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 · Scaling and operations
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ShortlistThe best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
The best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
- 1
Scaling Up
How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't
Verne Harnish · 2014
4.166,229 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operationsCompany building
About the book
Winner of the 2015 International Book Awards for General Business Winner of the 2015 National Indie Excellence Award for General Business Winner of the 2015 Readers' Favorite International Book Award Gold Medal for Non-Fiction Business Winner of the…
- 2
Stephen R. Covey's The 4 Disciplines of Execution
The Secret To Getting Things Done, On Time, With Excellence - Live Performance
Chris McChesney · 2011
4.0811,648 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operationsCompany building
About the book
Executing strategic goals is the greatest challenge in business today. Aligning the organization's work teams with your most important objectives is a never-ending battle. In addition, keeping teams engaged and focused on the top goals is critical. Imagine an…
- 3
Go For the Goal
A Champion's Guide To Winning In Soccer And Life
Mia Hamm · 1999
4.03581 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operations
About the book
For the more than seven million girls, from knobby-kneed tykes to high school and college stars, who are tearing across the country chasing a soccer ball and dreams of glory, there is one name that eclipses all others, male or Mia Hamm. With her cheetahlike…
- 4
Blitzscaling
The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies
Reid Hoffman · 2018
3.957,118 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operationsCompany building
About the book
Foreword by Bill Gates LinkedIn cofounder, legendary investor, and host of the award-winning Masters of Scale podcast reveals the secret to starting and scaling massively valuable companies. What entrepreneur or founder doesn’t aspire to build the next…
- 5
Systems Thinking For Social Change
A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results
David Peter Stroh · 2015
3.78884 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operationsCompany building
About the book
"David Stroh has produced an elegant and cogent guide to what works. Research with early learners is showing that children are natural systems thinkers. This book will help to resuscitate these intuitive capabilities and strengthen them in the fire of facing…
- 6
Toyota Production System
Beyond large-scale production
Taiichi Ohno · 1978
4.112,110 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operationsCompany building
About the book
In this classic text, Taiichi Ohno--inventor of the Toyota Production System and Lean manufacturing--shares the genius that sets him apart as one of the most disciplined and creative thinkers of our time. Combining his candid insights with a rigorous analysis…
- 7
Operations Management
William J. Stevenson · 2001
3.84631 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operationsCompany building
About the book
The Tenth Edition of Operations Management features the latest concepts and applications while preserving the core concepts that have made the text a market leader. Stevenson’s careful explanations and approachable format supports students in understanding…
- 8
The Other Side of Innovation
Solving the Execution Challenge (Harvard Business Review
Vijay Govindarajan · 2010
3.87557 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operationsCompany building
About the book
Companies can’t survive without innovating. But most put far more emphasis on generating Big Ideas than on executing them, turning ideas into actual breakthrough products, services, and process improvements.That’s because “ideating” is energizing and…
The books most about scaling and operations.
- 1
Operations Research
An Introduction
Hamdy A. Taha · 1976
3.98359 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operations
About the book
Significantly revised, this book provides balanced coverage of the theory, applications, and computations of operations research. The applications and computations in operations research are emphasized. Significantly revised, this text streamlines the…
- 2
The 4 Disciplines of Execution
Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals
Chris McChesney · 2012
4.0811,853 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operations
About the book
“ The 4 Disciplines of Execution is a book every leader should read.”, Clayton Christensen, Professor, Harvard Business School, and author of The Innovator’s Dilemma For fans of Good to Great and The First 90 Days , The Four Disciplines of Execution is the…
- 3
Execution Premium
Robert S. Kaplan · 2008
4.06300 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operations
About the book
In a world of stiffening competition, business strategy is more crucial than ever. Yet most organizations struggle in this area--not with formulating strategy but with executing it, or putting their strategy into action. Owing to execution failures, companies…
- 4
Scaling People
Tactics for Management and Company Building
Claire Hughes Johnson · 2023
4.251,748 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operations
About the book
From a Stripe and Google executive, a practical guide to company building and scaling the most important resource it its people. “Whether you are a new manager or a CEO, there are going to be moments when you feel alone and need help. Odds are, the advice…
- 5
Toyota Kata
Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness and Superior Results
Mike Rother · 2009
4.191,938 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operations
About the book
"How any organization in any industry can progress from old-fashioned management by results to a strikingly different and better way."--James P. Womack, Chairman and Founder, Lean Enterprise Institute. This game-changing book puts you behind the curtain of…
- 6
Fundamentals of operations management
Mark M. Davis, Nicholas J. Aquilano · 1999
8 Open Library reading lists
Scaling and operations
- 7
Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals
Rob Thompson · 2007
4.51200 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operations
About the book
An encyclopaedic guide to production techniques and materials for product and industrial designers, engineers, and architects. Today's product designers are presented with a myriad of choices when creating their work and preparing it for manufacture. They…
- 8
The management of business logistics
John Joseph Coyle, John J. Coyle · 1976
49 Open Library reading lists
Scaling and operations
What founders at seed need most: company building, finding product-market fit, raising money, first sales, marketing and growth.
