Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Startup Your Life
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: c. 1979
WEBSITE:
CITY: San Francisco
STATE: CA
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://www.annaakbari.com/about/ * https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaakbari/ * http://nocountryforyoungwomen.com/2011/06/24/anna-akbari-30s-sociologist-entrepreneur/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born c. 1979.
EDUCATION:New York University, bachelor’s degree; New School for Social Research, M.A., Ph.D.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, consultant, entrepreneur, and sociologist. Formerly taught at New York University and Parsons: The New School for Design, New York, NY; founder of Sociology of Style, Sociology of TV, Splice, Bricoler Social Interaction Design, and Closet Catharsis; partner in HVCK (innovation consultancy), San Francisco, CA; creator of “Silicon Valley Insider’s Edge” video series. Served in the Peace Corps.
AVOCATIONS:Karaoke, roller skating, going to the beach.
WRITINGS
Contributor to periodicals.
SIDELIGHTS
Anna Akbari is an American writer, consultant, entrepreneur, and sociologist. She is the founder or cofounder of several companies, including Sociology of Style, Sociology of TV, Splice, Bricoler Social Interaction Design, and Closet Catharsis. Akbari is also a partner in a consulting firm called HVCK and the creator of the “Silicon Valley Insider’s Edge” video series. She has taught courses at New York University and Parsons: The New School for Design. She holds a bachelor’s degree from New York University and both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research. In an interview with Elena Rossini on the Web site No Country for Young Women, Akbari explained how she came to the field of sociology: “I took a very winding path toward sociology: I attended Interlochen Arts Academy, a performing arts boarding school, where I majored in theater; I then changed course and earned my undergraduate degree in Religious Studies and Middle Eastern Studies at NYU; then, after serving in the Peace Corps, I returned to school and completed an M.A. in Liberal Studies and finally earned a PhD in Sociology (with an emphasis on Visual Sociology) from the New School for Social Research.” Akbari continued: “Ironically, I’d been writing and researching all of my thesis projects as a sociologist, before I ever actually found my way to the sociology department. So, when I did finally land there, it definitely felt like home.”
In 2016, Akbari released her first book, Startup Your Life: Hustle and Hack Your Way to Happiness. In this volume, she suggests that the same principles technology entrepreneurs use to build successful startups can be applied to one’s personal life. Akbari offers information about her own life and explains how she came to the realization that applying startup skills would help her to function better in many ways. She also provides case studies focusing on successful companies, including Netflix, Ralph Lauren, Zappos, and Instagram. Akbari concludes each chapter with short bits of advice to apply to one’s life or business.
In an interview with Emma Johnson for Forbes Online, Akbari stated: “This was the book I needed but couldn’t find when I was a recent graduate struggling to pull it all together and create fulfillment in my everyday life. So I embraced the startup mentality that guided me professionally and started actively applying it to my personal life. Concepts like experimentation, knowing when and how to pivot, and disrupting assumptions are all key to startup success—and I’ve discovered that finding lasting happiness at every stage of life is best achieved with the same framework that guides Silicon Valley startups.” Akbari added: “Operating like a startup boots personal happiness in three main ways. One, find joy in the process. Too often we live for long-term milestones or a singular end goal, with low expectations for satisfaction the other ninety-nine percent of the time. But the startup approach to living understands that the journey—not cashing out in the big final ‘exit’—is where wisdom is gained and sustainable happiness is cultivated.”
A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that the book is supposed to be geared toward general life-improvement. However, the reviewer remarked: “Many of Akbari’s ideas are business-specific.” The same reviewer concluded: “Budding entrepreneurs should benefit greatly from Akbari’s sound guidance.” Prasanna Bidkar, a critic on the Non Fiction Book Reviews Web site, commented: “Most of the advice that the author shares is directly applicable to a business venture, and so are the examples shared in the book. But the most important message here is take control, but be ready to fail and experiment.” Bidkar also stated: “The book is generating gradual interest and most rate it as above average.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, October 17, 2016, review of Startup Your Life: Hustle and Hack Your Way to Happiness, p. 61.
ONLINE
Anna Akbari Home Page, http://www.annaakbari.com/ (July 19, 2017).
Forbes Online, https://www.forbes.com/ (December 26, 2011), Emma Johnson, author interview.
Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ (July 19, 2017), author profile.
No Country for Young Women, http://nocountryforyoungwomen.com/ (June 24, 2011), Elena Rossini, author interview.
Non Fiction Book Reviews, http://bookreviews.infoversant.com/ (December 20, 2016), Prasanna Bidkar, review of Startup Your Life.
Pennsylvania Convention Center Web site, https://www.paconvention.com/ (July 19, 2017), author profile.*
Dr. Anna Akbari is a sociologist, entrepreneur, innovation consultant, and writer. She is a former professor in the department of Media, Culture, and Communication and the department of Art and Art Professions at New York University, as well as the Art and Design History and Theory department at Parsons The New School for Design. Her research focuses on visual and virtual self-presentation, technology and human intersects, dating and interpersonal relationships, and happiness and well-being.
Akbari is the founder of Sociology of Style, which takes an intelligent approach to image and well-being and offers holistic image consulting and life coaching services. She also created the Sociology of TV, which offers videos and white papers on the social significance of television media in public spaces.
She is a partner in HVCK, an innovation consultancy, and the co-creator of the Silicon Valley Insider's Edge video series for entrepreneurs and enterprise employees. She's worked with Cisco, Samsung, DIRECTV, Converse, Avon, Coca-Cola, Lenovo, Tata Communications, SABMiller, Toyota, CableLabs, LG, Sprint, Vitamin Water, Pepsi, Converse, Beverage Marketing Corp., Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy, KBS+, Northstar, Sense Worldwide and many more.
A prominent thought leader, she is a frequent guest and writer for such outlets as TED, CNN, The Atlantic, DailyWorth, The Bulletproof Executive, Huffington Post, and the Financial Times, as well as a keynote speaker and lecturer at universities, professional conferences, and corporate events.
Order her book, Startup Your Life: Hustle and Hack Your Way To Happiness (St. Martin's Press), watch her Google Talk and TED talk, take the Sociology of Style quiz or sign up for her image transformation video courses for women and men, check out the HVCK video series for entrepreneurs and enterprise, follow her on Twitter, sing with her, hire her (or just say hello).
QUOTED: "I took a very winding path toward sociology: I attended Interlochen Arts Academy, a performing arts boarding school, where I majored in theater; I then changed course and earned my undergraduate degree in Religious Studies and Middle Eastern Studies at NYU; then, after serving in the Peace Corps, I returned to school and completed an M.A. in Liberal Studies and finally earned a PhD in Sociology (with an emphasis on Visual Sociology) from the New School for Social Research."
"Ironically, I’d been writing and researching all of my thesis projects as a sociologist, before I ever actually found my way to the sociology department. So, when I did finally land there, it definitely felt like home."
Anna Akbari, 30s, Sociologist & Entrepreneur
by elena / Friday, 24 June 2011 / Published in 30s, Academia, Entrepreneur, North America, Profiles, Teacher, Tech Entrepreneur, United States
What is your name, age, and location?
Anna Akbari, 32 years old, New York, NY.
What is your profession?
This is a tough question (though one that should seem easy to answer!): I have what I like to refer to as “career MPD,” so I usually start to answer the “what do you do” question by saying I’m a sociologist, as I feel like sociology is the foundation for the rest of my careers: I founded Closet Catharsis, my fashion consulting company that takes a holistic approach to personal styling and image management; I’m the CEO and co-founder of Splice, a social media startup that aims to mobilize social media users in an effort to create deeper, more meaningful relationships; and I’m the co-founder of Bricoler Social Interaction Design, which uses social software and social interaction strategies to make organizations more collaborative, innovative, and – ultimately – happier. I also teach in the Media, Culture, Communication department at NYU, where I design classes like Fashion and Power, Beauty and the Body in an Image Society, and Media and Identity – all of which require my students to perform sociological fieldwork that tests their sense of identity and methods for group formation.
What did you study in school and what degrees do you have?
I took a very winding path toward sociology: I attended Interlochen Arts Academy, a performing arts boarding school, where I majored in theater; I then changed course and earned my undergraduate degree in Religious Studies and Middle Eastern Studies at NYU; then, after serving in the Peace Corps, I returned to school and completed an M.A. in Liberal Studies and finally earned a PhD in Sociology (with an emphasis on Visual Sociology) from the New School for Social Research. Ironically, I’d been writing and researching all of my thesis projects as a sociologist, before I ever actually found my way to the sociology department. So, when I did finally land there, it definitely felt like home.
