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 · Food and agriculture · 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 Secret Life of Groceries
The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket
Benjamin Lorr · 2020
3.9416,027 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
This book is an investigation into the human lives at the heart of the American grocery store. What does it take to run the American supermarket? How do products get to shelves? Who sets the price? And who suffers the consequences of increased convenience and…
- 2
You Can Farm
The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start & Succeed in a Farming Enterprise
Joel Salatin · 1998
4.311,806 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
Have you ever desired, deep within your soul, to make a comfortable full-time living from a farming enterprise? Too often people dare not even vocalize this desire because it seems absurd. It's like thinking the unthinkable. After all, the farm population…
- 3
Eat Mor Chikin
Inspire More People
S. Truett Cathy · 2002
4.051,271 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany buildingFirst sales
About the book
Truett Cathy is a real-life Horatio Alger story. He grew up in a boarding house his mother operated, where he learned the principles of hard work, fairness, honesty, loyalty, and respect. When he opened a small restaurant in 1946 with his brother Ben, he put…
- 4
Grocery
The Buying and Selling of Food in America
Michael Ruhlman · 2017
3.783,591 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany buildingFirst sales
About the book
Cookbook author and food writer Ruhlman explores the evolution of the American grocery store and how it has affected what we eat. The author uses two of his Midwestern hometown grocery chains, Heinen's and Fazio's, and his memories of his father's love of…
- 5
The Growing Season
How I Built a New Life--and Saved an American Farm
Sarah Frey · 2020
4.131,943 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agriculture
About the book
“A gutsy success story” ( The New York Times Book Review ) about one tenacious woman’s journey to escape rural poverty and create a billion-dollar farming business, without ever leaving the land she loves The youngest of her parents’ combined twenty-one…
- 6
The Meat Racket
The Secret Takeover of America's Food Business
Christopher Leonard · 2014
4.111,038 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
An investigative journalist takes you inside the corporate meat industry, a shocking, in-depth report every American should read. The biggest takeover in American business that you’ve n ever heard of The American supermarket seems to represent the best in…
- 7
In-N-Out Burger
A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules
Stacy Perman · 2009
3.701,600 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
“This book grills up an enjoyable read for both avid foodies and novice diners alike! Perman’s sneak peek into the fascinating history of In-N-Out is as good as the delicious burgers themselves.”, Mario Batali, celebrity chef and author of Molto Italiano A…
- 8
The Urban Farmer
Growing Food for Profit on Leased and Borrowed Land
Curtis Allen Stone · 2015
4.24456 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
Strategies and techniques for making a living with intensive food production in small spaces There are 40 million acres of lawns in North America. In their current form, these unproductive expanses of grass represent a significant financial and environmental…
Books on food and agriculture.
- 1
How Stella Saved the Farm
A Tale About Making Innovation Happen
Vijay Govindarajan · 2011
3.661,331 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureInnovationCompany building
About the book
How Stella Saved the Farm is a simple parable about making innovation happen, written by the authors of the New York Times bestselling Reverse Innovation : Create Far From Home, Win Everywhere, Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble. This story resonates in…
- 2
Anyone Can Do It
Building Coffee Republic from Our Kitchen Table - 57 Real-Life Laws on Entrepreneurship
Sahar Hashemi · 2002
4.12581 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
Anyone Can Do It chronicles the start and evolution of a successful business dream. Beginning with the Hashemi siblings' first conversations (when the seed of the idea was planted) it follows the progress of Coffee Republic from business plan to the present…
- 3
When Coffee & Kale Compete
Become Great at Making Products People Will Buy
Alan Klement · 2016
4.00704 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
A Job to be Done is the process a consumer goes through whenever she aims to transform her existing life-situation into a preferred one, but cannot because there are constraints that stop her. When Coffee and Kale Compete by Alan Klement helps you become…
- 4
The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America
Marc Levinson · 2011
3.93603 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
One of The Wall Street Journal's Best Non fiction Books of 2011. From modest beginnings as a tea shop in New York, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company became the largest retailer in the world. It was a juggernaut, the first retailer to sell $1 billion…
- 5
The Kelloggs
The Battling Brothers of Battle Creek
Howard Markel · 2017
3.87969 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
"What's more American than Corn Flakes?" --Bing Crosby From the much admired medical historian ("Markel shows just how compelling the medical history can be"--Andrea Barrett) and author of An Anatomy of Addiction ("Absorbing, vivid"--Sherwin Nuland, The…
- 6
The Flower Farmer
An Organic Grower's Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers
Lynn Byczynski · 1997
4.45366 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
Acre-for-acre, flowers are the most profitable--as well as the most beautiful--crop on the farm. In The Flower Farmer expert flower grower Lynn Byczynski provides a complete introduction to raising a cornucopia of cut flowers for home use and for sale to…
- 7
Energy and Civilization
A History
Vaclav Smil · 2017
4.094,293 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agriculture
About the book
A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel-driven civilization. Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The…
- 8
Covert Cows and Chick-fil-A
How Faith, Cows, and Chicken Built an Iconic Brand
Steve Robinson · 2019
4.04996 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
The longtime chief marketing officer for Chick-fil-A tells the inside story of how the company turned prevailing theories of fast-food marketing upside down and built one of the most successful and beloved brands in America. During his thirty-four-year…
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
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
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
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…
- 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
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…
- 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
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
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…
