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 · Hiring and culture
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ShortlistThe best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
The best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
- 1
The Culture Code
An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Live and Buy as They Do
Clotaire Rapaille · 2006
3.943,903 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
Why are people around the world so very different? What makes us live, buy, even love as we do? The answers are in the codes. In The Culture Code , internationally revered cultural anthropologist and marketing expert Clotaire Rapaille reveals for the first…
- 2
The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork
Embrace Them and Empower Your Team
John C. Maxwell · 2001
4.154,553 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany building
About the book
Learn how to build and maintain champion level teams, then lead your team to the peak level of success regardless of the field you're in. Individual all-stars can only take you so far. Ultimately, success--whether in business, family, church, athletic teams,…
- 3
45 Effective Ways for Hiring Smart!
How to Predict Winners and Losers in the Incredibly Expensive People-Reading Game
Pierre Mornell · 1998
3.981,690 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany building
About the book
Now in Paperback!People are the most valuable asset in today'¬?s fiercely competitive workplace. In HIRING SMART, now available in paperback for the first time, Dr. Mornell delineates 45 simple strategies for "people reading"-observing a candidate'¬?s…
- 4
Hiring for Attitude
A Revolutionary Approach to Recruiting and Selecting People with Both Tremendous Skills and Superb Attitude
Mark Murphy · 2011
4.07607 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany building
About the book
Praise for HIRING FOR ATTITUDE “Success in business starts with finding great talent that will thrive within your company culture. Hiring for Attitude combines valuable insights with relatable examples, giving you the tools to recruit the right talent for…
- 5
The Sales Development Playbook
Build Repeatable Pipeline and Accelerate Growth with Inside Sales
Trish Bertuzzi · 2016
4.18696 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureFirst salesCompany building
About the book
Raise your hand if your company needs more new customers. I suspect your hand is (figuratively) up. This book is about not just growth, but high-growth, explosive-growth, the kind of growth that weather satellites can see from space. The success of any…
- 6
Knock 'em Dead Job Interview
How to Turn Job Interviews Into Job Offers
Martin Yate · 1994
3.98326 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and culture
About the book
To amaze and impress job interviewers, you need the formulas for answering tough questions. With these handy flash cards, career wizard Martin Yate shows you how to display those essential transferable skills, behaviors, and values that "every" employer…
- 7
Powerful
Patty McCord · 2018
17 Open Library reading lists
Hiring and culture
About the book
"When it comes to recruiting, motivating, and creating great teams, Patty McCord says most companies have it all wrong. McCord helped create the unique and high-performing culture at Netflix, where she was chief talent officer. In her new book, Powerful:…
- 8
Steal the Show
From Speeches to Job Interviews to Deal-Closing Pitches, How to Guarantee a Standing Ovation for All the Performances in Your Life
Michael Port · 2015
3.671,618 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany building
About the book
An inspiring program full of essential advice for spotlight lovers and wallflowers alike that will teach readers how to bring any crowd to its feet Every day there are moments when you must persuade, inform, and motivate others effectively. Each of those…
The books most about hiring and culture.
