Reading list: the books for what you are building
Tell us your business model, industry and stage, or how you invest, and get the books worth your time, picked from 30,000 on building and backing companies. Chosen by ratings and what they are about.
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643 books written by investors and founders
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Change your answersFounder · Seed · Better decisions
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ShortlistThe best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
The best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
- 1
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman · 2011
4.16616,355 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisionsCompany building
About the book
In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more…
- 2
Smart Choices
A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions
John S. Hammond · 1998
4.016,527 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisionsCompany building
About the book
Where should I live? Is it time to switch careers? What is the best course of action for me? Decisions shape our experiences, from choosing which job offer to accept, to buying the right car, to selecting a good accountant. How do we know which choice is the…
- 3
Forecasting
principles and practice
Rob J. Hyndman · 2013
4.39319 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisionsCompany building
About the book
Forecasting is required in many situations. Deciding whether to build another power generation plant in the next five years requires forecasts of future demand. Scheduling staff in a call centre next week requires forecasts of call volumes. Stocking an…
- 4
Super Thinking
The Big Book of Mental Models
Gabriel Weinberg · 2019
4.022,684 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisionsCompany building
About the book
A Wall Street Journal Bestseller! "You can't really know anything if you just remember isolated facts. If the facts don't hang together on a latticework of theory, you don't have them in a usable form. You've got to have models in your head." - Charlie…
- 5
You're About to Make a Terrible Mistake
How Biases Distort Decision-Making and What You Can Do to Fight Them
Olivier Sibony · 2019
4.04747 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisionsCompany building
About the book
Discover nine common business decision-making traps -- and learn practical tools for avoiding them -- in this "masterful," research-based guide from a professor of strategic thinking. (Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking, Fast and Slow) We all make decisions…
- 6
The managerial decision-making process
E. Frank Harrison · 1975
45 Open Library reading lists
Judgement and decisions
- 7
Superforecasting
The Art and Science of Prediction
Philip E. Tetlock · 2015
4.0823,055 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisionsCompany building
About the book
Everyone would benefit from seeing further into the future, whether buying stocks, crafting policy, launching a new product, or simply planning the week’s meals. Unfortunately, people tend to be terrible forecasters. As Wharton professor Philip Tetlock showed…
- 8
Radical Uncertainty
Decision-Making Beyond the Numbers
John Kay · 2020
3.861,074 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisionsCompany building
About the book
Some uncertainties are resolvable. The insurance industry’s actuarial tables and the gambler’s roulette wheel both yield to the tools of probability theory. Most situations in life, however, involve a deeper kind of uncertainty, a radical uncertainty for…
The books most about better decisions.
- 1
The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making
Scott Plous · 1993
4.17674 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisions
About the book
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF JUDGMENT AND DECISION MAKING offers a comprehensive introduction to the field with a strong focus on the social aspects of decision making processes. Winner of the prestigious William James Book Award, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF JUDGMENT AND DECISION…
- 2
Design for Cognitive Bias
David Dylan Thomas · 2020
4.40230 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisions
About the book
We humans are messy, illogical creatures who like to imagine we’re in control, but we blithely let our biases lead us astray. In Design for Cognitive Bias, David Dylan Thomas lays bare the irrational forces that shape our everyday decisions and, inevitably,…
- 3
The Uncertainty Solution
How to Invest with Confidence in the Face of the Unknown
John M. Jennings · 2023
4.45250 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisions
About the book
A better approach to investingThis is not a typical investment book. It is an experiential guide on cultivating the mindset and behavior necessary to weather inherently uncertain and unpredictable markets. It doesn’t just tell you how to invest but how to…
- 4
Streetlights and Shadows
Searching for the Keys to Adaptive Decision Making
Gary Klein · 2009
4.27328 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisions
About the book
In making decisions, when should we go with our gut and when should we try to analyze every option? When should we use our intuition and when should we rely on logic and statistics? Most of us would probably agree that for important decisions, we should…
- 5
Judgment In Managerial Decision Making
Max H. Bazerman · 1986
3.97549 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisions
About the book
Is your judgment influenced by personal biases? In situations requiring careful judgment, we're all influenced by our own biases to some extent. But, with Max Bazerman's Judgment in Managerial Decision Making, Sixth Edition, you can learn how to overcome…
- 6
Your Survival Instinct Is Killing You
Retrain Your Brain to Conquer Fear, Make Better Decisions, and Thrive in the 21s t Century
Marc Schoen · 2013
3.77564 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisions
About the book
Thanks to technology, we live in a world that’s much more comfortable than ever before. But here’s the paradox: our tolerance for discomfort is at an all-time low. And as we wrestle with a sinking “discomfort threshold,” we increasingly find ourselves at the…
- 7
The Financial Diaries
How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty
Jonathan Morduch · 2017
3.90446 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisions
About the book
What the financial diaries of working-class families reveal about economic stresses, why they happen, and what policies might reduce them Deep within the American Dream lies the belief that hard work and steady saving will ensure a comfortable retirement…
- 8
Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes And How To Correct Them
Lessons From The New Science Of Behavioral Economics
Gary Belsky · 1999
3.961,587 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisions
About the book
Why do so many otherwise smart people make foolish financial choices? Why do investors sell stocks just before they skyrocket -- and cling to others as they plummer? Why do shoppers overspend when using credit cards rather than cash? What do our habits of…
What founders at seed need most: company building, finding product-market fit, raising money, first sales, marketing and growth.
