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 · Health and biotech · 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 Advantage
Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business
Patrick Lencioni · 2012
4.1316,684 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany building
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…
- 2
Sedated
How Modern Capitalism Created our Mental Health Crisis
James Davies · 2021
4.212,515 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotech
About the book
In Britain alone, more than 20% of the adult population take a psychiatric drug in any one year. This is an increase of over 500% since 1980 and the numbers continue to grow. Yet, despite this prescription epidemic, levels of mental illness of all types have…
- 3
No More Tears
The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson
Gardiner Harris · 2025
4.1722,997 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany 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…
- 4
Successful Women Think Differently
9 Habits to Make You Happier, Healthier, and More Resilient
Valorie Burton · 2012
4.201,226 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany building
About the book
Popular author and professional certified coach Valorie Burton knows that successful women think differently. They make decisions differently. They set goals differently and bounce back from failure differently. Valorie is dedicated to help women create new…
- 5
Replenish
Leading from a Healthy Soul
Lance Witt · 2015
4.29765 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotech
About the book
Every leader functions on two stages--the front stage or public world, and the back stage or private world. One cannot lead successfully front stage when one is completely depleted back stage. In a time when pastors are leaving the ministry in record numbers…
- 6
Her-2
The Making of Herceptin, a Revolutionary Treatment for Breast Cancer
Robert Bazell · 1998
4.07313 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotech
About the book
Two years after she underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy, Barbara Bradfield's aggressive breast cancer had recurred and spread to her lungs. The outlook was grim. Then she took part in Genentech's clinical trials for a new drug. Five years later she…
- 7
Never Pay the First Bill
And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win
Marshall Allen · 2021
4.26601 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany building
About the book
From award-winning ProPublica reporter Marshall Allen, a primer for anyone who wants to fight the predatory health care system--and win.Every year, millions of Americans are overcharged and underserved while the health care industry makes record profits. We…
- 8
The New Good Life
Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less
John Robbins · 2010
3.68678 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotech
About the book
How do you define the good life? For many, success is measured not by health and happiness but by financial wealth. But such a worldview overlooks the important things in personal contentment, family time, spirituality, and the health of the planet and those…
Books on health and biotech.
- 1
The Innovator's Prescription
A Disruptive Solution for Health Care
Clayton M. Christensen · 2008
4.211,158 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechInnovationMoats and competition
About the book
A groundbreaking prescription for health care reform--from a legendary leader in innovation . . . Our health care system is in critical condition. Each year, fewer Americans can afford it, fewer businesses can provide it, and fewer government programs can…
- 2
Where Does It Hurt?
An Entrepreneur's Guide to Fixing Health Care
Jonathan Bush · 2014
3.78598 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany buildingInnovation
About the book
A bold new remedy for the sprawling and wasteful health care industry Where else but the doctor’s office do you have to fill out a form on a clipboard? Have you noticed that hospital bills are almost unintelligible, except for the absurdly high dollar amount?…
- 3
The Kelloggs
The Battling Brothers of Battle Creek
Howard Markel · 2017
3.87969 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany 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…
- 4
The Cigarette Century
The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America
Allan M. Brandt · 2007
4.10509 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany building
About the book
The invention of mass marketing led to cigarettes being emblazoned in advertising and film, deeply tied to modern notions of glamour and sex appeal. It is hard to find a photo of Humphrey Bogart or Lauren Bacall without a cigarette. No product has been so…
- 5
- 6
Contagious
Why Things Catch On
Jonah Berger · 2013
3.9834,129 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany building
About the book
New York Times bestseller and named Best Marketing Book of 2014 by the American Marketing AssociationWhat makes things popular? Why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what…
- 7
Inventology
How We Dream Up Things That Change the World
Pagan Kennedy · 2015
3.85413 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany buildingInnovation
About the book
Find out where great ideas come from. A father cleans up after his toddler and imagines a cup that won't spill. An engineer watches people using walkie-talkies and has an idea. A doctor figures out how to deliver patients to the operating room before they…
- 8
Irresistible
The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
Adam Alter · 2017
3.8513,142 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany building
About the book
Welcome to the age of behavioral addiction, an age in which half of the American population is addicted to at least one behavior. We obsess over our emails, Instagram likes, and Facebook feeds; we binge on TV episodes and YouTube videos; we work longer hours…
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 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…
- 3
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,…
- 4
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…
- 5
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…
- 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
UX Strategy
How to Devise Innovative Digital Products that People Want
Jaime Levy · 2014
3.941,224 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
How do you bridge the large knowledge gap between user experience design and business strategy? This practical book introduces lightweight strategy tools and techniques that will help both your design team and your client come to a shared understanding of the…
- 8
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…
Leading and managing a team as the company grows.
