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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Atomic HabitsJames Clear · 4.31★FreakonomicsSteven D. Levitt · 4.01★The Tipping PointMalcolm Gladwell · 4.01★Rich Dad Poor DadRobert T. Kiyosaki · 4.08★BlinkMalcolm Gladwell · 3.96★Thinking, Fast and SlowDaniel Kahneman · 4.16★The Art of WarSun Tzu · 3.94★
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The best matches for everything you told us, ranked.

  • 1

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 2

    80/20 Sales and Marketing

    The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More

    Perry Marshall · 2013

    4.191,904 ratings · Goodreads

    Marketing and growthFirst salesCompany 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.…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 3

    Strategic marketing for educational institutions

    Philip Kotler · 1985

    81 Open Library reading lists

    Marketing and growth

    About the book

    Here is the handbook for academics and practitioners who want to understand what marketing is, how it can contribute to their institutions' greater effectiveness, and how to do it. This revised edition, like its predecessor, provides a solid background in…

    On AmazonAudibleOpen Library

  • 4

    Go for No! for Network Marketing

    Richard Fenton · 2017

    4.44312 ratings · Goodreads

    Marketing and growthCompany buildingFirst sales

    About the book

    The perfect companion book for anyone in direct sales or network marketingFenton and Waltz, authors of the best-selling book, Go for No! and Ray Higdon, founder of one of the fastest growing network marketing training companies today, have teamed up to create…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 5

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 6

    Copywriting Secrets

    Jim Edwards · 2019

    4.311,193 ratings · Goodreads

    Marketing and growthCompany buildingFirst sales

    About the book

    What if you could sell anything to anyone? Nobody is born knowing how to sell. But the truth is, you can learn how to sell more . . . a LOT more . . . when you discover the right words that make people buy. Copywriting is selling. Whether online,…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 7

    The 1-Page Marketing Plan

    Get New Customers, Make More Money, And Stand out From The Crowd

    Allan Dib · 2016

    4.3211,134 ratings · Goodreads

    Marketing and growthCompany building

    About the book

    Do Not Read This Book If You Hate Money To build a successful business, you need to stop doing random acts of marketing and start following a reliable plan for rapid business growth. Traditionally, creating a marketing plan has been a difficult and…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 8

    Go Pro - 7 Steps to Becoming a Network Marketing Professional

    Eric Worre · 2013

    4.258,886 ratings · Goodreads

    Marketing and growthCompany building

    About the book

    Over twenty years ago at a company convention, Eric Worre had an aha moment that changed his life forever. At that event he made the decision to Go Pro and become a Network Marketing expert. Since that time, he has focused on developing the skills to do just…

    On AmazonAudible

The books most about marketing and growth.

  • 1

    Basic marketing research

    Naresh K. Malhotra, Naresh Malhotra · 2001

    29 Open Library reading lists

    Marketing and growth

    On AmazonAudibleOpen Library

  • 2

    Ogilvy on Advertising

    David Ogilvy · 1983

    4.1511,960 ratings · Goodreads

    Marketing and growth

    About the book

    A candid and indispensable primer on all aspects of advertising from the man  Time  has called "the most sought after wizard in the business." Told with brutal candor and prodigal generosity, David Ogilvy • How to get a job in advertising • How to choose…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 3

    Principles of Marketing

    Philip Kotler · 1980

    4.093,123 ratings · Goodreads

    Marketing and growth

    About the book

    The 11 th edition of this popular text continues to build on four major marketing building and managing profitable customer relationships, building and managing strong brands to create brand equity, harnessing new marketing technologies in the digital age,…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 4

    Breakthrough Advertising

    Eugene M. Schwartz · 1966

    4.551,160 ratings · Goodreads

    Marketing and growth

    About the book

    This is not a book just for copywriters and other advertising experts but a book for every business owner, marketing expert or anyone who needs to increase sales. The reason why is because it deals with how to channel the forces in the marketplace which…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 5

    Basic Marketing Case Book

    E. Jerome McCarthy, Stanley J. Shapiro · 1960

    30 Open Library reading lists

    Marketing and growth

    On AmazonAudibleOpen Library

  • 6

    SEO 2014

    Learn Search Engine Optimization with Smart Internet Marketing Strategies

    Adam Clarke · 2014

    4.121,161 ratings · Goodreads

    Marketing and growth

    About the book

    No matter what your background is, SEO 2014 will walk you through search engine optimization techniques I've used to grow countless companies online and show you how to rank high in Google. But first, let me tell you a little secret about SEO marketing...…

    On AmazonAudible

Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.

  • 1

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 2

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 3

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 4

    Brand It Like Serhant

    Stand Out From the Crowd, Build Your Following, and Earn More Money

    Ryan Serhant · 2024

    3.95275 ratings · Goodreads

    Marketing and growthCompany building

    About the book

    Bestselling author and real estate, television, and media icon Ryan Serhant shares his proven, three-step strategy to build your brand from scratch Brand is everything. Whether you’re a real estate broker, a hair stylist, or a freelance contractor, your end…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 5

    Little Bosses Everywhere

    How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America

    Bridget Read · 2025

    3.965,793 ratings · Goodreads

    Marketing and growthCompany building

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 6

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.

  • 1

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 2

    Personal History

    A Memoir

    Katharine Graham · 1997

    4.0925,181 ratings · Goodreads

    Founder stories

    About the book

    Madrid. 22 cm. 557 p. Encuadernación en tapa blanda de editorial ilustrada. Graham, Katharine 1917-2001. Traducción de María Luisa Rodríguez Tapia y José Manuel Calvo Roy. Título Personal history .. Este libro es de segunda mano y tiene o puede tener marcas…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 3

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 4

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 5

    Bitter Brew

    The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer

    William Knoedelseder · 2012

    4.056,011 ratings · Goodreads

    Founder storiesCompany building

    About the book

    “Bitter Brew deftly chronicles the contentious succession of kings in a uniquely American dynasty. You’ll never crack open a six again without thinking of this book.”, John Sayles, Director of Eight Men Out and author of A Moment in the Sun The creators of…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 6

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 2

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 3

    Inspired

    How to Create Tech Products Customers Love

    Marty Cagan · 2008

    4.2226,350 ratings · Goodreads

    Company buildingFinding product-market fit

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 4

    To Sell is Human

    The Surprising Truth About Moving Others

    Daniel H. Pink · 2012

    3.8726,914 ratings · Goodreads

    Company buildingFirst sales

    About the book

    From the bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind comes a surprising--and surprisingly useful--new book that explores the power of selling in our lives.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. Every day…

    On AmazonAudible

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From the record

Written by the people who write the cheques

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