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 · Work and HR · Seed
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ShortlistThe best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
The best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
- 1
Accidental Salesperson
How to Take Control of Your Sales Career and Earn the Respect and Income You Deserve
Chris Lytle · 2000
3.95342 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRFirst salesCompany building
About the book
"Author Chris Lytle had modest career aspirations. He merely wanted to be the next Walter Cronkite. But instead of being offered a job in the newsroom, he was offered a job in the sales department. He took the sales job and became an ""accidental…
- 2
Wage Labour and Capital
Karl Marx · 1891
4.293,701 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HR
About the book
Karl Heinrich Marx (5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economic historian, journalist and revolutionary socialist famous for developing Marxism, a socialist movement that has been incorporated by societies around the globe. He published…
- 3
The Four Year Career
How to make your dreams of fun and financial freedom come true or not
Richard Bliss Brooke · 2008
4.10935 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
The Four Year Career is Richard Brooke's newly updated, essential guide to Network Marketing. This thought-provoking quick read presents industry facts, while dispelling many commonly accepted Network Marketing myths. It will provide you and your prospects…
- 4
Working Identity
Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career
Herminia Ibarra · 2002
4.021,641 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
How Successful Career Changers Turn Fantasy into Reality Whether as a daydream or a spoken desire, nearly all of us have entertained the notion of reinventing ourselves. Feeling unfulfilled, burned out, or just plain unhappy with what we’re doing, we long to…
- 5
Roadmap
The Get-It-Together Guide for Figuring Out What to Do with Your Life
Roadtrip Nation · 2015
4.04618 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRFinding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
The New York Times bestseller is back! The career workbook Roadmap is better than ever. Roadmap has been updated and expanded with tons of brand new content, including chapters on changing directions mid-career and not letting your past define your future.…
- 6
Labor and Monopoly Capital
The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century
Harry Braverman · 1974
4.30908 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HR
About the book
This widely acclaimed book, first published in 1974, was a classic from its first day in print. Written in a direct, inviting way by Harry Braverman, whose years as an industrial worker gave him rich personal insight into work, Labor and Monopoly Capital…
- 7
The Startup of You
Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career
Reid Hoffman · 2012
3.8311,068 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
The groundbreaking #1 New York Times bestseller that taught a generation how to transform their careers, now in a revised and updated edition “A profound book about self-determination and self-realization.”, Senator Cory Booker “The Startup of You is crammed…
- 8
Clock In
No-BS Advice for Getting Ahead in Your Career
Emily Durham · 2026
4.19326 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
Career advice that actually works from a straight-shooter recruiterDid you know the average job search takes more than five months? That’s because today’s job market is more challenging, and more confusing, than ever. How are we supposed to get hired, get paid,…
Books on work and hr.
- 1
Business Model You
A One-Page Method For Reinventing Your Career
Tim Clark · 2012
4.004,426 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRMoats and competitionCompany building
About the book
A one-page tool to reinvent yourself and your career The global bestseller Business Model Generation introduced a unique visual way to summarize and creatively brainstorm any business or product idea on a single sheet of paper. Business Model You uses the…
- 2
The Year Without Pants
WordPress.com and the Future of Work
Scott Berkun · 2013
3.812,716 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
A behind-the-scenes look at the firm behind WordPress.com and the unique work culture that contributes to its phenomenal success50 million websites, or twenty percent of the entire web, use WordPress software. The force behind WordPress.com is a…
- 3
Go It Alone!
