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
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ShortlistThe best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
The best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
- 1
The Fifth Discipline
The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization
Peter M. Senge · 1990
3.9436,294 ratings · Goodreads
EducationCompany building
About the book
MORE THAN ONE MILLION COPIES IN PRINT • “One of the seminal management books of the past seventy-five years.”, Harvard Business Review This revised edition of the bestselling classic is based on fifteen years of experience in putting Peter Senge’s ideas…
- 2
The Art of Coaching Teams
Building Resilient Communities that Transform Schools
Elena Aguilar · 2016
4.30966 ratings · Goodreads
Education
About the book
The missing how-to manual for being an effective team leader The Art of Coaching Teams is the manual you never received when you signed on to lead a team. Being a great teacher is one thing, but leading a team, or team development, is an entirely different…
- 3
The Legends Club
Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano, and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry
John Feinstein · 2016
4.332,166 ratings · Goodreads
Education
About the book
The riveting inside story of college basketball's fiercest rivalry among three coaching legends, University of North Carolina's Dean Smith, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, and North Carolina State's Jim Valvano, by the king of college basketball writers, #1 New York…
- 4
Create Your Writer Platform
The Key to Building an Audience, Selling More Books, and Finding Success as an Author
Chuck Sambuchino · 2012
4.07356 ratings · Goodreads
EducationFirst salesCompany building
About the book
Creating a platform isn't just beneficial--"it's essential"!In today's world of blogging, websites, Twitter feeds, and Facebook updates, building a writer platform from the ground up can seem a daunting task. Never fear--author and editor Chuck Sambuchino…
- 5
Pedigree
How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs
Lauren A. Rivera · 2015
4.00625 ratings · Goodreads
EducationCompany building
About the book
How social class determines who lands the best jobs Americans are taught to believe that upward mobility is possible for anyone who is willing to work hard, regardless of their social status, yet it is often those from affluent backgrounds who land the best…
- 6
Mindset
The New Psychology of Success
Carol S. Dweck · 2006
4.09182,500 ratings · Goodreads
EducationCompany building
About the book
A newer edition of this book can be found here. After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how…
- 7
Use Your Head
Tony Buzan · 2003
3.871,451 ratings · Goodreads
EducationCompany building
About the book
Are you worried that you're not achieving your full potential? A few years after this classic book on how to improve your brainpower was first published, a fairly average student announced that he intended to try for a place at Cambridge University. His…
- 8
Selling 101
What Every Successful Sales Professional Needs to Know
Zig Ziglar · 2003
4.101,470 ratings · Goodreads
EducationFirst salesCompany building
About the book
Here in a short, compact and concise format is the basics of how to persuade more people more effectively, more ethically, and more often. Ziglar draws from his fundamental selling experiences and shows that while the fundamentals of selling may remain…
Books on education.
- 1
Beer School
Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery
Steve Hindy · 2005
3.72667 ratings · Goodreads
EducationCompany building
About the book
BEER SCHOOL Beer School Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery What do you get when you cross a journalist and a banker? A brewery, of course. “A great city should have great beer. New York finally has, thanks to Brooklyn. Steve Hindy and Tom Potter…
- 2
The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning
How to Turn Learning And Development into Business Results
Roy V.H. Pollock · 2006
4.20217 ratings · Goodreads
EducationInnovationCompany building
About the book
The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning presents an innovative approach that accelerates the transfer and application of corporate learning. The Six Disciplines provides the definitive road map and tools for optimizing the business impact of leadership…
- 3
Blended
Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools
Michael B. Horn · 2014
3.85460 ratings · Goodreads
EducationMoats and competitionInnovation
About the book
Navigate the transition to blended learning with this practical field guide Blended is the practical field guide for implementing blended learning techniques in K-12 classrooms. A follow-up to the bestseller Disrupting Class by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael…
- 4
Unlocking the Clubhouse
Women in Computing
Jane Margolis · 2001
4.20291 ratings · Goodreads
Education
About the book
Understanding and overcoming the gender gap in computer science education. The information technology revolution is transforming almost every aspect of society, but girls and women are largely out of the loop. Although women surf the Web in equal numbers to…
- 5
Disrupting Class
How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns
Clayton M. Christensen · 2008
3.861,894 ratings · Goodreads
EducationMoats and competitionInnovation
About the book
Selected as one of the "Best Books on Innovation, 2008" by BusinessWeek magazine Named the "Best Human-Capital Book of 2008" by Strategy + Business magazine A crash course in the business of learning-from the bestselling author of The Innovator's Dilemma and…
- 6
What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School
Notes from a Street-smart Executive
Mark H. McCormack · 1984
3.605,703 ratings · Goodreads
EducationCompany building
About the book
This business classic features straight-talking advice you’ll never hear in school. Featuring a new foreword by Ariel Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell Mark H. McCormack, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in American business, is widely credited as the…
- 7
Geek Heresy
Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology
Kentaro Toyama · 2015
3.98432 ratings · Goodreads
Education
About the book
After a decade designing technologies meant to address education, health, and global poverty, award-winning computer scientist Kentaro Toyama came to a difficult Even in an age of amazing technology, social progress depends on human changes that gadgets…
- 8
The Fearless Organization
Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth
Amy C. Edmondson · 2018
3.965,333 ratings · Goodreads
EducationInnovationCompany building
About the book
Conquer the most essential adaptation to the knowledge economy The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth offers practical guidance for teams and organizations who are serious about…
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
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
Hey, Hun
Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing
Emily Lynn Paulson · 2023
3.5814,654 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthFirst salesCompany building
About the book
She signed up for the sisterhood, free cars, and the promise of a successful business of her own. Instead, she ended up with an addiction, broken friendships, and the rubble of a toppled pyramid . . . scheme. Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the…
- 5
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…
- 6
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…
- 7
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…
- 8
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…
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
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…
- 3
My Life in Full
Work, Family, and Our Future
Indra Nooyi · 2021
4.2310,704 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
A New York Times Bestseller An intimate and powerful memoir by the trailblazing former CEO of PepsiCo For a dozen years as one of the world’s most admired CEOs, Indra Nooyi redefined what it means to be an exceptional leader. The first woman of color and…
- 4
Reinventing Organizations
A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness
Frederic Laloux · 2014
4.216,480 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
FROM THE BACKCOVERThe way we manage organizations seems increasingly out of date. Deep inside, we sense that more is possible. We long for soulful workplaces, for authenticity, community, passion, and purpose.In this groundbreaking book, the author shows that…
- 5
All It Takes Is a Goal
The 3-Step Plan to Ditch Regret and Tap Into Your Massive Potential | Achieve Your Resolutions and Find Success
Jon Acuff · 2023
4.552,450 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
"This is my new favorite book about goals!" -- Mel Robbins , podcaster and New York Times bestselling author of The High 5 Habit What if you could have a fulfilling career, a thriving marriage, strong friendships, and rewarding hobbies, all while being in…
- 6
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…
- 7
Creativity, Inc.
Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
Ed Catmull · 2014
4.20105,625 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
“What does it mean to manage well?” From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business, sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath.…
- 8
Alex Ferguson
My Autobiography
Alex Ferguson · 2013
3.9418,818 ratings · Goodreads
Leading 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…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
Arise
The Art of Transformational Coaching
Elena Aguilar · 2024
4.40217 ratings · Goodreads
Education
About the book
A hands-on guide for transformational coaches working in school environments In The Art of Coaching 2.0: How to Thrive as a Transformational Coach , renowned author and coach Elena Aguilar delivers a compelling and inspirational message about how to coach in…
- 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
What's Your Dream?
Find Your Passion. Love Your Work. Build a Richer Life.
