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Iamayoung,white,educatedmale…Igotreally,reallylucky.Andlifeisn’tfair. ThosearethewordsofEvanSpiegel,thebillionaireco-founderofphoto-messagingappSnapchat.Inourresearchintostartupsuccess,wefoundhisstoryparticularlyinteresting.Accordingto Forbes ,Spiegelwastheworld’syoungestself-madebillionaire(beforeKylieJenner,thatis—moreonherlater).Bornin1990,hereached$1,000,000,000agedjusttwenty-four. “Igotreally,reallylucky.Andlifeisn’tfair.” Thispartofthequotereallystoodouttous.WasEvanimplyingthathissuccesswassimplyluck?He’sledaprivilegedlife,andheknowsit.Togiveyouanideaofhow“lucky”hewas,let’sdivedeeperintohisbackground. EvanSpiegelgrewupinamultimillion-dollarhouseholdinLosAngeles,surroundedbycountlessfancycarsandultra-exclusivecountryclubs,andtakingluxuryholidaysallovertheworldatFourSeasonsresorts. HisearlyyearswerespentatanexpensiveprivateschoolinLA,whichcuriouslyenoughwasalsoattendedbyTinderco-founderSeanRad,plusahostofHollywoodstarssuchasKateHudson,JackBlack,andGwynethPaltrow.Hisparentsalso reportedlygothimandhissisterseliteprivatetutorsatacostofupto$250anhour. Evan’sparentswerepowerfullawyers,hisfatherworkingonhigh-profilecasessuchastheBPoilspillintheGulfofMexicoandactorCharlieSheen’sinfamous$100millionsuitagainstWarnerBrothers.HismotherheldthedistinctionofbeingHarvardLaw’syoungestfemalegraduate.WhenEvanfinishedhighschool,hisfather’spowerfulconnectionsandconsiderablecloutasanalumnusanddonortoStanfordUniversitycertainlydidn’thurthisson’sprospectsofgettingintotheultracompetitiveandprestigiousSiliconValleydreamschool.Evan’sfamilyconnectionsalsogothimintroducedtoPeterWendell,abig-timeventurecapitalist(VC)andoneof Forbes ’s100topventureinvestorsintheUnitedStates,withinvestmentsinhundredsofsuccessfulstartupsandnumerousIPOs. Notabadconnectiontohave. ThroughWendell,EvanalsomettitanslikeEricSchmidt,formerCEOofGoogle,ChadHurley,co-founderofYouTube,andScottCook,founderoffinancialsoftwaregiantIntuit. EricSchmidtlatersaidthisaboutEvan:“Hehassuperbmanners,whichhesayshegotfromhismother.Hecreditshisfather’slonglegalcalls,whichheoverheard,asgivinghimperspectiveonbusinessandstructureasaveryyoungman.” ScottCookdecidedtomentorEvan,giftinghimwithawealthofbusinesswisdomashetookhisfirststepsintothetechstartupworld.Later,CookputhismoneywherehismentorshipwasandcontributedtoSnapchat’sfirstroundoffunding. Althoughhestartedyoung,Evanhadalreadyreceivedoveracentury’sworthofcombinedwisdomandbusinesslessonsbythetimeSnapchatbegantogrow.Whilemanytwenty-somethingsmighthavebeennervousinbigmeetingswithpowerfulinvestors,EvanSpiegelfamouslystareddownoneVCwhowasunwillingtoadjusthisfirm’sstandardinvestingterms, tellinghim:“Ifyouwantstandardterms,investinastandardcompany.”ThatVCfirmwentontoinvestinSnapchat’sthirdfinancingroundin2013. Thisiswhatwe’relookingatwhenwetalkaboutunfairadvantages.ThesefactorsallstackedoneontopofanotherandcontributedinpowerfulwaystoEvan’ssuccesswithSnapchatandtohimbecoming Forbes ’syoungestself-madebillionaire.Thisconnectiontowealth,influence,andpowerdirectlyimpactedhissuccess.Hewasabletoclimbtheladderatsuchayoungagebecausehehadbeenlargelysetuptodoso.Infact,hedidn’tclimbtheladder,hewentupinarocketship. That’snottosaywe’reattributing all ofSnapchat’ssuccesstoEvan’sprivilegedupbringing.Notatall.Plentyofprivilegedkidsamounttoabsolutelynothing.Aswithallsuccessstories,therearemanyfactorsthatplayarole.Forexample,Evanwasverysmart,andSnapchathadabrilliantinsightatitscore—thatpeoplewanttocommunicatewithphotosthatwould“self-destruct,”thatis,disappearafterafewseconds.ThisissomethingthatnoneoftheestablishedsocialmediagiantsFacebook,Twitter,andInstagramhadeventhoughtof.Evannotonlyhadaccesstothefunding,thecontacts,andthementors,heexecuted brilliantly onaverytimelyproduct.Hewasintherightplace,attherighttime,withtherightidea.He,hisco-founders,andhisemployeesworkedreallyhard and reallysmarttomakeitasuccess. TherefreshingthingaboutEvan?He’supfrontinacknowledginghowmanybreakshe’senjoyedalongtheway.Contrarytothe“buckledown,”“burnthemidnightoil,”and“hustleyourassoff”advicethrownaroundalltooofteninthetechworld,Evansaysthis: “It’snotaboutworkingharder.It’saboutworkingthesystem.” “Workingthesystem”hasunethicalconnotations,like “gamingthesystem”oreven“cheatingthesystem.”Wedon’tmeanitinthatway;wemeanthatit’snotaboutworkingharder,it’saboutworking smarter tosucceed. Inanutshell,that’swhatthisbookisallabout: how