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

    Product Management in Practice

    A Real-World Guide to the Key Connective Role of the 21st Century

    Matt Lemay · 2017

    4.341,157 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managingFinding product-market fitCompany building

    About the book

    Product management has become a critical connective role for modern organizations, from small technology startups to global corporate enterprises. And yet the day-to-day work of product management remains largely misunderstood. In theory, product management…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 2

    Venture Deals

    Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist

    Brad Feld · 2011

    4.1117,486 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managingRaising 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.…

    On AmazonAudibleAuthor's Podcasts

  • 3

    Solving Product Design Exercises

    Questions & Answers

    Artiom Dashinsky · 2018

    4.30675 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managingFinding 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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 4

    Crossing the Chasm

    Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers

    Geoffrey A. Moore · 2002

    4.0332,109 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managingMarketing and growthCompany building

    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

  • 5

    How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling

    Frank Bettger · 1947

    4.2817,376 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managingFirst salesCompany building

    About the book

    A business classic endorsed by Dale Carnegie, How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling is for anyone whose job it is to sell. Whether you are selling houses or mutual funds, advertisements or ideas, or anything else, this book is for you. When…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 6

    Sales Management. Simplified.

    The Straight Truth About Getting Exceptional Results from Your Sales Team

    Mike Weinberg · 2015

    4.361,637 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managingFirst salesCompany building

    About the book

    Why do sales organizations fall short? Every day, expert consultants like Mike Weinberg are called on by companies large and small to find the answer, and it’s one that may surprise you. Typically, the issue lies not with the sales team, but with how it is…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 7

    LinkedIn Riches

    How To Use LinkedIn For Business, Sales and Marketing! Updated and Revised

    John Nemo · 2014

    4.07319 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managingFirst salesMarketing and growth

    About the book

    SPECIAL Includes Free Access to 25+ LinkedIn Training Videos!Discover How To Use LinkedIn For Sales, Business and Marketing, including how Find New Sales Leads and Prospective Clients on LinkedIn FAST- Turn Your Existing LinkedIn Connections into Paying…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 8

    The Conversion Code

    Capture Internet Leads, Create Quality Appointments, Close More Sales

    Chris Smith · 2016

    4.00703 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managingFirst salesCompany building

    About the book

    "If you need more traffic, leads and sales, you need The Conversion Code." Neil Patel co-founder Crazy Egg "We've helped 11,000+ businesses generate more than 31 million leads and consider The Conversion Code a must read." Oli Gardner co-founder Unbounce…

    On AmazonAudible

The books most about leading and managing.

  • 1

    Start with Why

    How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

    Simon Sinek · 2009

    4.09281,577 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managing

    About the book

    Why do you do what you do? Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 2

    Spiritual Leadership

    J. Oswald Sanders · 1967

    4.189,673 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managing

    About the book

    With over 500,000 in print, Spiritual Leadership is the perennial favorite for teaching the principles of leadership. In this classic, J. Oswald Sanders illustrates biblical leadership principles through the lives of David, Moses, Nehemiah, the Apostle Paul,…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 3

    Gang Leader for a Day

    A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets

    Sudhir Venkatesh · 2008

    4.0726,029 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managing

    About the book

    The story of the young sociologist who studied a Chicago crack-dealing gang from the inside captured the world's attention when it was first described in Freakonomics. Gang Leader for a Day is the fascinating full story of how Sudhir Venkatesh managed to gain…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 4

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 5

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 6

    A Higher Loyalty

    Truth, Lies, and Leadership

    James B. Comey · 2018

    4.0949,995 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managing

    About the book

    In his book, former FBI director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like, and how it…

    On AmazonAudible

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

  • 1

    How to Run a Country

    An Ancient Guide for Modern Leaders

    Marcus Tullius Cicero · 2044

    3.82431 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managing

    About the book

    Marcus Cicero, Rome's greatest statesman and orator, was elected to the Roman Republic's highest office at a time when his beloved country was threatened by power-hungry politicians, dire economic troubles, foreign turmoil, and political parties that refused…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 2

    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

  • 3

    The First-Time Manager

    Sales

    Mike Weinberg · 2023

    4.43282 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managingFirst 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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 4

    To Rescue the American Spirit

    Teddy Roosevelt and the Birth of a Superpower

    Bret Baier · 2025

    4.542,106 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managing

    About the book

    From #1 New York Times bestselling author and Fox News Channel’s Chief Political Anchor, a captivating biography of Theodore Roosevelt, the stalwart naturalist, writer, ranchman, soldier, president, and avatar of our modern era. There has never been a…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 5

    Strong Ground

    The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit

    Brené Brown · 2025

    4.138,259 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managingCompany 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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 6

    10 to 25

    The Science of Motivating Young People

    David Yeager · 2024

    4.102,834 ratings · Goodreads

    Leading and managing

    About the book

    An Avid Reader Press book. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

    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 buildingLeading and managing

    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

    Sam Walton

    Made in America

    Sam Walton · 1992

    4.1527,178 ratings · Goodreads

    Founder storiesCompany buildingLeading and managing

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 3

    Alex Ferguson

    My Autobiography

    Alex Ferguson · 2013

    3.9418,818 ratings · Goodreads

    Founder storiesLeading and managing

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 4

    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

  • 5

    I Came Upon a Lighthouse

    A Short Memoir Of Life With Ratan Tata

    Shantanu Naidu · 2021

    4.443,152 ratings · Goodreads

    Founder storiesCompany building

    About the book

    An endearing portrait of an Indian legend I told him that when I write a book, I would write about another side of him and not just historic events or business milestones. I would write about us and our adventures together, and how I saw him, colours and…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 6

    Steve Jobs

    Walter Isaacson · 2011

    4.161,391,990 ratings · Goodreads

    Founder storiesCompany buildingLeading and managing

    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

What founders at seed keep coming back to, if you have not read them yet.

  • 1

    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

  • 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

    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

  • 4

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

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