What do you think?
Rate this book
TAPE SUCKS: Inside Data Domain, A Silicon Valley Growth Story
Silicon Valley has been birthing renegade technology companies for the better part of a century, a storied lineage that traces from Stanford’s Fred Terman to the Varian brothers’ Klystron amplifier, from the hallowed garage of Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard to the bold “traitorous eight” who fled Shockley Labs to form Fairchild Semiconductor. These companies, to be sure, broke new science and engineering ground—yet their most lasting legacy may well be their pioneering approach to business itself. They blazed a path that led to Intel, Apple, Oracle, Genentech, Gilead, Sun, Adobe, Cisco, Yahoo, eBay, Google, Salesforce, Facebook, Twitter, and many, many others.
What causes a fledgling company to break through and prosper? At the highest level, the blueprint is always the An upstart team with outsized ambition somehow possesses an uncanny ability to surpass customer expectations, upend whole industries, and topple incumbents. But how do they do it? If only we could observe the behaviors of such a company from the inside. If only we were granted a first-person perspective at a present-day Silicon Valley startup-cum-blockbuster. What might we learn? This document—the story of Data Domain’s rise from zero to one billion dollars in revenue—is your invitation to find out.
For anyone curious about the process of new business formation, Tape Sucks offers a provocative, ripped-from-the-headlines case study. How does a new company bootstrap itself? What role does venture capital play? Why do customers and new recruits take a chance on a risky new player? Frank Slootman, who lived and breathed the Data Domain story for six years, offers up his clear-eyed, “first-person shooter” version of events. You’re with him on the inside as he and his team navigate the tricky waters of launching a high-technology business. You’ll feel—deep in your gut—the looming threat of outside combatants and the array of challenges that make mere survival an accomplishment. You’ll catch a glimpse of an adrenalin-fueled place where victories are visceral, communication wide open, and esprit de corps palpable.
The upshot is that the principles of the early entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley are alive and well. Their straightforward ideas include employee-ownership, tolerance for failure, unfettered meritocracy, faith in the power of technology breakthroughs, a preference for handshakes and trust over contracts and lawsuits, pragmatism, egalitarianism, and a belief in the primacy of growth and reinvestment over dividends and outbound profits. Tape Sucks is an honest, informed perspective on technology wave riding. It allows you to observe a high-growth business at close range and get an unvarnished picture of how things really work.
What causes a fledgling company to break through and prosper? At the highest level, the blueprint is always the An upstart team with outsized ambition somehow possesses an uncanny ability to surpass customer expectations, upend whole industries, and topple incumbents. But how do they do it? If only we could observe the behaviors of such a company from the inside. If only we were granted a first-person perspective at a present-day Silicon Valley startup-cum-blockbuster. What might we learn? This document—the story of Data Domain’s rise from zero to one billion dollars in revenue—is your invitation to find out.
For anyone curious about the process of new business formation, Tape Sucks offers a provocative, ripped-from-the-headlines case study. How does a new company bootstrap itself? What role does venture capital play? Why do customers and new recruits take a chance on a risky new player? Frank Slootman, who lived and breathed the Data Domain story for six years, offers up his clear-eyed, “first-person shooter” version of events. You’re with him on the inside as he and his team navigate the tricky waters of launching a high-technology business. You’ll feel—deep in your gut—the looming threat of outside combatants and the array of challenges that make mere survival an accomplishment. You’ll catch a glimpse of an adrenalin-fueled place where victories are visceral, communication wide open, and esprit de corps palpable.
The upshot is that the principles of the early entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley are alive and well. Their straightforward ideas include employee-ownership, tolerance for failure, unfettered meritocracy, faith in the power of technology breakthroughs, a preference for handshakes and trust over contracts and lawsuits, pragmatism, egalitarianism, and a belief in the primacy of growth and reinvestment over dividends and outbound profits. Tape Sucks is an honest, informed perspective on technology wave riding. It allows you to observe a high-growth business at close range and get an unvarnished picture of how things really work.