The Secret to Building a Successful Business on Your Own – A Practical Guide for Solo Entrepreneurs Seeking Workplace Freedom
Bruce Judson · 2004
3.921,043 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
There is an epidemic of unhappiness in the American workplace. A full 70 percent of workers in the United States report that they are disengaged from their jobs. When asked, "Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?" only 20 percent of…
- 4
Being Geek
The Software Developer's Career Handbook
Michael Lopp · 2010
3.681,072 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
As a software engineer, you recognize at some point that there's much more to your career than dealing with code. Is it time to become a manager? Tell your boss he’s a jerk? Join that startup? Author Michael Lopp recalls his own make-or-break moments with…
- 5
Women in Tech
Take Your Career to the Next Level with Practical Advice and Inspiring Stories
Tarah Wheeler Van Vlack · 2016
3.92495 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
“Jam packed with insights from women in the field,” this is an invaluable career guide for the aspiring or experienced female tech professional ( Forbes ) As the CEO of a startup, Tarah Wheeler is all too familiar with the challenges female tech…
- 6
I'm Feeling Lucky
The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59
Douglas Edwards · 2011
3.855,446 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
â An exciting story [that] shines light on the inner workings of the fledgling Google and on the personalities of its founders.â â The Daily BeastIn its infancy, Google embraced extremesâ endless days fueled by unlimited free food, nonstop data-based debates,…
- 7
Exit Interview
The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career
Kristi Coulter · 2023
4.117,737 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
A candid, intensely funny memoir of ambition, gender, and a grueling decade inside Amazon, from the author of Nothing Good Can Come from This. What would you sacrifice for your career? All your free time? Your sense of self-worth? Your sanity? In 2006,…
- 8
The First, the Few, the Only
How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America – An Axiom Award-Winning Roadmap to Workplace Belonging and Transformation
Deepa Purushothaman · 2022
4.27210 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
Axiom Award Bronze Medalist for Women / BIPOC in Business A deeply personal call to action for women of color to find power from within and to join together in community, advocating for a new corporate environment where we all belong, and are accepted, on our…
What founders at seed need most: company building, finding product-market fit, raising money, first sales, marketing and growth.
- 1
Get Backed
Craft Your Story, Build the Perfect Pitch Deck, and Launch the Venture of Your Dreams
Evan Baehr · 2015
4.36356 ratings · Goodreads
Raising moneyCompany building
About the book
HOW DO YOU LAUNCH THE VENTURE OF YOUR DREAMS? Get Backed isn’t just about startup fundraising. It’s a handbook for anyone who has an idea and needs to build relationships to get it off the ground. Over the last 3 years, entrepreneurs Evan Loomis and…
- 2
The User Experience Team of One
A Research and Design Survival Guide
Leah Buley · 2013
4.191,657 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
UX Team of Oneb Theory and Practice for Designers Responsible for Holo UX b This book presents ways to achieve greater impact than standardized UX work results with less time and resources do. Whether youre looking to turn to the UX field, or an experienced…
- 3
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…
- 4
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…
- 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.…
- 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
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…
- 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
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
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…
- 3
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,…
- 4
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…
- 5
Radical Candor
Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
Kim Malone Scott · 2017
4.0460,996 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Now a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller "I raced through Radical Candor --It’s thrilling to learn a framework that shows how to be both a better boss and a better colleague. Radical Candor is packed with illuminating truths, insightful…
- 6
Creativity, Inc.
Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
Ed Catmull · 2014
4.20105,625 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
“What does it mean to manage well?” From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business, sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath.…
- 7
Reinventing Organizations
A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness
Frederic Laloux · 2014
4.216,480 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
FROM THE BACKCOVERThe way we manage organizations seems increasingly out of date. Deep inside, we sense that more is possible. We long for soulful workplaces, for authenticity, community, passion, and purpose.In this groundbreaking book, the author shows that…
- 8
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…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
The Unspoken Truths for Career Success
Navigating Pay, Promotions, and Power at Work
Tessa White · 2023
4.26596 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
"A terrific read for the new generations rising in the workforce, and for their leaders.", Stephen M. R. Covey, The New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust and Trust & Inspire STOP SPINNING YOUR WHEELS AND TAKE…
- 2
Runnin' Down a Dream
How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love
Bill Gurley · 2026
4.141,231 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
An upcoming book to be published by Penguin Random House.
- 3
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…
- 4
Wankernomics
A Deep-Dive Into Workplace Bullsh*ttery
James Schloeffel · 2025
4.12613 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
** THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER **** A paradigm-shifting guide to getting ahead at work - at pace, moving forward **READERS LOVE WANKERNOMICS: 'Laugh out loud funny.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review 'I'll be buying more copies for friends and family at…
- 5
The Compass Within
A Little Story About the Values That Guide Us
Robert Glazer · 2025
4.23286 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
Discover your core values and find your place in life, love, and work. We all want to be our most authentic selves in every space that we are in, in our relationships, our work, and our communities. But often we feel a disconnect, a tension between who we are…
- 6
Play Nice
The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment
Jason Schreier · 2024
4.167,684 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
New York Times bestselling author and the gaming industry's preeminent investigative journalist Jason Schreier examines three decades of ups and downs at Blizzard Entertainment leading up to a hostile corporate takeover and a sexual misconduct scandal that…
- 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
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…
How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.
