Review of Involuntary Reroute

[Lizzie Mustard]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Involuntary Reroute" by Robert Laney.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Involuntary Reroute!!! is an entertaining and informative read. It is about the rise and fall of a travel agency that was created by the author in partnership with his mother. Robert Laney is a great storyteller and this book is compulsive reading. He describes the highs and lows of running a ticketing business in the 1980s and 1990s. He exploited legal loopholes in airline ticket selling that enabled him to offer cut price seats. The bargain tickets sold like hot cakes and his company achieved a multi-million-dollar valuation before he was 30 years old.
The business model was based on Robert’s belief that airlines inflate the price of their first-class seats. It was an open secret in the travel trade that premium seats were heavily discounted for insiders. The author used this knowledge to offer cheap seats to investors in his fledgling company. All went well until some of his contacts decided to fight back and legal fees and mounting unpaid bills destabilized his scheme. The final nail in the coffin for the business was the rise of direct online customer booking and price comparison websites.
This book is a great read both as an insight into the entrepreneurial mindset as well as a case study into what can go wrong in commerce. I like the way the author admits to the errors of judgement he made on his business journey. There are some useful lessons here for business students hoping to follow in his footsteps. Mr. Laney made full use of his personal and professional contacts as he built his company. Networking and selling yourself are key parts of becoming a successful entrepreneur. However, he also believes that if you have a genuinely pioneering idea, sometimes you just have to go for it and hope for the best. He admits that overoptimism is his Achilles heel.
The book is written in a witty conversational style and is well edited. It is a page-turner from start to finish. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

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Involuntary Reroute
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