BILLION OR BUST!

An executive recounts the prodigious growth of his Texas-based tech company in this debut memoir.

Observing the rise of the tech industry in 1999, Napier was more than a little curious. As he worked a very unsexy job at a private equity firm, “internet company founders were indulging in spending orgies and VIP parties. Although I was skeptical of the environment, I also felt envious that everyone seemed to have found a job at which they wore flip flops and jeans, and earned huge stock option packages.” Then he heard about a web hosting company called Rackspace.com that was in need of a CFO. Entrusted with taking the company public, the author was excited to work not only in the booming internet economy, but also in San Antonio, in the heart of his beloved home state. While the company expanded rapidly due to the ever increasing hosting needs of other companies, Napier would soon learn that the dotcom explosion was not all easy money. The bubble burst just as Rackspace was attempting to go public, and the company teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. It took some creative problem-solving, a little luck, and a big portion of Texas gumption to get things back on track, but the author was able to right the ship, rise in the company, and eventually make Rackspace a billion-dollar behemoth. Napier’s book is part of the Braun Collection, “a growing suite of…fast-paced executive memoirs, biographies, and storyboards.” The author tells his tale in an eclectic prose that mixes industry jargon with bro-like enthusiasm. Here he discusses Rackspace’s initial office: “We ate Class C-minus office space for breakfast, but the rent was cheap, and our data center kicked ass.” Here he reassures his infant son, Cade, of the company’s future: “Look, dude, it’s gonna be okay.” Alternating his experiences at Rackspace with stories from his personal life as a young husband and father, Napier shows how decisions made at work can affect routines at home and vice versa. His tale does not rise to the level of drama that would entertain a general audience, but those interested in learning from the successes and mistakes of experienced business executives (which is the mission of the Braun Collection) will likely be captivated by the author’s chronicle of the wild years of the 2000s.

An intriguing business account with a focus on the tech industry.