ReBoot: My Five Life-Changing Mistakes and How I Have Moved On

by Julie Wainwright and Angela Mohan

ReBoot chronicles the rise, fall and rebirth of one of the most prominent CEOs during the dotcom bubble, Julie Wainwright. As CEO of Pets.com, she found herself in every major newspaper and on every television channel just as her marriage was crumbling. She struggled to get back to normal, but never made it. What happened transformed her life in unimaginable ways. If you have ever failed, need some inspiration or just some sound practical advice,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1439232555
• ISBN13: 9781439232552
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing
• Length: 94 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 0.2" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Inspirational and open

This book is short but just fantastic-- it's a brief look at Julie Wainwright's ups and downs in the Internet biz, and how those dovetail with what was going on in her personal life (the collapse of [...] and her marriage happened all on the same day... crazy). In the book, she walks you through her childhood (the "casserole rating system" is pretty funny), fast-forwards to her experience in the original Internet boom and subsequent bust, and how she rose from the ashes. It's pretty personal and revealing; Julie lays it all out there. I found her voice to be extremely honest and authentic, and ultimately, the book's pretty inspirational.

Great Book to Lift You Up

Only 79 pages, but a great read. Will inspire you. If you're in the dumps - lost your job, failed startup, etc. - this book will help you see some of the mistakes you may be making that keep you down. Enjoy.

Big things from a small package!

I read Re-Boot in an afternoon using the Kindle reader on my iPhone. My only disappointment was how quickly it ended! But there's a whole lot of good stuff in this little book. One of the most visible players in the early days of the revolution in Internet commerce, Wainwright tells a story that hasn't previously been told properly. And then, after baring her deepest scars resulting from the crash, she steps right up and tells us how she fixed the problems! Her conversational writing style and vividly descriptive prose made me feel like I was right there with her while it was happening, and her plain-spoken description of her home-grown remedies had me stopped cold more than once. If you were gonna read a magazine or a newspaper this afternoon, get this book instead. Put it on your iPhone. You'll blaze through it, and be really happy that you did.

Julie, you are an inspiration

Julie Wainwright has a lot of courage to write this book, and anyone who reads it will be better off for her having done so. She is an amazing role model of success through adversity, of driving and striving. Yet, instead of this being a 'rags to riches' story, she takes us deep into the worst days of failure, how it almost destroyed her love of life, and how she rose through it to find happiness again. This book is for anyone who has ever faced a personal or professional failure and thought "how on earth am I going to even get out of bed today?" Thank you Julie!

Smart, inSightful & Successful Saga

Julie Wainwright's "Reboot: My Five Life--Changing Mistakes..and How I Moved On"" is an inspiring personal journey by a remarkable Internet pioneer,devoted daughter and innovative business women. It should be "required reading" for all college freshmen about the importance of mistakes and failure as part of being human and learning from them is Divine wisdom. Ms.Wainwright shares her personal and professional struggles with building a worldwide "media success" as CEO of Pets.com with its remarkable "behind the headlines" accounts into the company's triumphs, public testimonies and trials of the human spirit. Ms.Wainwright provides the reader with poignant details and insights behind one of the dot.com "icons" and her personal battle with its growth, business success and ultimate demise---- simultaneously as her marriage ends and her courage in dealing with depression and moving on with her life. Equally inspirational to the reader is her role as the oldest child/daughter and serving since eight years old as "Childhood Co-CEO" with her father in managing her younger siblings, the household and family growth. Her witty account of the family's "Casserole Grade Rating System" of neighbors helping to cook meals (mostly casseroles)during her mother illness is hilarious and a classic. Ms. Wainwright gives her audience special entry into her thoughts about her mother's decades battle with MS and her last days in a hospital bed full of pain, struggle and even some end of life humor. It will leave with tears of pain and joy. "ReBoot" is a quick and must read for anyone who is looking for a potential "blueprint" for achieving real inner happiness, peace and joy from someone who has "moved on" from her "mistakes". Each person defining who they are--- is a key take away from this book and not letting others do it for us whether in business, our family, our communities or our own life. We must define ourselves to grow, move on and thrive. I plan to share "ReBoot" with everyone I know especially, my 21 year old daughter in college, 18 year old son in high school and one day my 4 year son in pre-school on how it isn't what life brings at you, both the good and the bad, but how you react to it that ultimately really matters. I look forward to reading Ms.Wainwright's next book or that will document her sequel "www.SmartNow.com: Version 2.0" as she re-bootstraps her new start-up someday in the future and being inspired again.