself a former Wall Street lawyer, gives us a richly-written glimpse of turn-of-the-century New York, from the grandeur of private mansions and elegant hotels and the city's early skyscrapers and transportation systems, to the depths of its deplorable tenement housing conditions. Some of the biggest names of the era are featured, including business titans J. P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, lawyer-statesmen Elihu Root and Charles Evans Hughes, and presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.Among the colorful, high-powered lawyers vividly portrayed, White Shoe focuses on three: Paul Cravath, who guided his client George Westinghouse in his war against Thomas Edison and launched a new model of law firm management--the "Cravath system"; Frank Stetson, the "attorney general" for financier J. P. Morgan who fiercely defended against government lawsuits to break up Morgan's business empires; and William Nelson Cromwell, the lawyer "who taught the robber barons how to rob," and was best known for his instrumental role in creating the Panama Canal.In White Shoe, the story of this small but influential band of Wall Street lawyers who created Big Business is fully told for the first time.

    The best marketers concentrate on what they have to give. The way people consume media is changing, fast. Laptops, tablets, and smartphones keep us constantly connected to the web. This represents a huge opportunity for savvy marketers. The only problem: the old methods are no longer working. New media demands new advertising. Facebook is the single most effective platform for marketing in the Internet era, and Nicholas Kusmich is the best Facebook marketer in the world. In GIVE, he will show you what differentiates Facebook from traditional advertising and explain why it’s so important to promote your business in a way that’s congruent with the norms of social media. He’ll take you through a four-step process to pinpoint your market, master your message, create a magnet, and build a mechanism that both collects and helps you retain and develop those relationships. When used well, Nic’s Facebook advertising strategies can send your return on investment through the roof. In GIVE, you’ll find the tools you need to share your authentic voice with the people who want to hear it and turn their attention into satisfying, meaningful sales.