What was your first job?
My first job out of high school was working as an America Reads literacy tutor for a first grade class at P.S. 15 on Avenue D in New York City. I was 18 and very eager and idealistic, and I remember returning home from the school 2 days per week and just sitting on my bed in exhaustion, sometimes in tears. The teacher would scream most of the day – in an effort to merely gain control of the classroom – and very little time was actually dedicated to learning. I recognized how far behind many of the students already were at age 6 and couldn’t imagine how they would ever catch up later in life. Sometimes the teacher would be absent and the substitute wouldn’t show up, so I would teach the class. It was a humbling and maturing experience, to say the least.
Who or what inspired you to break into your current line of work?
I think sociological fieldwork is something I grew up doing, unofficially. As a half-Persian child who grew up with her Irish-Catholic mother in Iowa, I always looked different and never felt at home, so the examination of the “other” and the study of how to “fit in” was a lifelong pursuit. My mom said they called me “Bright Eyes” in the hospital after I was born, because I never slept and just wanted to watch everything. I guess you can say I’ve been “looking” and studying people since birth. Unconsciously, I think I knew that was my ticket out of my immediate surroundings. If I could understand the game and its players, I could be a contender. I always had this sense I could conquer any domain if I could just understand how it worked.
Name/describe what has been your most rewarding project so far?
I guess my most rewarding project – from a singular project perspective – would be the non-profit music foundation I started in the Dominican Republic, while serving in the Peace Corps.
When I was assigned to my town of Mao, I found that the work the Peace Corps intended for me to do (essentially, to encourage farmers to take out loans) was slow-moving and something I didn’t completely support. So, when I saw that Mao had a thriving musical community (and by “thriving,” I mean a zinc-roofed shack with a collection of dented instruments, 2 dedicated, underpaid teachers, and a group of astonishingly promising musicians), I immediately wanted to be a part of it.
Someone had donated an old piano, so I agreed to take on a few students for private piano lessons. Those few grew to 20+, and from there we acquired another piano, along with keyboards for the students to practice on. We hosted community-wide recitals and the project culminated in the establishment of a scholarship program that sent 2 students per year to a nearby music conservatory, asking that they become teachers back in Mao as repayment. I managed and solicited money for the program for 5 years, and the piano program still exists in Mao.
Name/describe one incident when being a woman has helped your career?
Name/describe one incident when being a woman has hindered your career?
I think these questions go hand-in-hand. What sticks out for me is not so much an isolated incident, as it is a perpetual challenge (and potential asset) for all professional women: the demand that we self-present as beautiful, feminine, perpetually youthful objects, while still exercising our intellectual prowess and experience (which is, of course, a contradiction, as experience and knowledge take time to accumulate, and yet we are asked to look forever 25 – making “success,” by those standards, a nearly impossible task).
Balancing sexuality and professionalism is a very delicate balance. Women can be ostracized for coming across as overly masculine and harsh, and yet we’re not taken seriously if we veer too far into the realm of frilly femininity or exude too much sexiness. It can be an exhausting balancing act. And yet, for those women who do manage to find the right formula for their personalities/body types/professions/audience, it can be supremely empowering and advantageous to be an attractive, physically impressive woman who is also an intellectual knock-out. That’s a formidable combination, when expertly executed.
Who is your role model or mentor (alive or dead)?
I’ve been fortunate to have many amazing mentors throughout my life. These are just a few: Marjorie Mixdorf, my pre-school teacher at Head Start (an early education program for low-income children – that is perpetually at risk of losing its funding), who encouraged me to lead and facilitate students who didn’t come from nurturing households like mine; Gary Schnieders, my high school world history teacher, whose passion and dedication to the subject and to teaching was infectious and continues to inspire my own teaching; Tom Ballmer, the theater director at my local children’s theater, who gave me countless opportunities to play, perform, escape, and explore – and who ultimately paved the foundation for my life’s passion of examining identity as perpetual role-playing; and Bob Pollack, the fashion guru who gave me my start in the industry and allowed me the space and creative freedom to work with him while I questioned the social significance of style, while also making me part of his family. From a very Durkheimian perspective, I think of the self as a social entity, and thus like to imagine myself as the collective embodiment of all of these invaluable influences.