- 1
Weird in a World That's Not
A Career Guide for Misfits – A Funny, Empathetic Memoir for Thriving at Work While Staying Authentic
Jennifer Romolini · 2017
3.801,128 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
An honest, sharp-witted, practical guide to help you get and keep the job you want - from an outsider whose been there and done it, a woman who went from being a broke, divorced college dropout to running some of the biggest websites in the world. Jennifer…
- 2
Which Side Are You On?
Trying to Be for Labor When It's Flat on Its Back
Thomas Geoghegan · 1991
4.19255 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRFounder stories
About the book
When it first appeared in hardcover, Which Side Are You On? received widespread critical accolades, and was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction. In this new paperback edition, Thomas Geoghegan has updated his eloquent plea for…
- 3
Knight's Cross
A Life of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
David Fraser · 1993
4.132,140 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRFounder stories
About the book
“A vivid, balanced and frequently enthralling biography of Rommel, the general and the man. It is must reading for every aficionado of modern military history.” – San Francisco Chronicle Erwin Rommel’s instinct for battle and leadership places him among the…
- 4
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…
- 5
Elon Musk
Walter Isaacson · 2023
4.3281,328 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era, a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles,…
- 6
Winning
Proven Leadership and Management Principles for Strategic Career Excellence and Business Success
Jack Welch · 2005
3.8643,588 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
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…
- 7
Finding the Next Steve Jobs
How to Find, Hire, Keep and Nurture Creative Talent
Nolan Bushnell · 2014
4.06449 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
In Silicon Valley legend Nolan Bushnell's first book, he explains how to find and hire employees who have the potential to be the next Steve Jobs. Nolan Bushnell founded the groundbreaking gaming company Atari in 1972, and two years later employed Steve Jobs,…
- 8
Basic Black
The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work
Cathie Black · 2007
3.751,687 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
Cathie Black is the wise, funny mentor that every woman dreams of having. She was a pioneer in advertising sales at a time when women didn’t sell; served as president and publisher of the fledgling USA Today ; and, in her current position as the president of…
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
Building A Story Brand
Donald Miller · 2017
4.2726,500 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthCompany building
About the book
New York Times bestselling author Donald Miller uses the seven universal elements of powerful stories to teach readers how to dramatically improve how they connect with customers and grow their businesses. Donald Miller’s StoryBrand process is a proven…
- 4
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…
- 5
Bad Blood
Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
John Carreyrou · 2018
4.40285,283 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face of pressure and threats from the CEO and her lawyers. In…
- 6
Outliers
The Story of Success
Malcolm Gladwell · 2008
4.19890,252 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers", the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that…
- 7
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman · 2011
4.16616,355 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more…
- 8
To Sell is Human
The Surprising Truth About Moving Others
Daniel H. Pink · 2012
3.8726,914 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingFirst sales
About the book
From the bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind comes a surprising--and surprisingly useful--new book that explores the power of selling in our lives.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. Every day…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Which books we recommend never depends on it: they are chosen from their ratings and what they are about.
From the record
Written by the people who write the cheques
Books by investors and founders we hold records for. The author links to what they have done, not just what they wrote.
The Lean Startupby Eric Ries, Eric Ries2011 · 4.11★L
Lean Inby Sheryl Sandberg, Meta2013 · 3.94★T
The Hard Thing About Hard Thingsby Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz2014 · 4.19★D
Delivering Happinessby Tony Hsieh, Tony Hsieh2000 · 4.04★#
#Girlbossby Sophia Amoruso2014 · 3.64★T
The One Thingby Gary Keller, Pocketchange Investments2012 · 4.12★P
Principlesby Ray Dalio2017 · 4.09★Read what the people you are pitching read.
Every investor and founder on our records links to their books and the podcasts they are on.