- 1
The Elements of User Experience
User-Centered Design for the Web
Jesse James Garrett · 2002
4.014,134 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
Smart organizations recognize that Web design is more than just creating clean code and sharp graphics. A site that really works fulfills your strategic objectives while meeting the needs of your users. Even the best content and the most sophisticated…
- 2
Get Backed
Craft Your Story, Build the Perfect Pitch Deck, and Launch the Venture of Your Dreams
Evan Baehr · 2015
4.36356 ratings · Goodreads
Raising moneyCompany building
About the book
HOW DO YOU LAUNCH THE VENTURE OF YOUR DREAMS? Get Backed isn’t just about startup fundraising. It’s a handbook for anyone who has an idea and needs to build relationships to get it off the ground. Over the last 3 years, entrepreneurs Evan Loomis and…
- 3
Achieving Excellence in Fundraising + Website
Eugene R. Tempel · 2003
4.02249 ratings · Goodreads
Raising moneyCompany building
About the book
The third edition of this acclaimed resource, Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, explains the fundraising profession's major principles, concepts, and techniques. With contributions from noted experts in the field, and filled with illustrative examples,…
- 4
Selling the Invisible
A Field Guide to Modern Marketing
Harry Beckwith · 1997
3.9410,059 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthFirst salesCompany building
About the book
You can't touch, hear, or see your company's most important products... So how do you sell, develop, make them grow? That's the problem with services. This "phenomenal" book, as one reviewer called it, answers that question with insights on how markets work…
- 5
80/20 Sales and Marketing
The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More
Perry Marshall · 2013
4.191,904 ratings · Goodreads
First salesMarketing and growthCompany building
About the book
Stop "Just Getting By" ... Master The 80/20 Principle And Make More Money Without More Work. When you know how to walk into any situation and see the 80/20's, you can solve almost ANY marketing problem. 80/20 can demolish any sales and advertising problem.…
- 6
A Project Guide to UX Design
For User Experience Designers in the Field or in the Making
Russ Unger · 2009
3.871,774 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
“If you are a young designer entering or contemplating entering the UX field this is a canonical book. If you are an organization that really needs to start grokking UX this book is also for you. " -- Chris Bernard, User Experience Evangelist, Microsoft User…
- 7
Risky is the New Safe
The Rules Have Changed . . .
Randy Gage · 2012
3.86348 ratings · Goodreads
Raising moneyCompany building
About the book
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and #1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER Risky Is the New Safe is a different kind of book for a different kind of thinking--a thought-provoking manifesto for risk takers. It will challenge you to think laterally, question…
- 8
Solving Product Design Exercises
Questions & Answers
Artiom Dashinsky · 2018
4.30675 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
Practice your product design and UX skills. Prepare for your next job interview. "Redesign the NYC metrocard system. Design a dashboard for a general practitioner. Redesign an ATM". Learn how to solve and present exercises like these, that top startups…
Leading and managing a team as the company grows.
- 1
The New One Minute Manager
Kenneth H. Blanchard · 1981
3.95148,444 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
For decades, The One Minute Manager® has helped millions achieve more successful professional and personal lives. While the principles it lays out are timeless, our world has changed drastically since the book’s publication. The exponential rise of…
- 2
Built to Last
Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
Jim Collins · 1994
4.0687,169 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
"This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important,…
- 3
The Goal
A Process of Ongoing Improvement
Eliyahu M. Goldratt · 2004
4.0786,160 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Written in a fast-paced thriller style, The Goal, a gripping novel, is transforming management thinking throughout the world. It is a book to recommend to your friends in industry - even to your bosses - but not to your competitors. Alex Rogo is a harried…
- 4
Creativity, Inc.
Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
Ed Catmull · 2014
4.20105,625 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
“What does it mean to manage well?” From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business, sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath.…
- 5
Leading with the Heart
Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life
Mike Krzyzewski · 2000
4.204,239 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
In this informative and inspirational book, Coach K, Duke University's head basketball coach, tells readers how he coaxes peak performances from his team, relying on lessons he learned as a captain in the U.S. Army. Duke University's head basketball coach…
- 6
The 360 Degree Leader
Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization
John C. Maxwell · 2005
4.158,377 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Don't wait for that promotion! Start leading NOW... right where you are! What's the number one question leadership expert John C. Maxwell is asked while conducting his leadership conferences? "How can I implement what you teach when I'm not the top leader?"…
- 7
Inspired
How to Create Tech Products Customers Love
Marty Cagan · 2008
4.2226,350 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Learn to design, build, and scale products consumers can't get enough of How do today's most successful tech companies–Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Tesla–design, develop, and deploy the products that have earned the love of literally billions of…
- 8
The Phoenix Project
A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win
Gene Kim · 2013
4.2551,320 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Bill is an IT manager at Parts Unlimited. It's Tuesday morning and on his drive into the office, Bill gets a call from the CEO. The company's new IT initiative, code named Phoenix Project, is critical to the future of Parts Unlimited, but the project is…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
Vermilion Strong Ground.
Brené Brown · 2025
4.156,637 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisionsCompany building
About the book
Brené Brown returns with an urgent call to reimagine the essentials of courageous leadership. In a time when uncertainty runs deep and bluster, hubris, and even cruelty are increasingly framed as acceptable leadership, Brown delivers practical, actionable…
- 2
How Big Things Get Done
The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between
Bent Flyvbjerg · 2023
4.2710,670 ratings · Goodreads
Judgement and decisionsCompany building
About the book
The secrets to successfully planning and delivering projects on any scale, from home renovation to space exploration, by the world’s leading expert on megaprojects “This book is important, timely, instructive, and entertaining. What more could you ask…
- 3
Simple Marketing For Smart People
The One Question You Need to Win Customers without Gimmicks, Hype, or Hard Selling
Billy Broas · 2024
4.35305 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthFirst salesCompany building
About the book
Why do so many smart people struggle with marketing? The answer is smart people love complexity, and complexity brews problems. Does your marketing feel like it has way too many moving parts? If so, Simple Marketing for Smart People is the solution you’ve…
- 4
Personal Branding for Introverts
Goldie Chan · 2025
4.41211 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthCompany building
About the book
A top expert in personal branding shows introverts how to leverage their unique strengths to get ahead To build a career, you need a personal brand to showcase your distinct skills, experience, and expertise. Building that brand can feel…
- 5
Lean Marketing
More Leads. More Profit. Less Marketing.
Allan Dib · 2024
4.31452 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthCompany building
About the book
Bigger Results with Less Marketing You keep being told to do more marketing―more complex, more aggressive, and more expensive marketing. Chasing the latest bright, shiny object is exhausting. Increased efforts keep leading to disappointment. The overwhelm…
- 6
- 7
The Pricing Roadmap
How to Design B2B SaaS Pricing Models That Your Customers Will Love
Ulrik Lehrskov-Schmidt · 2023
4.43207 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
"The definitive resource on SaaS pricing, I absolutely can not recommend this book enough." Viktor Heide, COO of Contractbook.com, Forbes "30 under 30" A foolproof method to achieve skyrocketing sales, growth, and profits for your software as a service…
- 8
Little Bosses Everywhere
How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America
Bridget Read · 2025
3.965,793 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
A groundbreaking work of history and reportage that unveils the stranger-than-fiction world of multilevel marketing, from the shadowy cabals at the top to the strivers at the bottom, whose deferred dreams churn a massive money-making scam that has remade…
How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.