If you could give one piece of advice to a woman starting out in your field, what would it be?
Think outside of your field and operate between the lines. You define (and erase) the parameters, and that boundary is limitless and in a constant state of flux. Don’t be pigeon-holed into a singular career/discipline/path/life goal. Find the connections – amongst people, ideas, and even the most seemingly disparate threads – because connections are what make life worth living.
Links:
Closet Catharsis
Splice
Bricoler Social Interaction Design
Follow Anna on Twitter
– Photo by Amy Fletcher/A.E. Fletcher Photography
– Interview by Elena Rossini
QUOTED: "This was the book I needed but couldn’t find when I was a recent graduate struggling to pull it all together and create fulfillment in my everyday life. So I embraced the startup mentality that guided me professionally and started actively applying it to my personal life. Concepts like experimentation, knowing when and how to pivot, and disrupting assumptions are all key to startup success — and I’ve discovered that finding lasting happiness at every stage of life is best achieved with the same framework that guides Silicon Valley startups."
"Operating like a startup boots personal happiness in three main ways. One, find joy in the process. Too often we live for long-term milestones or a singular end goal, with low expectations for satisfaction the other ninety-nine percent of the time. But the startup approach to living understands that the journey—not cashing out in the big final 'exit'—is where wisdom is gained and sustainable happiness is cultivated."
Dec 26, 2011 @ 01:18 PM 2,344
The Little Black Book of Billionaire Secrets
The "Thinking Person's Stylist": NYU's Anna Akbari
The Muse ,
Contributor
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Anna AkbariAnna Akbari describes herself as “the thinking person’s stylist.”
But really, everyone should be thinking when it comes to what they wear, says the sociologist and New York University professor. Why? There’s great power in our style, Akbari believes, personal power that we should be harnessing to express our sense of self and communicate it to the world, building our personal “brand” along the way. Dressing to impress isn’t just for the day you have an interview or a big presentation. “Fashion is a very powerful social tool, and one that every person should reflect on and use to their advantage,” she explains.
Akbari earned a PhD in visual sociology, spent a decade in the fashion industry, and now owns a wardrobe consulting company, Closet Catharsis. She believes that stylists aren’t just for celebrities—and that, surprisingly, we can actually save money revamping our wardrobes.
We sat down with Akbari to hear her insights on how fashion can empower us—and why paying attention to what we wear might have a bigger impact than we think.
How did you come to work in fashion and wardrobe styling?
I started working in the fashion industry around 12 years ago while on Nantucket. Bob Pollackhired me to work in his beautiful, high-end boutique, though I had no experience in fashion at the time. I was dressing in all black, with splashes of colorful, flea market jewelry—the aesthetic antithesis of the Nantucket uniform of Lilly Pulitzer, whale pants, and popped collars. From there, I began to experiment with my own appearance, integrating a few key preppy details and analyzing their effects on my interactions with others.
While in grad school, I continued to work on all sides of the fashion industry, always feeling like an outsider doing inside observational work, and with a hyper-awareness of the power of aesthetic manipulation and body consciousness.
Through this unofficial field work, I contemplated the relationship between fashion and our ability to gain power in public, and made it the subject of both my MA thesis and my doctoral dissertation.
During grad school, I started to take on styling clients. Having worked in the industry for years, I knew that my approach to fashion and styling was not that of a typical fashionista. I am less concerned with trends and color analysis, and more interested in creating visual consciousness. Does the image you’re giving off match your idealized self? It’s not about an extreme makeover, it’s about perpetually imagining and re-imagining ourselves while attempting to create cohesion and consistency.
What have you learned about the connection between fashion and power?
The link between fashion and power is not about a particular garment or a specific designer. Rather, I believe powerful fashion is about cultivating a tenuous balance between expressing individuality (standing out, getting noticed) and demonstrating group belonging (expressing some element of conformity, showing you’re part of the team). You want your sense of self to be communicated, but you must also be mindful of your audience.
People who say they dress for themselves are doing themselves a disservice—you don’t want to come across as intimidating or disrespectful through your visual self-expression. It’s not about ignoring personal preferences, but rather visually acknowledging that you also exist within a structured social environment. Balance is necessary.