- 1
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…
- 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
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
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…
- 6
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…
- 7
LinkedIn Riches
How To Use LinkedIn For Business, Sales and Marketing! Updated and Revised
John Nemo · 2014
4.07319 ratings · Goodreads
First salesMarketing and growthCompany building
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…
- 8
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,…
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
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…
- 3
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…
- 4
Give and Take
A Revolutionary Approach to Success
Adam M. Grant · 2013
4.0641,070 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Give and Take highlights what effective networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills have in common. For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success…
- 5
EntreLeadership
20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches
Dave Ramsey · 2011
4.1914,050 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Total Money Makeover and radio and podcast host Dave Ramsey comes an informative guide based on how he grew a successful, multimillion dollar company from a card table in his living room. Your company is only…
- 6
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…
- 7
Production and operations management
Norman Gaither · 1980
37 Open Library reading lists
Leading and managing
- 8
Becoming Steve Jobs
The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader
Brent Schlender · 2015
4.1517,220 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
#1 New York Times Bestseller There have been many books, on a large and small scale, about Steve Jobs, one of the most famous CEOs in history. But this book is different from all the others. Becoming Steve Jobs takes on and breaks down the existing myth and…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
The Science of Scaling
Grow Your Business Bigger and Faster Than You Think Possible
Benjamin Hardy · 2025
4.191,855 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operationsCompany building
About the book
What if scaling wasn’t about working harder―but seeing your business through an entirely new lens? Are you stuck growing 10–20% a year while dreaming of bigger impact―and wondering why scale feels out of reach? Here’s the hard truth: linear growth isn’t…
- 2
The Scaling Era
An Oral History of AI, 2019–2025
Dwarkesh Patel · 2025
3.87570 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operationsCompany building
About the book
An inside view of the AI revolution, from the people and companies making it happen.How did we build large language models? How do they think, if they think? What will the world look like if we have billions of AIs that are as smart as humans, or even…
- 3
Apple in China
The Capture of the World's Greatest Company
Patrick McGee · 2025
4.4810,559 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operationsCompany 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…
- 4
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog
Leadership Made Simple
William H. McRaven · 2023
4.408,634 ratings · Goodreads
Scaling and operationsCompany building
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…
- 5
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…
- 6
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…
- 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
Cancel Me If You Can
Dave Portnoy · 2026
4.226,588 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
In his unfiltered style, Dave Portnoy details the journey of how he built his polarizing media empire, Barstool Sports, while refusing to bend the knee to those who tried to tear him down, staying true to himself and blocking out the haters. Dave Portnoy is a…
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
Jim Henson
The Biography
Brian Jay Jones · 2013
4.0415,877 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
For the first time ever-a comprehensive biography of one of the twentieth-century's most innovative creative artists: the incomparable, irreplaceable Jim Henson. He was a gentle dreamer whose genial bearded visage was recognized around the world, but most…
- 3
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…
- 4
Elon Musk
Walter Isaacson · 2023
4.3281,328 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era, a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles,…
- 5
Walt Disney Imagineering
A Behind the Dreams Look At Making the Magic Real
The Imagineers · 1996
4.121,961 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
Making dreams come true is what Disney does best -- and the Imagineers unite art and science to create a world in which reality surpasses imagination. The Imagineers are like Santa's elves: they are the nuts-and-bolts workers who allow Disney's magic to take…
- 6
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…
- 7
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…
- 8
The Jordan Rules
The Inside Story of One Turbulent Season with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls
Sam Smith · 1992
4.2519,445 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
Sam Smith’s seminal, New York Times bestselling “eye-opener” ( The San Diego Union-Tribune ) on Michael Jordan and the 1990-1991 Chicago Bulls team, perfect for fans of ESPN’s hit documentary series The Last Dance. This is the book that changed the way the…
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
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…
- 3
- 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
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…
- 6
The Art of the Start
The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
Guy Kawasaki · 2004
3.9129,538 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
A new product, a new service, a new company, a new division, a new organization, a new anything, where there’s a will, here’s the way. It begins with a dream that just won’t quit, the once-in-a-lifetime thunderbolt of pure inspiration, the obsession, the…
- 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
The First American
The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
H.W. Brands · 2000
4.1123,067 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growth
About the book
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the pivotal figure in colonial and revolutionary America, comes vividly to life in this “thorough biography of ... America’s first Renaissance man” ( The Washington Post ) by the two-time Pulitzer Prize…
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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.