About:
Join us as Tulane Professor Rob Lalka sits down with Tim Williamson to give us a sneak peek of his debut book, The Venture Alchemists: How Big Tech Turned Profits Into Power. Rob will share stories, answer questions from the audience, and sign the very first copies of his book!
And exciting news: Garden District Books will be on-site selling copies, so you'll have the exclusive opportunity to purchase the book before its official release on May 14th!"
The Venture Alchemists: How Big Tech Turned Profits Into Power has received rave reviews as a "masterfully researched book" (Walter Isaacson), "a unique and searing perspective on the growth-at-all-costs mindset that fueled the tech industry" (Jonathan Greenblatt), and "a provocative, deeply researched book that is frankly jaw-dropping in places" (Anne-Marie Slaughter).
Publication date is May 14, but the book has already gained significant interest from the public; in recent weeks, it has been the #1 New Release in both Venture Capital and Business Ethics on Amazon. Kirkus Reviews called it “An impressive work of research and intellectual reflection," adding this praise: “The body of work addressing this subject now seems inexhaustible, but this book must count as among its most clear-eyed, well researched, and morally uncompromising examples.”
Rob spent over four years with leaked documents and previously unpublished archival material during his research for this book. The revelations in these pages will shed new light on the tech industry and the entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who have gained immense wealth and power over the last two decades. Ultimately, this book tells the stories we need to know right now: "Lalka traces the ambitions, adversities, and compromises that transformed young innovators into billionaires" (Isaacson), leading to "fuel for debates this country simply has to have" (Slaughter).
BOOK OVERVIEW
We once idolized tech entrepreneurs for creating innovations that seemed like modern miracles. Yet our faith has been shattered. We now blame them for spreading lies, breaking laws, and causing chaos. Yesterday’s Silicon Valley darlings have become today’s Big Tech villains. Which is it? Are they superheroes or scoundrels? Or is it more complicated, some blend of both?
In The Venture Alchemists, Rob Lalka demystifies how tech entrepreneurs built empires that made trillions. Meta started as a cruel Halloween prank, Alphabet began as a master’s thesis that warned against corporate deception, and Palantir came from a campus controversy over hateful speech. These largely forgotten origin stories show how ordinary fears and youthful ambitions shaped their ventures—making each tech tale relatable, both wonderfully and tragically human. Readers learn about the adversities tech entrepreneurs overcame, the troubling tradeoffs they made, and the tremendous power they now wield. Using leaked documents and previously unpublished archival material, Lalka takes readers inside Big Tech’s worst exploitations and abuses, alongside many good intentions and moral compromises.
But this story remains unfinished, and The Venture Alchemists ultimately offers hope from the people who, decades ago, warned about the risks of the emerging Internet. Their insights illuminate a path toward more responsible innovations, so that technologies aren’t dangerous weapons but valuable tools that ensure progress, improve society, and enhance our daily lives.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rob Lalka is the Albert R. Lepage Professor in Business and executive director of the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Tulane University. He is on the board of directors of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Public Democracy, Inc., and Venture For America in New Orleans. Previously, he served on the U.S. Secretary of State’s policy planning staff and in the State Department’s Office of Global Partnerships, was a director at Village Capital, and was a senior advisor at the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.