- 1
The Culture Code
The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups
Daniel Coyle · 2017
4.2437,412 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and culture
About the book
What do Pixar, Google and the San Antonio Spurs basketball team have in common?The answer is that they all owe their extraordinary success to their team-building skills. In The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle goes inside some of the most effective organisations in…
- 2
The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams
Kenneth H. Blanchard · 1950
3.86846 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and culture
About the book
Never before in the history of the workplace has the concept of teamwork been more important to the functioning of successful organizations. Ken Blanchard, bestselling coauthor of Raving Fans, The One Minute Manager , and Gung Ho! teams up with Donald Carew…
- 3
No Rules Rules
Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention
Reed Hastings · 2020
4.2634,623 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and culture
About the book
Shortlisted for the 2020 Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings reveals for the first time the unorthodox culture behind one of the world's most innovative, imaginative, and successful companies There has…
- 4
Be a Recruiting Superstar
The Fast Track to Network Marketing Millions
Mary Christensen · 2008
3.98281 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and culture
About the book
Network marketing has turned millions of people into successful business owners. But to truly reach their earning potential, network marketers need to successfully grow their businesses by recruiting the right people. Network marketing superstar and…
- 5
Knock 'em Dead Resumes
How to Write a Killer Resume That Gets You Job Interviews
Martin Yate · 1996
4.07258 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and culture
About the book
Expert advice on building a resume to get the job you want! Your resume is the most important financial document you'll ever create. When it works, so do you. Drawing on more than thirty years of experience, bestselling author Martin Yate shows you how to…
- 6
HR from the Outside In
Six Competencies for the Future of Human Resources
Dave Ulrich · 2012
3.94394 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and culture
About the book
“This definitive work on HR competencies provides ideas and tools that help HR professionals develop their career and make their organization effective.” ―Edward E. Lawler III, Professor, University of Southern California “This book is a crucial blueprint of…
What founders at seed need most: company building, finding product-market fit, raising money, first sales, marketing and growth.
- 1
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…
- 2
The User Experience Team of One
A Research and Design Survival Guide
Leah Buley · 2013
4.191,657 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
UX Team of Oneb Theory and Practice for Designers Responsible for Holo UX b This book presents ways to achieve greater impact than standardized UX work results with less time and resources do. Whether youre looking to turn to the UX field, or an experienced…
- 3
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.…
- 4
UX for Beginners
A Crash Course in 100 Short Lessons
Joel Marsh · 2016
4.04527 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
Apps! Websites! Rubber Ducks! Naked Ninjas! This book has everything. If you want to get started in user experience design (UX), you've come to the right 100 self-contained lessons that cover the whole spectrum of fundamentals. Forget dry, technical…
- 5
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,…
- 6
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…
- 7
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…
- 8
Venture Deals
Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist
Brad Feld · 2011
4.1117,486 ratings · Goodreads
Raising moneyCompany building
About the book
Praise for Venture Deals"My biggest nightmare is taking advantage of an entrepreneur without even realizing it. It happens because VCs are experts in financings and most entrepreneurs are not. Brad and Jason are out to fix that problem with Venture Deals.…
Leading and managing a team as the company grows.
- 1
Good to Great
Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
Jim Collins · 2001
4.12312,279 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
The Challenge: Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning. But what about the…
- 2
The Ride of a Lifetime
Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
Robert Iger · 2019
4.4099,495 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
A grand vision defined: The CEO of The Walt Disney Company shares the ideas and values he has used to reinvent one of the most beloved companies in the world, and inspire the people who bring the magic to life. In 2005, Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt…
- 3
The Coaching Habit
Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever
Michael Bungay Stanier · 2016
4.0030,923 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
In Michael Bungay Stanier's The Coaching Habit, coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so managers and their teams can wok less hard and have more impact. Drawing on years of experience training more than 10,000 busy managers from around the…
- 4
Winning
Proven Leadership and Management Principles for Strategic Career Excellence and Business Success
Jack Welch · 2005
3.8643,588 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
A champion manager of people, Jack Welch shares the hard-earned wisdom of a storied career in what will become the ultimate business bible With Winning, Jack Welch delivers a wide-ranging, in-depth, no-holds-barred management guidebook about the tough…
- 5
Joker One
A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood
Donovan Campbell · 2009
4.154,545 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
After graduating from Princeton, Donovan Campbell, motivated by his unwavering patriotism and commitment, decided to join the service, realizing that becoming a Marine officer would allow him to give back to his country, engage in the world, and learn to…
- 6
