Winners and Losers cover art

Winners and Losers

Creators and Casualties of the Age of the Internet

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Winners and Losers

By: Kieran Levis
Narrated by: Timothy Bentinck
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Winners and Losers tells the stories of some of the most innovative businesses of recent times, explaining how a few succeeded in creating and dominating entirely new markets while so many others die in today¹s ferociously competitive online era.

Explaining clearly, with many interesting examples, what contributes to success and failure in creating and developing a company. Levis shows how companies like Amazon and Google rose from nothing to enormous heights, while IBM, Kodak, and AOL plummeted from them; how Nokia bounced from near bankruptcy to global leadership; and it charts the incredible rise, fall, and rise again of Apple.

This is not a "how to succeed in business" textbook, but is far more interesting and more than accessible, even for those with no background in business or economics.

©2009 Keiran Levis (P)2010 Audible Ltd
Business & Careers International Business
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Xiaomi cover art
The Disruption Dilemma cover art
Startup Fundraising: How Successful Founders Raise Capital for Their Startups cover art
Moonshot! cover art
How to Think Like an Entrepreneur cover art
The Subscription Boom cover art
Go Tech, or Go Extinct cover art
The Unstoppable Startup cover art
From Incremental to Exponential cover art
Strategy Rules cover art
Where the Money Is cover art
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself, Vol. 2 cover art
Super Founders cover art
The Business of Platforms cover art
Influence Empire cover art
Better, Simpler Strategy cover art

Critic reviews

"A highly intelligent, nuanced account and Levis" disclaimers are as salutary as his insights." ( CNBC Europe)
"A solid account of smart, nimble upstarts slaying old-industry behemoths and of flawed creative geniuses creating and destroying fortunes." (David Rowan, Observer)
"Compelling… Break-neck histories of the likes of Amazon, eBay and Google." ( Independent)

What listeners say about Winners and Losers

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    32
  • 4 Stars
    31
  • 3 Stars
    19
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good but annoying accents

The narrator puts on ridiculous accents which gets quite annoying. The books jumps back and forth through time which got me lost in some cases.

Having said that, it was an interesting book, and I did learn insights into the key people and tipping points that lead to their success or failure. I gave it 4 stars for these mitigating factors.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Very interesting but a bit dated and preachy

It has some footnotes with data from 2007 and 2008, but the book generally seems to be based on the state of the internet in 2005-2006 (hence the absence of even a passing reference to Facebook and Twitter). The author also decided not to devote a section to Microsoft.

One positive of the book being dated is that it includes chapters on Mosaik/Netscape and AOL which probably would not have been included in a more recent book (and these are very interesting sections).

The inclusion of a chapter on Sky TV and Nokia seemed odd, and a bit out of context.

The final 2 chapters are a bit ponderous and preachy.

Still, overall I do not regret buying, and listening to, this audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Highly recommended

This is a great history of some of the most famous companies in recent times. The narrator does indulge in unnecessary 'accents/impersonations' of characters which at times detracts from the content.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Very interesting

It is always easier to understand why something was successful or not after the fact and this book explains quite well some of the history of many well known brands. It also points out that luck as well as good strategies sometimes plays a part. I enjoyed it very much.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting all the way through

I have only been a member of audible for a few months and have to say that the writing of Winners & Losers keeps you listening all the way through. If you are interested in how some companies have won in this internet age and how some have gone from great heights and have lost then you will find as I have that you have to keep on listening all the way through as the story flows and goes from one interesting fact to another. The narration is also first class and easy on the ears. My first book that I have enjoyed so much that I have had to leave this review. Very highly recommended. hope you enjoy this also.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good listen but very irritating at times

Some fascinating insights into the early days of some of the biggest new age companies around. Especially worth listening to for those who weren't adults in the early 80's.

The authors love of Apple and dislike of Microsoft comes through to often for my tastes and the different voices the narrator uses are annoying after a while.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Exellent read for anyone interrested in business

Exellent read for anyone interrested in business.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great book, bad narration :-(

Really insightful book, but sadly the narration becomes disturbing with 'funny' voices and odd dialects.
When you learn to overcome the irritating narration, this book gives great insight in the scenarios from the early years of entering the age of digital technology.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating insight into internet business

This really is an exceptional book! Kieran Levis has studied his subject well and discusses what havoc the internet has wreaked on business at large. The big blue-chips are discussed here - Sony, Apple, Nokia, IBM, Kodak, Google, Ebay, Microsoft and Sky to name a few; you'll be surprised at who won, and who lost... and who nearly lost but won!

Each company is described in comprehensive detail, but this never becomes boring or repetitive (like some books I've listened to). One slight detraction is the narrator's accent when putting on voices, but this really isn't a major concern.

This isn't a 'how to succeed in business' book, quite the opposite! It shows you how damn hard it was to actually succeed in this kind of cut-throat, yet random environment that is the internet.

Wonderfully insightful, never patronising, always interesting. Can't fault this book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Good, but out of date

I am only a few chapters in to this book, it's good, but pretty out of date, so much so that I am not sure it's worth listening to.

If you are looking to learn more about the 'winners and losers of the internet age' and the book talks about Nokia as a winner, it seems a good sign it's out of date!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!