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

    The Elements of User Experience

    User-Centered Design for the Web

    Jesse James Garrett · 2002

    4.014,134 ratings · Goodreads

    Finding product-market fitCompany building

    About the book

    Smart organizations recognize that Web design is more than just creating clean code and sharp graphics. A site that really works fulfills your strategic objectives while meeting the needs of your users. Even the best content and the most sophisticated…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 2

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 3

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 4

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 5

    Product Leadership

    How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams

    Richard Banfield · 2017

    3.641,115 ratings · Goodreads

    Finding product-market fitCompany building

    About the book

    In today's lightning-fast technology world, good product management is critical to maintaining a competitive advantage. Yet, managing human beings and navigating complex product roadmaps is no easy task, and it's rare to find a product leader who can steward…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 6

    Lean Customer Development

    Building Products Your Customers Will Buy

    Cindy Alvarez · 2014

    4.181,270 ratings · Goodreads

    Finding product-market fitCompany building

    About the book

    How do you develop products that people will actually use and buy? This practical guide shows you how to validate product and company ideas through customer development research--before you waste months and millions on a product or service that no one needs…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 7

    Undercover User Experience Design

    Learn How to Do Great UX Work with Tiny Budgets, No Time, and Limited Support

    Cennydd Bowles · 2010

    4.02505 ratings · Goodreads

    Finding product-market fitCompany building

    About the book

    Once you catch the user experience bug, the world changes. Doors open the wrong way, websites don't work, and companies don't seem to care. And while anyone can learn the UX remedies usability testing, personas, prototyping and so on unless your organization…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 8

    Roadmap

    The Get-It-Together Guide for Figuring Out What to Do with Your Life

    Roadtrip Nation · 2015

    4.04618 ratings · Goodreads

    Finding product-market fitCompany building

    About the book

    The New York Times bestseller is back! The career workbook Roadmap is better than ever. Roadmap has been updated and expanded with tons of brand new content, including chapters on changing directions mid-career and not letting your past define your future.…

    On AmazonAudible

The books most about finding product-market fit.

  • 1

    The User Experience Team of One

    A Research and Design Survival Guide

    Leah Buley · 2013

    4.191,657 ratings · Goodreads

    Finding product-market fit

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 2

    Smashing UX Design

    Foundations for Designing Online User Experiences

    Jesmond Allen · 2012

    4.10230 ratings · Goodreads

    Finding product-market fit

    About the book

    The ultimate guide to UX from the world's most popular resource for web designers and developers "Smashing Magazine" is the world′s most popular resource for web designers and developers and with this book the authors provide the ideal resource for…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 3

    Lean UX

    Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience

    Jeff Gothelf · 2012

    3.996,766 ratings · Goodreads

    Finding product-market fit

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 4

    Strategize

    Product Strategy and Product Roadmap Practices for the Digital Age

    Roman Pichler · 2016

    4.00994 ratings · Goodreads

    Finding product-market fit

    About the book

    Create a winning game plan for your digital products with Strategize: Product Strategy and Product Roadmap Practices for the Digital Age , 2nd edition. Using a wide range of proven techniques and tools, product management expert Roman Pichler explains how to…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 5

    The Gamer's Brain

    How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design

    Celia Hodent · 2017

    4.30242 ratings · Goodreads

    Finding product-market fit

    About the book

    Making a successful video game is hard. Even games that are well-received at launch may fail to engage players in the long term due to issues with the user experience (UX) that they are delivering. That's why makers of successful video games like Fortnite and…

    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 fit

    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

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

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 5

    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

  • 6

    Apple

    The First 50 Years

    David Pogue · 2026

    4.491,170 ratings · Goodreads

    Company building

    About the book

    A Simon & Schuster eBook. 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

    Veeck As In Wreck

    The Autobiography of Bill Veeck

    Bill Veeck · 1962

    4.132,173 ratings · Goodreads

    Founder stories

    About the book

    Bill Veeck was an inspired team builder, a consummate showman, and one of the greatest baseball men ever involved in the game. His classic autobiography, written with the talented sportswriter Ed Linn, is an uproarious book packed with information about the…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 3

    Disney High

    The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire

    Ashley Spencer · 2024

    3.949,197 ratings · Goodreads

    Founder storiesCompany building

    About the book

    The first unauthorized look at the inner workings―and ultimate breakdown―of the Disney Channel machine For many kids growing up in the 2000s, there was no cultural touchstone more powerful than Disney Channel, the most-watched cable channel in prime time…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 4

    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…

    On AmazonAudible

  • 5

    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

  • 6

    Going Infinite

    The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon

    Michael Lewis · 2023

    3.8437,422 ratings · Goodreads

    Founder storiesCompany building

    About the book

    From the #1 best-selling author of The Big Short and Flash Boys, the story of FTX’s spectacular collapse and the enigmatic founder at its center. When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby.…

    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

    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

    Nunca te pares

    Phil Knight · 2016

    4.46361,920 ratings · Goodreads

    Company building

    On AmazonAudible

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From the record

Written by the people who write the cheques

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Read what the people you are pitching read.

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