- 4
The Coaching Habit
Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever
Michael Bungay Stanier · 2016
4.0030,923 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
In Michael Bungay Stanier's The Coaching Habit, coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so managers and their teams can wok less hard and have more impact. Drawing on years of experience training more than 10,000 busy managers from around the…
- 5
The 360 Degree Leader
Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization
John C. Maxwell · 2005
4.158,377 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Don't wait for that promotion! Start leading NOW... right where you are! What's the number one question leadership expert John C. Maxwell is asked while conducting his leadership conferences? "How can I implement what you teach when I'm not the top leader?"…
- 6
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…
- 7
The Advantage
Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business
Patrick Lencioni · 2012
4.1316,684 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
There is a competitive advantage out there, arguably more powerful than any other. Is it superior strategy? Faster innovation? Smarter employees? No, New York Times best-selling author, Patrick Lencioni, argues that the seminal difference between successful…
- 8
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…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
The Story of Disney
100 Years of Wonder
John Baxter · 2023
4.29265 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agriculture
About the book
The Walt Disney Company honors its 100th anniversary in 2023. As part of the festivities, this must-have coffee table book showcases the company's history and rich legacy, past, present, and future, through vibrant voices and rare Disney concept art and…
- 2
Fiat Food
Why Inflation Destroyed Our Health and How Bitcoin Fixes It
Matthew Lysiak · 2023
4.32275 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agriculture
About the book
THE REAL COST OF INFLATION ON A COUNTRY can be best seen not through government-sanctioned data points circulated throughout the corporate sponsored media, but in the financial, physical, and mental health of its citizenry. Officials point to the increase of…
- 3
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…
- 4
The Whole Story
Adventures in Love, Life, and Capitalism
John Mackey · 2024
4.19652 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
Whole Foods Market’s Cofounder and CEO for 44 years, John Mackey offers an intimate and provocative account of the rise of this iconic company and the personal and spiritual journey that inspired its remarkable impact. The growth of Whole Foods isn’t just…
- 5
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…
- 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
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…
- 8
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…
How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.
- 1
Nobu
A Memoir
Nobu Matsuhisa · 2017
3.81384 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureFounder stories
About the book
A fascinating and unique memoir by the acclaimed celebrity chef and international restaurateur, Nobu, as he divulges both his dramatic life story and reflects on the philosophy and passion that has made him one of the world’s most widely respected Japanese…
- 2
Restaurant Man
Joe Bastianich · 2012
3.671,503 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
How does a nice Italian boy from Queens turn his passion for food and wine into an empire?In his winning memoir, Restaurant Man, Joe Bastianich charts his culinary journey from working in his parents’ red-sauce joint to becoming one of the country’s most…
- 3
The Taste of Conquest
The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice
Michael Krondl · 2007
3.75959 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureFounder stories
About the book
The smell of sweet cinnamon on your morning oatmeal, the gentle heat of gingerbread, the sharp piquant bite from your everyday peppermill. The tales these spices could tell: of lavish Renaissance banquets perfumed with cloves, and flimsy sailing ships sent…
- 4
Empires of Food
Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilization
Evan D.G. Fraser · 2010
3.82392 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureFounder stories
About the book
We are what we this aphorism contains a profound truth about civilization, one that has played out on the world historical stage over many millennia of human endeavor. Using the colorful diaries of a sixteenth-century merchant as a narrative guide, Empires…
- 5
The Search for God and Guinness
A Biography of the Beer That Changed the World
Stephen Mansfield · 2009
3.842,624 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
The history of Guinness, one of the world s most famous brands, reveals the noble heights and generosity of a great family and an innovative business. It began in Ireland in the mid 1700s. The water in Ireland, indeed throughout Europe, was famously…
- 6
Starbucked
A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture
Taylor Clark · 2007
3.751,476 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
STARBUCKED will be the first book to explore the incredible rise of the Starbucks Corporation and the caffeine-crazy culture that fueled its success. Part Fast Food Nation , part Bobos in Paradise , STARBUCKED combines investigative heft with witty cultural…
- 7
The King of California
J.G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire
Mark Arax · 2003
4.07627 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureCompany building
About the book
The fascinating story of a cotton magnate whose voracious appetite for land drove him to create the first big agricultural empire of the Central Valley of California, and shaped the landscape for decades to come. J.G. Boswell was the biggest farmer in…
- 8
Indra Nooyi
A Biography
Annapoorna · 2012
3.851,288 ratings · Goodreads
Food and agricultureFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
Indra Nooyi is an inspiring figure. She holds out hope for all young women, especially those from developing countries. After all, her journey started in India back in the 1950s and 60s. She hailed from a middle-class family in Chennai and dared to dream big…
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
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…
- 4
Shoe Dog
A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Phil Knight · 2016
4.45389,310 ratings · Goodreads
Company 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…
- 5
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…
- 6
Empire of Pain
The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
Patrick Radden Keefe · 2021
4.53151,147 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
The highly anticipated portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, by the prize-winning, bestselling author of Say Nothing .The Sackler name adorns the walls of many storied Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oxford, the Louvre. They are one of…
- 7
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…
- 8
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…
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.