111 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 21, 2011
112 people are currently reading
583 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 4, 2025
His insights are direct, sharp, and packed with inspiration, making them highly actionable for anyone in business or leadership. However, the book does show its age in places—many of its once-groundbreaking strategies have since become common practice. That said, it still manages to stand out as a refreshing, succinct, candid guide to driving growth and navigating complex business challenges. Overall, it was a surprisingly positive and rewarding read for me.
May 7, 2021
Frank Slootman is famous in Silicon Valley as being a CEO-for-hire … and for running a very tight ship. He seems to spark loyalty in his people, and he specialises in taking enterprise software companies from startup to (billion dollar) IPO.
This book is a concise set of observations from his experience running Data Domain, his very first billion dollar startup. I recommend reading this if you are interested in building an enterprise software company, or if you want to do a B2B go-to-market motion. Note, however, that Slootman doesn’t see this as a set of generalisable lessons; instead he sees this as a set of observations. He believes there is no truly repeatable, generalisable playbook — you have to make it up as you go along.
This book is a concise set of observations from his experience running Data Domain, his very first billion dollar startup. I recommend reading this if you are interested in building an enterprise software company, or if you want to do a B2B go-to-market motion. Note, however, that Slootman doesn’t see this as a set of generalisable lessons; instead he sees this as a set of observations. He believes there is no truly repeatable, generalisable playbook — you have to make it up as you go along.
Read
February 23, 2021This book at first glance seems thin on insight but I haven’t successfully run three technology companies and am sure there is a lot invaluable advice about scaling a company and coordinating sales, engineering, customer service, and mid-level management that I’ve failed to appreciate. Honestly, I’d love to read a book by someone who directly reported to Frank Slootman; he seems like a no-nonsense, deeply pragmatic CEO that cares more about results than his compensation package.
February 7, 2021
Short and punchy. Found this after chasing Slootman down a rabbit hole - starting with his Forbes profile. Very customer orientated, straight shooting, brass knuckles kinda guy, born in the wrong continent. Few bits that stuck:
1) Extremely customer led - "Snuggle up with your customers"
2) The importance of Growth above else
3) Taking technology through the chasm to meet business
4) Hire athletes, not resumes
5) How to manage the board, and its role - also very interesting to see how a board can build an individual's Rolodex
6) RECIPE
7) Going public, then being bought - adapting to EMC
1) Extremely customer led - "Snuggle up with your customers"
2) The importance of Growth above else
3) Taking technology through the chasm to meet business
4) Hire athletes, not resumes
5) How to manage the board, and its role - also very interesting to see how a board can build an individual's Rolodex
6) RECIPE
7) Going public, then being bought - adapting to EMC
February 8, 2024
Many great nuggets and observations from Slootman in this book. I think he describes working in a startup very well: "Coming from bigger companies, I found the startup experience exhilirating and liberating. Like sailing a dinghy: direct feedback all the time, close to the metal. It's heady, like breathing pure oxygen. Many constraints but few limits."
I appreciate how he picks apart myths from his own experience as well. Startups don't always have to be founded from some idealistic idea. Startups aren't about the most successful strategy, just good and consistent execution. He was customer led (before it was cool). Product quality is vital to a company and makes every downstream process better as a result.
Overall this was a breath of fresh air and highly recommend to anyone working on their own business or in a young startup.
I appreciate how he picks apart myths from his own experience as well. Startups don't always have to be founded from some idealistic idea. Startups aren't about the most successful strategy, just good and consistent execution. He was customer led (before it was cool). Product quality is vital to a company and makes every downstream process better as a result.
Overall this was a breath of fresh air and highly recommend to anyone working on their own business or in a young startup.
December 25, 2020
I picked up this book via recommendation by The Investor's Field Guide (not to mention the author is the CEO of Snowflake), and it didn’t disappoint. I thought it would be a quick 1-2 hour read, but I ended up noting and highlighting almost throughout the book, as there were so many golden nuggets condensed in short volume. If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, leadership, technology industry, b2b business strategy, etc I would highly recommend this book.
Related read: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/amp-up...
Related read: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/amp-up...