- 1
Dare to Lead
Brené Brown · 2018
4.17132,765 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Brené Brown has taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, and brave the wilderness. Now, based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, and culture shifters, she’s showing us how to put those ideas into…
- 2
Joker One
A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood
Donovan Campbell · 2009
4.154,545 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
After graduating from Princeton, Donovan Campbell, motivated by his unwavering patriotism and commitment, decided to join the service, realizing that becoming a Marine officer would allow him to give back to his country, engage in the world, and learn to…
- 3
The Outsiders
Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success
William N. Thorndike Jr. · 2012
4.2214,412 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
”It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different.”, John TempletonWhat makes a successful CEO? Most people call to mind a familiar definition: a seasoned manager with deep industry expertise. Others might point to the…
- 4
The Effective Executive
The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
Peter F. Drucker · 1966
4.0938,437 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
What makes an effective executive? The measure of the executive, Peter F. Drucker reminds us, is the ability to "get the right things done." This usually involves doing what other people have overlooked as well as avoiding what is unproductive. Intelligence,…
- 5
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…
- 6
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…
- 7
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…
- 8
The Manager's Path
A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change
Camille Fournier · 2017
4.2510,686 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Managing people is difficult wherever you work, but the tech industry as a whole is pretty bad at it. Tech companies in general lack the experience, tools, texts, and frameworks to do it well. And the handful of books that share tips and tricks of engineering…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
Off the Scales
The Inside Story of Ozempic and the Race to Cure Obesity
Aimee Donnellan · 2025
3.83448 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotech
About the book
The inside story of the race to develop Ozempic, and its potentially revolutionary impact on public health and culture.A “cure” for obesity has long been the holy grail for the pharmaceutical industry, one that seemed unattainable until recent breakthroughs…
- 2
Defy
The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes
Sunita Sah · 2025
4.041,013 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotech
About the book
Why is it so hard to stand up to authority even when we know something’s wrong? Many of us comply much more than we realize. How many times have you wanted to object, disagree, or opt out of something but ended up swallowing your words, shaking your head,…
- 3
Fiat Food
Why Inflation Destroyed Our Health and How Bitcoin Fixes It
Matthew Lysiak · 2023
4.32275 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotech
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…
- 4
Bad Company
Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream
Megan Greenwell · 2025
4.025,595 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany building
About the book
A damning indictment of the private equity industry told through the stories of four American workers whose lives and communities were upended by the ruinous effects of private equity takeovers. Private equity runs our country, yet few Americans have any…
- 5
The Big Fail
What the Pandemic Revealed About Who America Protects and Who It Leaves Behind
Joe Nocera · 2023
3.90339 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany building
About the book
From the collaborators behind the modern business classic All the Devils are Here comes a damning indictment of American capitalism, and the leaders that left us brutally unprepared for a global pandemicIn 2020, the novel coronavirus pandemic made it painfully…
- 6
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…
- 7
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…
- 8
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…
How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.
- 1
Quit Like a Woman
The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol
Holly Whitaker · 2019
3.9832,059 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechFounder stories
About the book
The founder of a female-focused recovery program offers a radical new path to sobriety. “You don’t know how much you need this book, or maybe you do. Either way, it will save your life.”, Melissa Hartwig Urban, Whole30 co-founder and CEO We live in a…
- 2
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The First Forty Years, 1899-1939 v. 1
Iain H. Murray · 1982
4.58445 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechFounder stories
About the book
When Martyn Lloyd-Jones, physician, preacher and Christian Leader, died in 1981, after more then 40 years in London, few knew the remarkable story of his formative earlier years which, in the authorised biography, is now told for the first time. From his…
- 3
Shoe Dog
A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Phil Knight · 2016
4.45389,310 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable…
- 4
Personal History
A Memoir
Katharine Graham · 1997
4.0925,181 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
Madrid. 22 cm. 557 p. Encuadernación en tapa blanda de editorial ilustrada. Graham, Katharine 1917-2001. Traducción de María Luisa Rodríguez Tapia y José Manuel Calvo Roy. Título Personal history .. Este libro es de segunda mano y tiene o puede tener marcas…
- 5
Sam Walton, Made in America
My Story
Sam Walton · 1992
4.1628,881 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
As Sam Walton himself said, this is "...a story about entrepreneurship, and risk, and hard work, and knowing where you want to go and being willing to do what it takes to get there. And it's a story about believing in your idea even when maybe some other…
- 6
Alex Ferguson
My Autobiography
Alex Ferguson · 2013
3.9418,818 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
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…
- 7
The Hypomanic Edge
The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America
John D. Gartner · 2005
4.02580 ratings · Goodreads
Health and biotechCompany building
About the book
A clinical psychologist explores the American pervasiveness of hypomania, a genetically based, mild form of mania that endows certain people with high energy, creativity, and a propensity for risk-taking, in a study that identifies historical figures whose…
- 8
The Big Rich
The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes
Bryan Burrough · 2009
4.093,394 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
In The Big Rich, bestselling author and Vanity Fair special correspondent Bryan Burrough chronicles the rise and fall of one of the great economic and political powerhouses of the twentieth century, Texas oil. By weaving together the epic sagas of 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
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…
- 5
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…
- 6
The Art of the Start
The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
Guy Kawasaki · 2004
3.9129,538 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
A new product, a new service, a new company, a new division, a new organization, a new anything, where there’s a will, here’s the way. It begins with a dream that just won’t quit, the once-in-a-lifetime thunderbolt of pure inspiration, the obsession, the…
- 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
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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.