Get Rich or Lie Trying

Well-researched, quietly polemic * The Sunday Times *
Brown's skill as a reporter - his curiosity about why people do what they do, his conviction that their reasons for doing so are worth exploring, and his ability to faithfully tell their stories - makes his a starkly original inquiry. * Times Literary Supplement *
Meticulously researched * New Statesman *
A rigorous and riveting deep-dive into the influencer ecosystem - brimming with critical analysis but executed with the lightest touch. * Pandora Sykes *
'[A] well-researched polemic... Brown's book is wonderfully expansive... The book's strength is its forensic examination of power and economic structures' * The i *
Entertaining * The Economist *
Fantastic and one of the first to try and really figure out how a deterioration of material conditions for young people has resulted in a hyper individualistic and cynical influencer economy built on deception * Hussein Kesvani *
A welcome balance of curiosity, compassion and intellect * Irish Indepedent *
The first serious attempt to expose the hidden darker side of the economy of influencing * Financial Times *
A new cutting exposé * Dazed *
The modern influencer model starts to feel more like a scam or a pyramid scheme than a system rewarding aspiration and 'hard work'. In his new book, Get Rich or Lie Trying: Ambition and Deceit in the New Influencer Economy, journalist and author Symeon Brown gets to the heart of this murky world * Huck *
A compelling read. It had my whole household talking! * Reni Eddo Lodge, bestselling author of Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race *
Symeon Brown is one of Britain's foremost thinkers. * Yomi Adegoke, Author of Slay In Your Lane and Vogue Columnist *

A monumental and overdue interrogation of the winners and losers of modern influencer and hustle culture. It is rigorously researched and written with both sincerity and a great deal of empathy.

* Jason Okundaye, Writer & Columnist *
Highly original and thoroughly entertaining. A deliciously well written deep dive into the smoke and mirror filled multi-billion-dollar world of influencer culture and 'business'. * Nels Abbey, author of Think Like A White Man *
Symeon is a vital new literary voice. This is essential reading., combining investigative journalism with a deep knowledge of popular culture and astute analysis of late-stage capitalism. * Emma Dabiri, Author of What White People Can Do Next *
Doggedly reported and packed with outrageous anecdotes, this is a persuasive argument that 21st-century influencers are nothing more than 19th-century snake oil salesmen reincarnated * Publishers Weekly *