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
Now readingAtomic HabitsJames Clear4.31★
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
Who
The A Method for Hiring
Geoff Smart · 2008
3.957,847 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany building
About the book
In this instant New York Times Bestseller, Geoff Smart and Randy Street provide a simple, practical, and effective solution to what The Economist calls "the single biggest problem in business today" unsuccessful hiring. The average hiring mistake costs a…
- 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
No Rules Rules
Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention
Reed Hastings · 2020
4.2634,623 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany building
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…
- 5
One Page Talent Management
Eliminating Complexity, Adding Value
Marc Effron · 2010
4.00311 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany building
About the book
A Revolutionary Approach to Talent Management You know that winning in today’s marketplace requires top quality talent. You also know what it takes to build that talent, and you spend significant financial and human resources to make it happen. Yet somehow,…
- 6
HR from the Outside In
Six Competencies for the Future of Human Resources
Dave Ulrich · 2012
3.94394 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany building
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…
- 7
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…
- 8
What I Wish Every Candidate Knew
15 Minutes to a Better Interview
Russell Tuckerton · 2013
4.24730 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany building
About the book
The condensed, concise experience of over 20 years of hiring job candidates for roles from entry level to Director. Intentionally kept as a short, readable book to enable job seekers to have an advantage during the interview process. Learn what a real…
The books most about hiring and culture.
- 1
TeamWork
How to Build a High-Performance Team
Natalie Dawson · 2021
4.35215 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and culture
About the book
Great your team on the same page with TeamWork. Do you wish your employees felt more energized and engaged? Would you like them to be on the same page and fully aligned with your goals? Your business success depends on your ability to align and develop…
- 2
Teamwork 101
What Every Leader Needs to Know
John C. Maxwell · 2009
4.03803 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and culture
About the book
Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships. Let John C. Maxwell teach you how teamwork is the heart of great achievement in the game of business. Teamwork is a vital part of success in sports, pop culture, and every other industry--including…
- 3
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…
- 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 culture
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
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…
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
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…
- 4
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,…
- 5
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…
- 6
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.…
- 7
Lean UX
Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience
Jeff Gothelf · 2012
3.996,766 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
The Lean UX approach to interaction design is tailor-made for today’s web-driven reality. In this insightful book, leading advocate Jeff Gothelf teaches you valuable Lean UX principles, tactics, and techniques from the ground up, how to rapidly experiment with…
- 8
Observing the User Experience
A Practitioner's Guide to User Research
Mike Kuniavsky · 2003
3.99695 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fit
About the book
The gap between who designers and developers imagine their users are, and who those users really are can be the biggest problem with product development. Observing the User Experience will help you bridge that gap to understand what your users want and need…
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
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…
- 3
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…
- 4
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…
- 5
Rising Strong
The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution
Brené Brown · 2015
4.2590,292 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Social scientist Brené Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness. Her pioneering work uncovered a profound truth: Vulnerability, the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome, is the only path…
- 6
A Different Kind of Power
Jacinda Ardern · 2025
4.4521,916 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
From the former prime minister of New Zealand, then the world’s youngest female head of government and just the second to give birth in office, comes a deeply personal memoir chronicling her extraordinary rise and offering inspiration to a new generation of…
- 7
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…
- 8
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…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
Little Bosses Everywhere
How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America
Bridget Read · 2025
3.965,793 ratings · Goodreads
Hiring and cultureCompany 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…
- 2
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,…
- 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
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…
- 5
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…
- 6
- 7
No More Tears
The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson
Gardiner Harris · 2025
4.1722,997 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
An incendiary, deeply reported exposé of Johnson & Johnson, one of America’s oldest and most trusted pharmaceutical companies, from award-winning investigative journalist Gardiner Harris One day in 2004, Gardiner Harris, early for a flight, sat down at an…
- 8
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…
How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.
- 1
American Kingpin
Catching the Billion-Dollar Baron of the Dark Web
Nick Bilton · 2017
4.4155,362 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
From New York Times-bestselling author Nick Bilton comes a true-life thriller about the rise and fall of Ross Ulbricht, aka the Dread Pirate Roberts, the founder of the online black market Silk Road. In 2011, Ulbricht, a 26-year-old libertarian idealist…
- 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
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…
- 4
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…
- 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
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…
- 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
The Situation Room
The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis
George Stephanopoulos · 2024
4.3211,278 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
George Stephanopoulos, former senior advisor to President Clinton and for more than 20 years anchor of This Week and co-anchor of Good Morning America , recounts the crises that decided the course of history, from the place 12 presidents made their…
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
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…
- 3
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…
- 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…
- 5
- 6
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…
- 7
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…
- 8
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…
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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.