The motto of Closet Catharsis is: “Fashion your identity. Empower your life.” How can we can use fashion as an asset and navigate its potential challenges in terms of our career?
Over the years, I’ve encountered many individuals who consider themselves “fashion agnostic” and claim that they don’t think about what they’re wearing. My response is always, “That’s too bad—because everyone else is paying attention.”
The way we self-present in our careers is of primary importance, and therefore worthy of investment. You wouldn’t submit a report with typos and grammatical errors, so why settle for the sartorial equivalent of sloppy communication? Our appearance represents the brand we’re creating for ourselves, and into which we want our superiors and co-workers to invest and believe. Conscious dressing is key to empowerment.
How do you help your clients create a style statement through Closet Catharsis?
The process I’ve created for my clients is very comprehensive and personal, and it’s more of a mutual discovery than a style imposition. We begin in the closet, dissecting pieces and wardrobe categories, and using those individual garments as a springboard to discuss lifestyle, aesthetic preferences, areas of body consciousness, frustrations, and comfort zones. Both the client and I come to understand her target image and the practical opportunities and challenges we have to work with.
From there, I start creating a categorized wish list, identifying the key pieces we’d like to acquire, and noting stores, brands, and designers that would be a good fit. I then analyze that list and plot a strategic shopping trip. The dialogue we have while shopping is as helpful as the items I co-select for my clients. With that dialogue, they are not blindly following my selections, but rather are empowered and able to reflect on the selection process when making future purchases and when dressing independently.
You say that we can actually save money by revamping our wardrobe. Do you have any tips on how to do that?
Revamping includes consciously caring for the wardrobe you already have and using free or low-cost tactics to re-imagine and rework existing pieces.
For example, I encourage all my clients to put rubber soles on their shoes immediately after they purchase them. While this may be an additional initial expense, it greatly extends the life of your shoes and pays off very quickly.
I also examine pieces with particular features that are no longer in style and consider taking them to a tailor to update them. Bootleg jeans are a great example: If the jeans fit well and are in good condition, tapering the legs is a very economical and sustainable way to keep current.
Any additional thoughts or words of advice that you’d like to share with readers?
I’d encourage people to rethink their relationship with their wardrobe and the image they’re projecting as a result of that union. Don’t take your personal aesthetic for granted, or make the mistake of thinking that even if you’re disinterested in your appearance, that people around you aren’t noticing and reacting to it. Because they are.
Find out more about Anna Akbari at www.closetcatharsis.com or follow her on Twitter @annaakbari.
Dec 14, 2016 @ 12:33 PM 606
The Little Black Book of Billionaire Secrets
What Everyone Can Learn About Happiness From Silicon Valley Startups
Emma Johnson
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Contributor
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
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Anna Akbari, PhD, is a sociologist, entrepreneur, and the author of the new book, Startup Your Life: Hustle and Hack Your Way To Happiness.
What was your inspiration for writing Startup Your Life?
This was the book I needed but couldn’t find when I was a recent graduate struggling to pull it all together and create fulfillment in my everyday life. So I embraced the startup mentality that guided me professionally and started actively applying it to my personal life. Concepts like experimentation, knowing when and how to pivot, and disrupting assumptions are all key to startup success — and I’ve discovered that finding lasting happiness at every stage of life is best achieved with the same framework that guides Silicon Valley startups.
How does living your life like a startup enhance happiness?
Operating like a startup boots personal happiness in three main ways. One, find joy in the process. Too often we live for long-term milestones or a singular end goal, with low expectations for satisfaction the other 99 percent of the time. But the startup approach to living understands that the journey — not cashing out in the big final “exit” — is where wisdom is gained and sustainable happiness is cultivated.
aaheadshot
Anna Akbari, author, Startup Your Life
Also, aim for personal empowerment. Living your life like a startup means being proactive and taking control, rather than leaving it up to chance or merely following convention. And finally, return to your core. You can become your own personal MVP — Minimum Viable Product. A startup life strips away the unnecessary layers that bog you down and cloud your judgement, and helps you reconnect with the things that really matter.
How does the startup approach relate to relationships?