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog
Leadership Made Simple
William H. McRaven · 2023
4.408,634 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
From the acclaimed, bestselling author of Make Your Bed, a short, inspirational book of advice and leadership lessons that Admiral McRaven collected over his four decades as a Navy SEAL. The title “Bullfrog” is given to the Navy SEAL who has served the…
- 7
Originals
How Non-Conformists Move the World
Adam M. Grant · 2016
3.9559,008 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
In Originals the author addresses the challenge of improving the world from the perspective of becoming original: choosing to champion novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battle conformity, and buck outdated traditions. How can we originate new…
- 8
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.…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
Clock In
No-BS Advice for Getting Ahead in Your Career
Emily Durham · 2026
4.19326 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany building
About the book
Career advice that actually works from a straight-shooter recruiterDid you know the average job search takes more than five months? That’s because today’s job market is more challenging, and more confusing, than ever. How are we supposed to get hired, get paid,…
- 2
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…
- 3
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…
- 4
The First-Time Manager
Sales
Mike Weinberg · 2023
4.43282 ratings · Goodreads
First salesCompany building
About the book
The First Time Manager Series has sold over 500,000 copies and is a go-to guide for new and aspiring sales managers on what to expect and how to succeed. The jump from sales superstar to sales manager has made or broken many a sales career. As a…
- 5
Careless People
A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
Sarah Wynn-Williams · 2025
4.12150,174 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
Sarah Wynn-Williams joined Facebook believing the company could change things for the better. Instead, what she encountered over seven years was so shocking that Meta obtained a legal order to silence her. Now you can read her award-winning story. Candid…
- 6
Apple in China
The Capture of the World's Greatest Company
Patrick McGee · 2025
4.4810,559 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
For readers of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs and Chris Miller’s Chip War, a riveting look at how Apple helped build China’s dominance in electronics assembly and manufacturing only to find itself trapped in a relationship with an authoritarian state making…
- 7
- 8
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…
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…
- 2
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…
- 3
Theodore Roosevelt
An Autobiography
Theodore Roosevelt · 1913
3.912,337 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
By the 26th President of the United States, popularly known as T.R. or Teddy. He was also a widely respected historian, naturalist and explorer of the Amazon Basin; his 35 books include works on outdoor life, natural history, U.S. Western and political…
- 4
Alex Ferguson
My Autobiography
Alex Ferguson · 2013
3.9418,818 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
The celebratory, revealing, inspiring, and entertaining autobiography of the greatest manager in the history of British soccer. Over the past four years, Alex Ferguson has been reflecting on and jotting down the highlights of his extraordinary career, and…
- 5
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…
- 6
The Big Rich
The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes
Bryan Burrough · 2009
4.093,394 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
In The Big Rich, bestselling author and Vanity Fair special correspondent Bryan Burrough chronicles the rise and fall of one of the great economic and political powerhouses of the twentieth century, Texas oil. By weaving together the epic sagas of the…
- 7
Bad Blood
Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
John Carreyrou · 2018
4.40285,283 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face of pressure and threats from the CEO and her lawyers. In…
- 8
Wins, Losses, and Lessons
An Autobiography
Lou Holtz · 2006
4.261,375 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
When I die and people realize that I will not be resurrected in three days, they will forget me. That is the way it should be. For reasons known only to God, I was asked to write an autobiography. Most people who knew me growing up didn't think I would ever…
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
Outliers
The Story of Success
Malcolm Gladwell · 2008
4.19890,252 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers", the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that…
- 4
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…
- 5
Lok Vyavhar
Diamond Books · 1936
4.221,157,905 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
This is the translation of famous - HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE - a classic book that gave birth to the self-help industry. Through this book, Dale Carnegie offers practical and proven advice on how to deal with people and understand them in order…
- 6
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
Stephen R. Covey · 1989
4.16843,480 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step…
- 7
Contagious
Why Things Catch On
Jonah Berger · 2013
3.9834,129 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
New York Times bestseller and named Best Marketing Book of 2014 by the American Marketing AssociationWhat makes things popular? Why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what…
- 8
Red Notice
A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice
Bill Browder · 2015
4.44113,920 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
A real-life political thriller about an American financier in the Wild East of Russia, the murder of his principled young tax attorney, and his dangerous mission to expose the Kremlin’s corruption.Bill Browder’s journey started on the South Side of Chicago…
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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.