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 · Strategy and competition
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ShortlistThe best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
The best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
- 1
Playing to Win
How Strategy Really Works
A.G. Lafley · 2013
3.999,438 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competitionCompany building
About the book
A Wall Street Journal and Washington Post Bestseller A playbook for creating your company's winning strategy. Strategy is not complex. But it is hard. It’s hard because it forces people and organizations to make specific choices about their future, something…
- 2
Swipe to Unlock
The Primer on Technology and Business Strategy
Parth Detroja · 2017
4.213,410 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competitionCompany building
About the book
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here. Authored by Product Managers at Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, Swipe to Unlock is a guide which enables anyone to understand the core concepts of tech and the business strategy behind it in…
- 3
Blue Ocean Strategy
How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant
W. Chan Kim · 2005
4.0190,978 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competitionCompany building
About the book
Since the dawn of the industrial age, companies have engaged in head-to-head competition in search of sustained, profitable growth. They have fought for competitive advantage, battled over market share, and struggled for differentiation. Yet, as this…
- 4
Competitive Advantage
Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance
Michael E. Porter · 1985
4.184,860 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competitionCompany building
About the book
The essential complement to the pathbreaking book Competitive Strategy, Michael E. Porter's Competitive Advantage explores the underpinnings of competitive advantage in the individual firm.Competitive Advantage introduces a whole new way of understanding what…
- 5
The Innovator's Dilemma
The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business
Clayton M. Christensen · 1997
4.0362,726 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competitionCompany building
About the book
Harvard professor Clayton M. Christensen says outstanding companies can do everything right and still lose their market leadership -- or worse, disappear completely. And he not only proves what he says, he tells others how to avoid a similar fate. Focusing…
- 6
7 Powers
The Foundations of Business Strategy
Hamilton Wright Helmer · 2016
4.253,280 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competitionCompany building
About the book
7 Powers breaks fresh ground by constructing a comprehensive strategy toolset that is easy for you to learn, communicate and quickly apply.Drawing on his decades of experience as a business strategy advisor, active equity investor and Stanford University…
- 7
Implanting strategic management
H. Igor Ansoff, Edward McDonnell · 1984
16 Open Library reading lists
Moats and competition
- 8
Good Strategy Bad Strategy
The Difference and Why It Matters
Richard P. Rumelt · 2011
4.1218,960 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competitionCompany building
About the book
Clears out the mumbo jumbo and muddled thinking underlying too many strategies and provides a clear way to create and implement a powerful action-oriented strategy for the real world Developing and implementing a strategy is the central task of a leader,…
The books most about strategy and competition.
- 1
Zone to Win
Organizing to Compete in an Age of Disruption
Geoffrey A. Moore · 2015
3.841,325 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competition
About the book
Over the last 25 years, Geoffrey Moore has established himself as one of the most influential high-tech advisors in the world--once prompting Conan O'Brien to ask "Who is Geoffrey Moore and why is he more famous than me?" Following up on the ferociously…
- 2
Competitive Strategy
Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors
Michael E. Porter · 1980
4.1717,122 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competition
About the book
Now nearing its 60th printing in English and translated into nineteen languages, Michael E. Porter's Competitive Strategy has transformed the theory, practice, and teaching of business strategy throughout the world. Electrifying in its simplicity -- like all…
- 3
Value Proposition Design
How to Create Products and Services Customers Want
Alexander Osterwalder · 2013
4.217,224 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competition
About the book
If you liked "Business Model Generation," you'll love "Value Proposition Design." The sequel builds on the same visual format and practical tools that made the first one so useful. It shows you how to use the Value Proposition Canvas, a practical business…
- 4
The Monopolists
Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game
Mary Pilon · 2015
3.711,619 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competition
About the book
The Monopolists reveals the unknown story of how Monopoly came into existence, the reinvention of its history by Parker Brothers and multiple media outlets, the lost female originator of the game, and one man's lifelong obsession to tell the true story about…
- 5
Learning Domain-Driven Design
Aligning Software Architecture and Business Strategy
Vlad Khononov · 2021
4.43804 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competition
About the book
Building software is harder than ever. As a developer, you not only have to chase ever-changing technological trends but also need to understand the business domains behind the software. This practical book provides you with a set of core patterns,…
- 6
Green to Gold
How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
Daniel C. Esty · 2006
3.841,287 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competition
About the book
The essential guide for forward-thinking business leaders who see the Green Wave coming and want to profit from itThis book explores what every executive must know to manage the environmental challenges facing society and business. Based on the authors' years…
- 7
Strategic management and business analysis
Cooke, Peter, David Williamson · 2003
8 Open Library reading lists
Moats and competition
- 8
Antitrust
Taking on Monopoly Power from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age
Amy Klobuchar · 2021
3.70775 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competition
About the book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER - Antitrust enforcement is one of the most pressing issues facing America today--and Amy Klobuchar, the widely respected senior senator from Minnesota, is leading the charge. This fascinating history of the antitrust movement shows us what…
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
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.…
- 3
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…
- 4
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…
- 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
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…
- 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
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
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…
- 4
The Outsiders
Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success
William N. Thorndike Jr. · 2012
4.2214,412 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
”It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different.”, John TempletonWhat makes a successful CEO? Most people call to mind a familiar definition: a seasoned manager with deep industry expertise. Others might point to the…
- 5
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…
- 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
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…
- 8
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…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
The Pricing Roadmap
How to Design B2B SaaS Pricing Models That Your Customers Will Love
Ulrik Lehrskov-Schmidt · 2023
4.43207 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competitionFinding 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…
- 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…
- 3
The SaaS Playbook
Build a Multimillion-Dollar Startup Without Venture Capital
Rob Walling · 2023
4.271,046 ratings · Goodreads
Moats and competitionCompany building
About the book
Do you want to build a software product that people want and are willing to pay for? Do you dream of growing the kind of company that employs smart, creative people? Are you tired of waiting for investors to fund your startup? You don’t need venture funding,…
- 4
Little Bosses Everywhere
How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America
Bridget Read · 2025
3.965,793 ratings · Goodreads
Company 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…
- 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
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…
- 7
The Book of Elon
A Guide to Purpose and Success
Eric Jorgenson · 2026
4.541,306 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
Do you have a nagging fear that your work isn’t truly important? Or that your potential greatness will wither, unrealized?Most people never feel purpose in their work. They never bring their full energy to a meaningful mission.Purpose and intensity are Elon…
- 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
Heartland
A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth
Sarah Smarsh · 2018
3.7616,921 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
During Sarah Smarsh’s turbulent childhood in Kansas in the 1980s and 1990s, the forces of cyclical poverty and the country’s changing economic policies solidified her family’s place among the working poor. By telling the story of her life and the lives of the…
- 2
Sam Walton, Made in America
My Story
Sam Walton · 1992
4.1628,881 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…
- 3
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…
- 4
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…
- 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…
- 6
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…
- 7
Source Code
My Beginnings
Bill Gates · 2025
4.1515,248 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
The origin story of one of the most influential and transformative business leaders and philanthropists of the modern age. The business triumphs of Bill Gates are widely known: the twenty-year-old who dropped out of Harvard to start a software company that…
- 8
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…
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
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…
- 4
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie · 1936
4.211,172,289 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
"How to Win Friends and Influence People' is one of the first best-selling self-help books ever published. Just after publishing, it quickly exploded into an overnight success, eventually selling more than 15 million copies worldwide, and pioneering an entire…
- 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 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…
- 7
The Lean Startup
Eric Ries · 2011
4.11374,139 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
Most new businesses fail. But most of those failures are preventable.The Lean Startup is a new approach to business that's being adopted around the world. It is changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. Essential reading for any…
- 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…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Which books we recommend never depends on it: they are chosen from their ratings and what they are about.
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.