We actively work at many aspects of our lives — we study, enlist professional assistance, develop strategies for success — but when it comes to relationships, we often take a very passive approach. We think it’s something that happens to us, not something we actively create and control. We don’t leave our professional lives up to chance, so why do that with our relationships? Relationships — finding them, keeping them — are hard work. And relationships — like career paths — don’t often fit into a perfect, predictable mold. So I encourage everyone to become a relationship entrepreneur by staying nimble and being bold.
You talk about some personal low points in the book — illness, a breakup, financial struggles. Which startup principle gave you the most strength to overcome these challenges?
Living a life in a permanent state of transition has been key for me. The minute complacency settles in, we are that much more vulnerable to radical disruption. But if we become the boss of change and espouse an “always be changing” mindset, we are able to take on the waves of hardship with a sense of inner calm. Blissful uncertainty really can exist, if you make peace with a life lived in-between. Change is not coming; it’s already here.
Which aspect of living your life like a startup do you think people struggle with the most? Where do you see the greatest resistance?
I think embracing risk and failure is the biggest hurdle for most people. We are so focused on achievement and appearances that we often forget that greatness usually stems from struggle, not ease. No one likes to fail, but most people who have experienced hardship — AND taken the time to reflect on it — grow exponentially as a result of those lessons. When we give ourselves permission to fall down and accept the inevitability of failure along the way, it’s far less jarring to us and the recovery period diminishes significantly. It also opens up the door to unpredictable detours and happy accidents.
Emma Johnson is creator of WealthySingleMommy.com, and author of The Kickass Single Mom (Penguin, October, 2017).
Anna Akbari, PhD, is a sociologist, writer, and entrepreneur. She is the founder of Sociology of Style, an image and life coaching company, and a partner in HVCK, a Silicon Valley innovation consultancy. A former professor at New York University and Parsons School of Design, she is a frequent public speaker at conferences and for corporations and has written for and been featured by Forbes, CNN, The Atlantic, The Economist, The Financial Times, TED, Bulletproof Executive, New York Observer, DailyWorth, and dozens more. Her new book, Startup Your Life: Hustle and Hack Your Way To Happiness, is on shelves Dec. 27th. Preorder your copy today: annaakbari.com
Anna Akbari, Ph.D. is a sociologist, entrepreneur, innovation consultant, and writer. She is a former professor in the department of Media, Culture, and Communication and the department of Art and Art Professions at New York University, as well as the Art and Design History and Theory department at Parsons The New School for Design. Her research focuses on visual and virtual self-presentation, technology and human intersects, dating and interpersonal relationships, and happiness and well-being.
Akbari is the founder of Sociology of Style, which takes an intelligent approach to image and well-being and offers holistic image consulting and life coaching services. She also created the Sociology of TV, which offers videos and white papers on the social significance of television media in public spaces.
She is a partner in HVCK, an innovation consultancy, and the co-creator of the Silicon Valley Insider’s Edge video series for entrepreneurs and enterprise employees. She has worked with Cisco, Samsung, DIRECTV, Converse, Avon, Coca-Cola, Lenovo, Tata Communications, SABMiller, Toyota, CableLabs, LG, Sprint, Vitamin Water, Pepsi, Converse, Beverage Marketing Corp., Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy, KBS+, Northstar, Sense Worldwide and many more.
A prominent thought leader, she is a frequent guest and writer for such outlets as TED, CNN, The Atlantic, DailyWorth, The Bulletproof Executive, Huffington Post, and the Financial Times, as well as a keynote speaker and lecturer at universities, professional conferences, and corporate events. She co-founded the New York Tech Karaoke Meetup, loves to get her roller skating groove on, and prefers to be salty and sandy whenever possible.
ANNA AKBARI, PhD is a sociologist, entrepreneur, and writer. She is the founder of Sociology of Style, an image and life coaching company, and a partner in HVCK, a Silicon Valley innovation consultancy. A former instructor at New York University and Parsons School of Design, she is a frequent speaker and media personality and has written for and been featured by Forbes, CNN, The Atlantic, The Economist, Financial Times, TED, Bulletproof Executive, TIME, and dozens more. She is the author of Startup Your Life: Hustle and Hack Your Way to Happiness. @annaakbari
QUOTED: "Many of Akbari's ideas are business-specific."
"Budding entrepreneurs should benefit greatly from Akbari's sound guidance."
