A Practical Way to Get Rich . . . and Die Trying: A Memoir About Risking It All

by John Roa

"A scathingly honest memoir of entrepreneurship's dark reality... I would advise every entrepreneur--or anyone who dreams of becoming one--to read this book."
--Eric Schurenberg - CEO, Fast Company and Inc.

A young tech entrepreneur's memoir of building his hugely successful company and the mental and physical price he paid for it

At the age of twenty-six, John Roa was an aspiring but struggling entrepreneur. He was broke, racking up debt, and ready to give up on his dream of being self-made. In a final effort, he founded the design firm ÄKTA, which quickly became one of the fastest growing startups in America, and just five years later, he sold it for a fortune to Salesforce, the largest company in San Francisco.

This is his account of rising from a self-described below-average student to becoming a poster boy for the successful young entrepreneur, while nearly destroying himself in the process. His journey is an absurd, twisting, and often comical story of talent, luck, rapidly changing technology, larger-than-life personalities, sex, gambling, and excessive alcohol and drug consumption—which ultimately took their toll, resulting in a spectacular burnout that he almost didn’t survive. As he healed in the aftermath, he began to question the ethos that had brought him to that dark place, and over time, came to realize how common these debilitating issues are in entrepreneurship, even if they are rarely discussed openly.

Rather than another glamorous rags-to-riches saga, A Practical Way to Get Rich . . . and Die Trying is a cautionary and deeply honest memoir about the price of success for ambitious young people, who are so often unprepared for the adversity, mental health issues, and abuse that can come along with “making it.” It also serves as the foundation for a campaign of honesty and vulnerability, in an industry that currently lacks both.

Genres: Business, Biography Memoir, Nonfiction, Memoir, Entrepreneurship

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 2020

About the author

John Roa is an entrepreneur, technologist, humanitarian, and angel investor. He has run multiple technology companies, including design agency ÄKTA, which he sold to Salesforce in 2015. He is a passionate volunteer activist and animal advocate, having been a partner and donor to dozens of non-profit organizations as well as founding and running his charitable organization, Digital Hope. He hosts The John Roa Show podcast series and is a public speaker on topics ranging from entrepreneurship to mental health. John currently lives in Manhattan.

Reviews

[Dawn T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars for sheer entertainment. One and a half stars taken away for feeling like I was being SOLD this narrative and story even as I was reading it.
I rounded down because while the ending was redemptive, the author made his own self-professed b-s so believable I wasn’t convinced I wasn’t being taken for yet another ride.
I may round up later. I learned a lot about a world that is essentially alien to me. I was happy to armchair only travel there.

[Christian Etheridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about a guy who creates a start up digital company that takes off, and how the lifestyle money gave him nearly destroyed his life and killed him. Extremely interesting book.

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really despised Johnny in how he treated friends and business partners. His profanity was a big turnoff. His lifestyle from the pills, the alcohol, and non stop meetings and phone calls made him a driven and unpleasant person to be around. He had more luck in business than he deserved.

He was never prepared for the next step in his businesses and always seemed to be “flying by the seat of his pants”. Any future business negotiations should start with a future partner reading his book.

Could Johnny have needed money and figured writing a book was quick money? After all that was how he approached business. Unprepared.

By the end his type A personality had flipped to a type B. I really don’t believe long term he will stay on this path.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One great thing about book clubs is discovering books you wouldn’t normally read. This read was for the UTD school of business book club and it was great! Super interesting story of a tech entrepreneur and the dangers of stress and not taking care of your mental health. I listened to the audio book which is narrated by the author.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my alumni bookclub. John Roa started a company, had a nervous breakdown, sold the company, and wrote a book about his experience. The book is structured in 80 short chapters, and Roa appears to be honest in what he recounts. However, it's written in a pretty factual style, whereas I've seen memoirs written with deeper insights.

[Stanjay Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was our book club selection for this season and I honestly would not have even considered reading it outside of a book club selection. I though that the underlying messages about perseverance and hard work was noteworthy but other than that, it was a hard read for me only because I'm not really into business talk.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give 4s a lot. Well it was an interesting memoir front someone who definitely had a good story to tell. So cool reading about starting and building a successful business. But realizing excesses that come along with something like that make it a wild ride.

[Jon Thorogood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievably funny, sad, and inspirational, all at the same time. I've already sent this to multiple other entrepreneurial friends. Read this!

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story and vulnerable message about John's journey

[John Roa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoy! :)

[Zeyad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book with new ideas

[Ary Chest · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun little memoir. He over blamed his mistakes on stereotypical entrepreneurs fallacies, but he still has a story worth telling!

[Ekemini Darby · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a story if s lifetime in pages. I see it to be practicable. A must read.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't end up finishing this book. Despite the great ratings on it, I found it slow burning and not really interesting at all.

[Juan Barragan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! This book was located in the recommended section of the library. A story of a resilient entrepreneur who shares his journey to the big leagues. Somewhat inspirational.

[Susmita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book on the downsides of entrepreneurship