- 1
The Elon Musk Blog Series
Wait But Why
Tim Urban · 2016
4.701,837 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
In 2015, Elon Musk reached out to blogger Tim Urban and asked him if he'd take a crack at explaining Elon's endeavors, and the industries surrounding them, to the world. Tim accepted, and after extensive meetings with Elon and his staff, he wrote four blog…
- 2
Never Die Easy
The Autobiography of Walter Payton
Walter Payton · 2000
4.231,581 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
"Never die easy. Why run out of bounds and die easy? Make that linebacker pay. It carries into all facets of your life. It's okay to lose, to die, but don't die without trying, without giving it your best." His legacy is towering. Walter Payton, the man they…
- 3
Elon Musk
Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
Ashlee Vance · 2015
4.12456,221 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in…
- 4
Disney High
The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire
Ashley Spencer · 2024
3.949,197 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
The first unauthorized look at the inner workings―and ultimate breakdown―of the Disney Channel machine For many kids growing up in the 2000s, there was no cultural touchstone more powerful than Disney Channel, the most-watched cable channel in prime time…
- 5
Steve Jobs
Walter Isaacson · 2011
4.161,391,990 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
Walter Isaacson's worldwide bestselling biography of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs. Based on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs conducted over two years--as well as interviews with more than 100 family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and…
- 6
Sam Walton
Made in America
Sam Walton · 1992
4.1527,178 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
As Sam Walton himself said, this is "...a story about entrepreneurship, and risk, and hard work, and knowing where you want to go and being willing to do what it takes to get there. And it's a story about believing in your idea even when maybe some other…
- 7
Shoe Dog
A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Phil Knight · 2016
4.45389,310 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable…
- 8
The Power Broker
Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Robert A. Caro · 1974
4.5329,550 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • A modern American classic, this huge and galvanizing biography of Robert Moses reveals not only the saga of one man’s incredible accumulation of power but the story of his shaping (and mis-shaping) of twentieth-century New York. One of…
What founders at seed keep coming back to, if you have not read them yet.
- 1
Crossing the Chasm
Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers
Geoffrey A. Moore · 2002
4.0332,109 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthCompany buildingFirst sales
About the book
Here is the bestselling guide that created a new game plan for marketing in high-tech industries. Crossing the Chasm has become the bible for bringing cutting-edge products to progressively larger markets. This edition provides new insights into the realities…
- 2
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
Violate Them at Your Own Risk
Al Ries · 1993
4.0522,738 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthCompany building
About the book
There are laws of nature, so why shouldn't there be laws of marketing? As Al Ries and Jack Trout, the world-renowned marketing consultants and bestselling authors of Positioning, note, you can build an impressive airplane, but it will never leave the ground if…
- 3
Building A Story Brand
Donald Miller · 2017
4.2726,500 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthCompany building
About the book
New York Times bestselling author Donald Miller uses the seven universal elements of powerful stories to teach readers how to dramatically improve how they connect with customers and grow their businesses. Donald Miller’s StoryBrand process is a proven…
- 4
The Think and Grow Rich Success Journal
Napoleon Hill · 1937
4.16388,753 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
For the millions of readers of Napoleon Hill's classic bestseller Think and Grow Rich comes this inspiring journal-the ultimate way to add riches and success into their lives. Designed to be used in conjunction with Hill's original classic, The Think and…
- 5
No Logo
Naomi Klein · 2000
3.9033,309 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
With a new Afterword to the 2002 edition, No Logo employs journalistic savvy and personal testament to detail the insidious practices and far-reaching effects of corporate marketing, and the powerful potential of a growing activist sect that will surely alter…
- 6
The Power of Habit
Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Charles Duhigg · 2012
4.13576,931 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
In "The Power of Habit", award-winning "New York Times" business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. With penetrating intelligence and an ability to…
- 7
The Lean Startup
Eric Ries · 2011
4.11374,139 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
Most new businesses fail. But most of those failures are preventable.The Lean Startup is a new approach to business that's being adopted around the world. It is changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. Essential reading for any…
- 8
The Long Tail
Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More
Chris Anderson · 2006
3.8330,263 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingFirst sales
About the book
The New York Times bestseller that introduced the business world to a future that s already here -- now in paperback with a new chapter about Long Tail Marketing and a new epilogue. Winner of the Gerald Loeb Award for Best Business Book of the Year. In…
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From the record
Written by the people who write the cheques
Books by investors and founders we hold records for. The author links to what they have done, not just what they wrote.
The Lean Startupby Eric Ries, Eric Ries2011 · 4.11★L
Lean Inby Sheryl Sandberg, Meta2013 · 3.94★T
The Hard Thing About Hard Thingsby Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz2014 · 4.19★D
Delivering Happinessby Tony Hsieh, Tony Hsieh2000 · 4.04★#
#Girlbossby Sophia Amoruso2014 · 3.64★T
The One Thingby Gary Keller, Pocketchange Investments2012 · 4.12★P
Principlesby Ray Dalio2017 · 4.09★Read what the people you are pitching read.
Every investor and founder on our records links to their books and the podcasts they are on.