Startup Your Life: Hustle and Hack Your Way to Happiness
263.42 (Oct. 17, 2016): p61.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Startup Your Life: Hustle and Hack Your Way to Happiness
Anna Akbari. St. Martin's, $25.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-250-09916-7
Extrapolating from her successful record of entrepreneurship, first-time author Akbari recounts her discovery that the same skills used in running a successful business could be applied to her personal life as well. In many varied areas of life--including the search for love and an attempt to lose weight--Akbari believes that an entrepreneurial approach can be all that's necessary to push one over the top. Using the Thomas Edison quote "I haven't failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work," as her benchmark, Akbari explains that behind any notable success stretches a long trail of trial and error. Illuminating stories about business giants such as Ralph Lauren, Instagram, Netflix, and Zappos illustrate the constructive tips covered in each chapter. As an added bonus, the author rounds out each chapter with usable snippets of wisdom. Though the book is expressly aimed at readers wishing to improve their personal lives, many of Akbari's ideas are business-specific. It's doubtful, for instance, that advice such as developing a website presence could be applied to someone struggling to build healthier eating habits. That said, budding entrepreneurs should benefit greatly from Akbari's sound guidance. Agent: Kirsten Neubaus, Foundry Literary + Media. (Dec.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Startup Your Life: Hustle and Hack Your Way to Happiness." Publishers Weekly, 17 Oct. 2016, p. 61+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA468700063&it=r&asid=556ae077b01b35851c7ed6a53931c2b8. Accessed 21 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A468700063
QUOTED: "Most of the advice that the author shares is directly applicable to a business venture, and so are the examples shared in the book. But the most important message here is take control,but be ready to fail and experiment."
"The book is generating gradual interest and most rate it as above average."
Startup Your Life | Review, Summary | Anna Akbari
December 20, 2016 by Prasanna Bidkar Leave a Comment
There is no secret, concrete formula to happiness. We have been told this multiple times by many authors and philosophers. And yet, we keep harping on setting goals and trying to reach these specific goals to feel happy. In Startup Your Life, sociologist Anna Akbari asks her readers to bring the enthusiasm and flexibility of Silicon Valley startups to live a life that is happy and exciting. She asks her readers to live their lives like an experiment and revel in these experiments.
Anna Akbari is a sociologist, writer, and entrepreneur. She holds a PhD in sociology and has taught at NYU and Parsons. She regularly writes for The Atlantic, CNN, Time, The Financial Times, and New York Observer and more.
Startup Your Life: Hustle and Hack Your Way to Happiness
startup your life
Author: Anna Akbari
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (December 27, 2016)
ISBN: 1250099161, 978-1250099167
Read Sample Pages
Startup Your Life Summary and Review
The author begins with an introduction to her past experiences and the challenges she faced as someone who entered the professional world in the worst possible times. A time when her advanced degree didn’t mean much as every industry was grappling to stay afloat. But this time of uncertainty forced many to think of going the freelance way and become an entrepreneur.
The author shows how her past experience with small entrepreneurial ventures helped her adapt to the changing world. This is when she realized that she can use the same principles to bootstrap her life and bring the same energy to be happy and feel fulfilled.
The initial chapters in the book give you the mental framework you need to think like an entrepreneur. Treat you life as a business venture and bring the agility of a Startup to your daily problems. The core of this advice is to not label every battle as a win or loss. Her advise is to focus on one thing, strip away the superfluous, change variables and keep experimenting until you get what works, and then move on to the next problem.
In Chapter 3, Outsmart Dumb Luck: Experiment-Driven Decision Making, she asks you to think like a researcher. If there is one other population that is as resilient as an entrepreneur, it the researchers in academia and real world. Find the most probable solution that can work and experiment. If it works, more to the next level, if not, try the next. There is a good chance that you might find something new in the process.
In the later chapters, the author delves into specific areas of life such as relationships, and how you can reinvent your image to make an impression in professional and personal spheres of your life.
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Most of the advice that the author shares is directly applicable to a business venture, and so are the examples shared in the book. But the most important message here is take control,but be ready to fail and experiment. And as the author says,
“The road may be bumpy, but the ride is infinitely more enjoyable.”
Startup Your Life Review
The book is generating gradual interest and most rate it as above average. Publisher’s Weekly thinks the advice is mostly suitable for business related concepts and that readers will have to work to translate it to other areas.