toworksmarter,andhowtoworkthesysteminyourfavor.And,crucially,youdon’thavetogrowupprivilegedlikeEvanSpiegeltodoit. Thefactisthat,asEvanrecognized,theworldisnotfair.Andit’smoreunfairforsomethanothers.Hewasbroughtupveryrich,extremelywelleducated,withverysuccessfulparentsandsocialconnections.Butwhatifyoudidn’tgrowupwithanyoftheseadvantages?Doesthismeanyouaresetuptofail? Thatmightbehowitfeelssometimes. Often,youaretoldthattheonlyanswertoaless-than-idealsituationistoworkhard.Ifthatdoesn’tchangeanything,workharder!Butsometimes,whenyou’rebeingtoldtoworkharderwhenalreadyatfullspeed,andwithalltheotherobstaclesanddifficultieslifemaythrowyourway,thisfeelslikeaddinginsulttoinjury. Andyet,ineverycornerofthewebandwithintheself-helpandbusinesssectionofeverybookshop,you’llhearthesamestory:“Hardworkiswhatmakesthedifference!”“Hustlersaretheoneswhomakeit!”“Whenyouwannasucceedasbadlyasyouwanna breathe ,that’swhenyoubecomesuccessful.” Anentireindustryseemstohavegrownuparoundthis“hard-workworship.”Afterall,howmanybusinessself-helpgurusandmotivationalspeakersclaimeffortasvirtuallytheonlyanswer?(Well,thatandpossiblytheircheesy“five-step”programtobecomingamillionaire.)Onceyoubuythecourseorbookorvideoseries,whatdoyouget?Outdatedtacticsandgenericregurgitatedadviceand“motivation”tohustlehard. Imean,don’tgetuswrong…obviouslyhardworkandsacrificeisafactor.Sacrificeisrequiredforsuccessbecause you do havetoforgosomeshort-termpleasuresforlong-termsuccess.That’sagiven.However,it’ssimplytooreductivetothinkthatifyoudon’twin,it’sbecauseyou’rebeingoutworked. Thisoversimplificationof hardwork=success isnotonlymisleading,itcanbedownrightconfusingwhenyoudon’tknow what toworkhard on .RememberwhatEvanSpiegelsaid:“It’snotaboutworkingharder.It’saboutworkingthesystem.”Working hard withoutworking smart isuseless.Forexample,youcanworkincrediblyharddesigningandbuildingaproduct,butifit’saproductthatnobodywants,thentoughluck,you’llgetnowhere,despiteyourlonghoursandblood,sweat,andtears. I’veseenalotofhard-workingentrepreneursfail,andI’vecometotheconclusionthatworkinghard,whileneverabadthing,isnotreallythemagicthingthatleadstogreatinventionsorsuccessfuloutcomes. CaterinaFake,venturecapitalistandco-founderofFlickr Asaverysuccessfulserialentrepreneurandventurecapitalist,CaterinaFakeshouldknowwhatshe’stalkingabout.HerstartupFlickrbecameoneoftheworld’smostpopularphoto-sharingwebsitesandanearlypioneerinsocialnetworking,whichwasveryquicklyboughtbyYahooforaround$20million.Thequoteaboveisfromanarticleshewrotefor BusinessInsider withthetitle“WorkingHardIsOverrated.”Shethenwentontofound,grow,andsellanotherstartup,thistimetoeBayforareported$80million. AsCaterinasays,promotinghustleastheoneandonly“key”reducesallthenuanceofsuccessinbusinesstoasimplisticone-size-fits-allsolution. InthecaseofEvanSpiegel,forexample,wealsoneedtothinkaboutthelevelofsocietyhewasborninto,theworld-classprivateeducationhereceived,theconfidenceinstilledinhimbyhisenvironment,thesocialgraceshepickedupfromhis accomplishedparents,theconnectionshisfathergavehim,andalltheamazingself-madebillionairementorshejusthappenedtogainalongtheway.Wehaven’tevenmentionedtheunknownimpactofgeneticsonintelligence,creativity,problem-solving,andpeopleskillsthatEvaninheritedfromhisincrediblysuccessfulparents.Also,whatroledidgoodfortuneplayinhissuccess?Isitreasonabletosuggesthemayhavereceivedthebenefitofatouchofluckalongtheway?TheseallplayedaroleinmakingEvannotonlysuccessful,but phenomenally successful. Uh-oh.Didwereallyjustsayallthat?How dare wementiongenetics,luck,andparentalendowmentallinoneparagraph,ina business book! Well,wetoldyouthisisn’tyourtypicalbusinessself-helpbook. GoodoldMr.Snapchatisnottheonlypersonwhohasnoticedthatactionaloneisn’ttheanswer. Billionaireangelinvestor,co-founderofLinkedIn,andearlyseniorteammemberofPayPalReidHoffmanwasaskedthefollowingquestionwhenaguestontheNPRpodcast“HowIBuiltThis”byGuyRaz: “Howmuchofwhatyouaccomplishedisbecauseofyourhardworkandyourintelligence,andhowmuchofitisbecauseoftheluckandtheprivilegesthatyou’vehad?” Withoutabreathofhesitation,Hoffmananswered: “TheanswerisMASSIVELYBOTH,ofcourse.” “Massivelyboth.”Thisisfromoneofthemostwealthy,successfulpeopleintoday’sdigitalworld.Itseemsthatthemoresuccessfulpeopleare,themorewillingtheyaretoadmitthatfactorsotherthanjusthardworkplayedintotheirsuccess. Incaseyou’restillthinkingthatthisbookisabouthowgreatitistogrowupprivilegedlikeEvanSpiegel,we’llshowyouhowanUnfairAdvantagecantakemanyforms.Toillustrate this,we’dliketotakeacoupleofexamplesthatareclosertohome.Let’stakeadetailedlookatacoupleofentrepreneurswhotransformedtheirlives. Us.