Best books for founders and investors

Your reading list

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…
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2
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…
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3
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…
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4
Payments Systems in the U.S.
A Guide for the Payments Professional
Carol Coye Benson · 2010
4.13488 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
“Payments Systems in the U.S.” is a comprehensive description of the payments systems (cards, checks, ACH, wires, and cash) that move money between and among consumers and enterprises in the U.S. In clear and lively writing, the authors explain how the…
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5
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…
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6
The Alchemists
Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire
Neil Irwin · 2013
4.061,452 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
When the first fissures became visible to the naked eye in August 2007, suddenly the most powerful men in the world were three men who were never elected to public office. They were the leaders of the world’s three most important central Ben Bernanke of the…
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7
A History of Money and Banking in the United States
The Colonial Era to World War II
Murray N. Rothbard · 2002
4.18524 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial services
About the book
In what is sure to become the standard account, Rothbard traces inflations, banking panics, and money meltdowns from the Colonial Period through the mid-20th century to show how government's systematic war on sound money is the hidden force behind nearly all…
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8
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…
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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…
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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…
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3
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…
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4
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'…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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4
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…
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5
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.…
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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…
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7
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,…
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8
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.…
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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…
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2
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,…
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3
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…
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4
Launching a Leadership Revolution
Mastering the Five Levels of Influence
Chris Brady · 2005
4.372,964 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Sooner or later, we are all called to lead in some capacity. Leadership skills are vital in corporate settings, small businesses, church or community organizations, and even within the home. Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward have recognized this need and have…
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5
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…
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6
The First 90 Days
Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter
Michael D. Watkins · 2003
3.8539,471 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Since its original release, The First 90 Days has become the bestselling globally acknowledged bible of leadership and career transitions. In this updated and expanded 10th anniversary edition, internationally known leadership transition expert Michael D.…
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7
Inspired
How to Create Tech Products Customers Love
Marty Cagan · 2008
4.2226,350 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
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…
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8
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…
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Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.

1
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…
On Amazon Audible
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…
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3
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…
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4
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…
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5
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…
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6
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…
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7
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…
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8
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…
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How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.

1
Courage to Act
A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath
Ben S. Bernanke · 2015
4.122,136 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
From the winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Economics A New York Times Bestseller “A fascinating account of the effort to save the world from another [Great Depression]. . . . Humanity should be grateful.”― Financial Times In 2006, Ben S. Bernanke was…
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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…
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3
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…
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4
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:…
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5
Treasure Islands
Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens
Nicholas Shaxson · 2011
4.181,982 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
A thrilling ride inside the world of tax havens and corporate masterminds While the United States experiences recession and economic stagnation and European countries face bankruptcy, experts struggle to make sense of the crisis. Nicholas Shaxson, a former…
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6
All the Presidents' Bankers
The Hidden Alliances that Drive American Power
Nomi Prins · 2014
4.07545 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesCompany building
About the book
Who rules America?All the Presidents' Bankers is a groundbreaking narrative of how an elite group of men transformed the American economy and government, dictated foreign and domestic policy, and shaped world history.Culled from original presidential archival…
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7
The Age of Selfishness
Ayn Rand, Morality, and the Financial Crisis
Darryl Cunningham · 2014
4.011,070 ratings · Goodreads
Fintech and financial servicesFounder stories
About the book
Tracing the emergence of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of objectivism in the 1940s to her present-day influence, Darryl Cunningham’s latest work of graphic-nonfiction investigation leads readers to the heart of the global financial crisis of 2008. Cunningham uses…
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8
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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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4
The Long Tail
Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More
Chris Anderson · 2006
3.8330,263 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingFirst sales
About the book
The New York Times bestseller that introduced the business world to a future that s already here -- now in paperback with a new chapter about Long Tail Marketing and a new epilogue. Winner of the Gerald Loeb Award for Best Business Book of the Year. In…
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5
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…
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6
Zero to One
Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
Peter Thiel · 2014
4.14419,155 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
If you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets. The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how…
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7
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…
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8
No Logo
Naomi Klein · 2000
3.9033,309 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
With a new Afterword to the 2002 edition, No Logo employs journalistic savvy and personal testament to detail the insidious practices and far-reaching effects of corporate marketing, and the powerful potential of a growing activist sect that will surely alter…
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Reading list: the books for what you are building

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Read what the people you are pitching read.