The Messy Middle

Creating something from nothing is a volatile journey. The first mile births a new idea into existence, and the final mile is all about letting go. We love talking about starts and finishes, even though the middle stretch is the most important and often the most ignored and misunderstood.

Every business or creative project is "going great" until it fails--the bumps along the road are endured in isolation. We don't talk about the middle because we're not proud of the turbulence of our own making and the actions we took out of despair. This book sets out to change that.

Belsky draws on his experiences building Behance, selling it to and leading product teams at Adobe, and then working as an investor and advisor with companies like Airbnb, Pinterest, Uber, and sweetgreen to distill seven years' worth of vital insights at every stage of building a business. He features examples from some of the most interesting people and teams, from entrepreneurs to writers, from small start-ups to billion-dollar companies transforming their industries.

These essential strategies for enduring and optimizing the middle miles will bolster your confidence and fortify your plans to make you Maximize the Middle.