September 19, 2020
Tape sucks is a small book or long form essay on startup CEO’s notes through the life cycle. The wisdom and examples are illuminating and even though the author points to book being valuable to people in start-up world, there is value in it for people at big companies too. I particularly enjoyed RECIPE sections and how it drove specific actions.
July 20, 2021
Felt like I was reading a veteran retell the war, with an occasional example story to help one really understand. The main style of writing leads with rules and standards of the how the company operated that were learned or set while going through it.
Not heavy on theory or strategy, it is a real case study of what dedication to execution can look like and how someone who sets such a high-standard to deter anything else thinks.
I enjoy his hard-nose attitude and although he'd be the exact kind of CEO i'd hate to have chastise me as an employee, those same hard-nose standards is what I know would drive results and strength in my own work and in every individual that comes across or under his leadership. I hope to take on some this attitude myself
Not heavy on theory or strategy, it is a real case study of what dedication to execution can look like and how someone who sets such a high-standard to deter anything else thinks.
I enjoy his hard-nose attitude and although he'd be the exact kind of CEO i'd hate to have chastise me as an employee, those same hard-nose standards is what I know would drive results and strength in my own work and in every individual that comes across or under his leadership. I hope to take on some this attitude myself
September 3, 2020
Decent read on startups and business. If you are interested in a guy with 25 years in the cloud industry, you may likely be more interested in the book. Frank used to be CEO of Data Domain, ServiceNow and is now CEO of Snowflake
September 6, 2020
Nice condense wisdom from an excellent operator
This book distills some wonderful operational nuggets from a exceptional CEO. Worth the simple time investment to pick up insights on comp, culture, and running fast.
This book distills some wonderful operational nuggets from a exceptional CEO. Worth the simple time investment to pick up insights on comp, culture, and running fast.
July 1, 2019
Loved it
Direct. Unflinching. Down to earth. A wonderful, straight talking, no bull description of life as a CEO of a silicon valley startup. Loved it. Great read.
Direct. Unflinching. Down to earth. A wonderful, straight talking, no bull description of life as a CEO of a silicon valley startup. Loved it. Great read.
December 28, 2019
A book for all startup CEOs
Simple and easy to read. No jargons. Comes at the right time for me when I am riding the startup rodeo.
Simple and easy to read. No jargons. Comes at the right time for me when I am riding the startup rodeo.
September 19, 2020
Not as good as his essays
This is pretty good, very tailor made to enterprise companies and more specifically data storage companies. His essays are better.
This is pretty good, very tailor made to enterprise companies and more specifically data storage companies. His essays are better.
November 13, 2020
Quick read. No deep or overarching themes. But tons of pithy insights that struck me as dead on. I took a ton of notes.
November 27, 2020
Great quick read, with plenty of insights. No no-nonsense approach to running a company.
December 12, 2020
Quick and easy read, interesting non technical perspective on the storage business.
January 4, 2021
A story of a Silicon Valley startup (Data Domain) that achieved “unicorn” status written by the founder himself, Frank Slootman.
Read
January 4, 2021Frank is a great manager and a great writer. After reading the book, I found out he is behind Snowflake, which made me even more curious about his management style.
January 17, 2021
Great short book for CEOs / Managers
May 7, 2021
Slootman Firing from the Hip
A candid, no nonsense look at the life and path of a startup. Slootman provides great anecdotes and ideas for getting an organization off the ground.
A candid, no nonsense look at the life and path of a startup. Slootman provides great anecdotes and ideas for getting an organization off the ground.
November 12, 2025
A quick read on what it takes to make a startup successful. Good read
December 18, 2020
a very small book on his personal thoughts on Data Domain
biggest take away - IPO is a marketing event
biggest take away - IPO is a marketing event
May 4, 2012
Concise and fascinating story about lessons learned while raising a startup. As a techy guy I've found non techy stuff the most exciting: sales processes and building communications/culture ins- ide the company.
Yeah, it's 3 AM now - worthless books usually render me sleepy by this time ;)
Yeah, it's 3 AM now - worthless books usually render me sleepy by this time ;)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews