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 · Fintech and financial services · Seed
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ShortlistThe best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
The best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
- 1
The Color of Money
Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap
Mehrsa Baradaran · 2017
4.472,401 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial services
About the book
“Read this book. It explains so much about the moment…Beautiful, heartbreaking work.” ―Ta-Nehisi Coates When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, the black community owned less than one percent of the United States’ total wealth. More than 150…
- 2
Delay, Deny, Defend
Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It
Jay M. Feinman · 2010
4.02868 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
An expose of insurance injustice and a plan for consumers and lawmakers to fight it Over the last two decades, insurance has become less of a safety net and more of a spider's sticky and complicated, designed to ensnare as much as to aid. Insurance…
- 3
The House of Morgan
An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance
Ron Chernow · 1990
3.9613,157 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
The winner of the National Book Award and now considered a classic, The House of Morgan is the most ambitious history ever written about an American banking dynasty. Acclaimed by The Wall Street Journal as "brilliantly researched and written," the book tells…
- 4
All the Devils are Here
The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis
Bethany McLean · 2010
4.057,913 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here." -Shakespeare, The Tempest As soon as the financial crisis erupted, the finger-pointing began. Should the blame fall on Wall Street, Main Street, or Pennsylvania Avenue? On greedy traders, misguided…
- 5
The Founders
The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley
Jimmy Soni · 2022
4.234,070 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2022 BY THE NEW YORKER National Bestseller * New York Times Editors’ Choice * Financial Times “Books to Read in 2022” A SABEW BEST IN BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS FINALIST “A gripping account of PayPal’s origins and a vivid portrait of the geeks…
- 6
Bank 4.0
Banking everywhere, never at a bank
Brett King · 2018
4.07622 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
In the final book in the digital 'BANK'; series, Brett King tackles the topic of whether banks have a future at all in the emerging, technology embedded world of the 21st century. In 30-50 years when cash is gone, cards are gone and all vestiges of the…
- 7
The PayPal Wars
Battles with eBay, the Media, the Mafia, and the Rest of Planet Earth
Eric M. Jackson · 2004
3.991,130 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
When Peter Thiel and Max Levchin launched an online payment website in 1999, they hoped their service could improve the lives of millions around the globe. But when their start-up, PayPal, survived the dot.com crash only to find itself besieged by…
- 8
Banker to the Poor
Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
Muhammad Yunus · 1991
4.1210,500 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
Muhammad Yunus is that rare thing: a bona fide visionary. His dream is the total eradication of poverty from the world. In 1983, against the advice of banking and government officials, Yunus established Grameen, a bank devoted to providing the poorest of…
Books on fintech and financial services.
- 1
Why Aren't They Shouting?
A Banker's Tale of Change, Computers and Perpetual Crisis
Kevin Rodgers · 2016
4.26222 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
When Kevin Rodgers embarked on his career in finance, dealing rooms were seething with clamouring traders and gesticulating salesmen. Nearly three decades later, the feverish bustle has gone and the loudest noise you’re likely to hear is the gentle tapping of…
- 2
The Innovation Stack
Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time
Jim McKelvey · 2020
4.221,839 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesInnovationCompany building
About the book
From the cofounder of Square, an inspiring and entertaining account of what it means to be a true entrepreneur and what it takes to build a resilient, world-changing company In 2009, a St. Louis glassblowing artist and recovering computer scientist named Jim…
- 3
Service Design
From Insight to Implementation
Andy Polaine · 2013
4.05605 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
We have unsatisfactory experiences when we use banks, buses, health services and insurance companies. They don't make us feel happier or richer. Why are they not designed as well as the products we love to use such as an Apple iPod or a BMW? The 'developed'…
- 4
The Cult of We
WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion
Eliot Brown · 2021
4.267,528 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
The definitive inside story of WeWork, its audacious founder, and what the company's epic unraveling exposes about Silicon Valley's delusions and the financial system's desperate hunger to cash in--from the Wall Street Journal reporters whose scoops hastened…
- 5
Lucifer's Banker
The Untold Story of How I Destroyed Swiss Banking Secrecy
Bradley C. Birkenfeld · 2016
4.001,236 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
Amazon Bestseller in White Collar Crime Amazon Bestseller in Financial Services Amazon Bestseller in Banks & Banking As a private banker working for the largest bank in the world, UBS, Bradley Birkenfeld was an expert in Switzerland's shell-game of offshore…
What founders at seed need most: company building, finding product-market fit, raising money, first sales, marketing and growth.
- 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…
- 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
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…
- 4
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.…
- 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
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,…
- 7
Venture Deals
Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist
Brad Feld · 2011
4.1117,486 ratings · Goodreads
Raising 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.…
- 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
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…
- 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
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
Built to Last
Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
Jim Collins · 1994
4.0687,169 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
"This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important,…
- 6
The Ant and the Elephant
Leadership for the Self
Vince Poscente · 2004
4.203,111 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
A renowned speaker, business consultant, record-setting speed skier and Olympian, Vince Poscente believes in the enormous potential of the unconscious mind. Poscente likens the dynamic between the conscious and subconscious minds to an ant and an elephant:…
- 7
The Phoenix Project
A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win
Gene Kim · 2013
4.2551,320 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Bill is an IT manager at Parts Unlimited. It's Tuesday morning and on his drive into the office, Bill gets a call from the CEO. The company's new IT initiative, code named Phoenix Project, is critical to the future of Parts Unlimited, but the project is…
- 8
American Icon
Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company
Bryce G. Hoffman · 2012
4.425,255 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
THE INSIDE STORY OF THE EPIC TURNAROUND OF FORD MOTOR COMPANY UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF CEO ALAN MULALLY. At the end of 2008, Ford Motor Company was just months away from running out of cash. With the auto industry careening toward ruin, Congress offered all…
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
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…
- 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…
- 3
Apple in China
The Capture of the World's Greatest Company
Patrick McGee · 2025
4.4810,559 ratings · Goodreads
Company 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
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…
- 5
- 6
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…
- 7
No More Tears
The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson
Gardiner Harris · 2025
4.1722,997 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
An incendiary, deeply reported exposé of Johnson & Johnson, one of America’s oldest and most trusted pharmaceutical companies, from award-winning investigative journalist Gardiner Harris One day in 2004, Gardiner Harris, early for a flight, sat down at an…
- 8
Careless People
A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
Sarah Wynn-Williams · 2025
4.12150,174 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
Sarah Wynn-Williams joined Facebook believing the company could change things for the better. Instead, what she encountered over seven years was so shocking that Meta obtained a legal order to silence her. Now you can read her award-winning story. Candid…
How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.
- 1
A Colossal Failure of Common Sense
The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers
Lawrence G. McDonald · 2009
3.923,360 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
One of the biggest questions of the financial crisis has not been answered until now. What happened at Lehman Brothers and why was it allowed to fail, with aftershocks that rocked the global economy? In this news-making, often astonishing book, a former…
- 2
Tearing Down the Walls
How Sandy Weill Fought His Way to the Top of the Financial World. . .and Then Nearly Lost It All
Monica Langley · 2003
4.10246 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
He is one of the world's most accomplished figures of modern finance. As chairman and chief executive officer of Citigroup, Sanford "Sandy" Weill has become an American legend, a banking visionary whose innovativeness, opportunism, and even fear drove him…
- 3
How the Other Half Banks
Exclusion, Exploitation, and the Threat to Democracy
Mehrsa Baradaran · 2015
4.10633 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
The United States has two separate banking systems today one serving the well-to-do and another exploiting everyone else." How the Other Half Banks "contributes to the growing conversation on American inequality by highlighting one of its prime causes:…
- 4
Last Man Standing
The Ascent of Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase
Duff McDonald · 2009
4.241,497 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
In the midst of this disastrous economic climate, one executive has weathered the storm more deftly than any other: Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, considered the dominant fi gure on Wall Street. Dimon's eleventh-hour acquisition, in 2008, of…
- 5
The Work
My Search for a Life That Matters
Wes Moore · 2014
3.751,159 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesFounder stories
About the book
The acclaimed author of The Other Wes Moore continues his inspirational quest for a meaningful life and shares the powerful lessons, about self-discovery, service, and risk-taking, that led him to a new definition of success for our times. The Work is the…
- 6
The Economics of Money, Banking, and Financial Markets
Frederic S. Mishkin · 1986
4.02757 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
This market-leading text provides the most authoritative, applications-rich coverage of key concepts, models, and issues in money and banking. Frederic Mishkin previously held the post as Executive Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal…
- 7
The House of Rothschild, Vol 2
The World's Banker 1849-1999
Niall Ferguson · 1998
3.96698 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
A major work of economic, social and political history, Niall Ferguson's The House of Rothschild: The World's Banker 1849-1999 is the second volume of the acclaimed, landmark history of the legendary Rothschild banking dynasty. Niall Ferguson's House of…
- 8
Crash of the Titans
Greed, Hubris, the Fall of Merrill Lynch, and the Near-Collapse of Bank of America
Greg Farrell · 2010
4.121,616 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
The intimate, fly-on-the wall tale of the decline and fall of an America icon With one notable exception, the firms that make up what we know as Wall Street have always been part of an inbred, insular culture that most people only vaguely understand. 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
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…
- 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
- 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
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…
- 7
Steve Jobs
Walter Isaacson · 2011
4.161,391,990 ratings · Goodreads
Company 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…
- 8
Napoleon Hill
Think and Grow Rich
Napoleon Hill · 1937
4.16385,071 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
“In every chapter of this book, mention has been made of the moneymaking secret which has made fortunes for hundreds of exceedingly wealthy men whom I have carefully analyzed over a long period of years. “The secret was brought to my attention by Andrew…
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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.