Simon Squibb · 2025
3.772,249 ratings · Goodreads
EducationCompany building
About the book
#1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER • Kickstart your dream business and see it through to success with actionable advice and inspirational stories from entrepreneur, investor, YouTuber, and founder of HelpBnk Simon SquibbFrom early on, we are taught that there's only…
- 4
Coming Up Short
A Memoir of My America
Robert B. Reich · 2025
4.502,794 ratings · Goodreads
Education
About the book
From political economist, cabinet member, beloved professor, media presence, and bestselling author of Saving Capitalism and The Common Good, a deeply-felt, compelling memoir of growing up in a baby-boom America that made progress in certain areas, fell short…
- 5
Second Class
How the Elites Betrayed America's Working Men and Women
Batya Ungar-Sargon · 2024
3.97524 ratings · Goodreads
Education
About the book
Second Class is the most important book you will read all year. A political realignment is coming, and it’s my hope that the end result will work in favor of our all-too-neglected American working class. When that realignment comes, Batya and her book will…
- 6
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…
- 7
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…
- 8
The Infinity Machine
Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence
Sebastian Mallaby · 2026
4.423,320 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
From one of our leading chroniclers of the intersection of innovation and capitalism, a landmark reckoning, based on unprecedented access, with one of the world’s most brilliant and driven tech visionaries and his game-changing company.Even by the standard…
How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.
- 1
The Man Watching
A Biography of Anson Dorrance, the Unlikely Architect of the Greatest College Sports Dynasty Ever
Tim Crothers · 2006
4.37342 ratings · Goodreads
EducationFounder stories
About the book
Former Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Crothers took a year off to write a book; that year became a five-year odyssey chronicling one of the most successful coaches in the history of sports. The Man Watching reveals, for the first time, the story of the…
- 2
Steve Jobs
The Man Who Thought Different
Karen Blumenthal · 2012
3.956,600 ratings · Goodreads
EducationFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
A riveting biography of the groundbreaking innovator who was a giant in the worlds of computing, music, filmmaking, design, smart phones, and more. A finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award! "Your time is limited. . . . have the courage to…
- 3
Walden on Wheels
On The Open Road from Debt to Freedom
Ken Ilgunas · 2013
4.018,091 ratings · Goodreads
EducationFounder stories
About the book
In this memoir, Ken Ilgunas lays bare the existential terror of graduating from the University of Buffalo with $32,000 of student debt. Ilgunas set himself an ambitious mission: get out of debt as quickly as possible. Inspired by the frugality and philosophy…
- 4
The Education of Cyrus
Xenophon
4.051,259 ratings · Goodreads
EducationFounder stories
About the book
Cyropaedia: The Education of Cyrus by Xenophon is a historical and philosophical work that details the life and education of Cyrus the Great. The text, translated by Henry Graham Dakyns and revised by F. M. Stawell, explores themes of leadership, governance,…
- 5
Burn Rate
Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind
Andy Dunn · 2022
4.323,017 ratings · Goodreads
EducationFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
The co-founder of the menswear startup Bonobos opens up about the struggle with bipolar disorder that nearly cost him everything in this gripping, radically honest memoir of mental illness and entrepreneurship. "Arrestingly candid . . . the most powerful…
- 6
Authentic
A Memoir by the Founder of Vans
Paul Van Doren · 2021
4.23974 ratings · Goodreads
EducationFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
In the tradition of bestsellers such as Shoe Dog , Authentic is a surprisingly candid, compelling memoir by a high school dropout who went on to establish one of the world's most iconic brands. You may not have known their creator, but you…
- 7
Endzone
The Rise, Fall, and Return of Michigan Football
John U. Bacon · 2015
4.311,492 ratings · Goodreads
EducationCompany building
About the book
The New York Times Bestseller Endzone tells the story of how college football's most successful, richest and respected program almost lost all three in less than a decade - and entirely of its own doing. It is a story of hubris, greed, and betrayal - a tale…
- 8
The Algebra of Happiness
Notes on the Pursuit of Success, Love, and Meaning
Scott Galloway · 2019
3.779,110 ratings · Goodreads
EducationFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
An unconventional book of wisdom and life advice from renowned business school professor and New York Times bestselling author of The Four Scott Galloway. Scott Galloway teaches brand strategy at NYU's Stern School of Business, but his most popular lectures…
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
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…
- 4
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…
- 5
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…
- 6
Outliers
The Story of Success
Malcolm Gladwell · 2008
4.19890,252 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers", the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that…
- 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
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…
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.