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
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.…
- 5
The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace
Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People
Gary Chapman · 2011
3.687,119 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace applies the love language concept to the workplace. This book helps supervisors and managers effectively communicate appreciation and encouragement to their employees, resulting in higher levels of job…
- 6
Boss Bitch
A Simple 12-Step Plan to Take Charge of Your Career
Nicole Lapin · 2017
3.78653 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
New York Times bestselling author Nicole Lapin is back with a sassy and actionable guide empowering women to be the boss of their own lives and careers. You don’t need dozens or hundreds of employees to be a boss, says financial expert and serial…
- 7
Feminist Fight Club
An Office Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace
Jessica Bennett · 2016
3.758,401 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
Part manual, part manifesto, a humorous yet incisive guide to navigating subtle sexism at work, a pocketbook Lean In for the Buzzfeed generation that provides real-life career advice and humorous reinforcement for a new generation of professional women. It…
- 8
The Unspoken Rules
Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right
Gorick Ng · 2021
4.241,096 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
You’ve landed a job. Now what? No one tells you how to navigate your first day in a new role. No one tells you how to take ownership, manage expectations, or handle workplace politics. No one tells you how to get promoted. The answers to these…
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 Best Place to Work
The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace
Ron Friedman · 2014
4.141,774 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany buildingInnovation
About the book
For readers of Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Pink, and Freakonomics , comes a captivating and surprising journey through the science of workplace excellence. Why do successful companies reward failure? What can casinos teach us about building a happy workplace?…
- 3
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…
- 4
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…
- 5
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…
- 6
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…
- 7
True Professionalism
The Courage to Care about Your People, Your Clients, and Your Career
David H. Maister · 1997
3.92529 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
David Maister, the world's premier consultant to professional service firms, vigorously challenges professionals to examine this essential, yet under-addressed What is true professionalism? Professional firms are forever trying to get their people to act…
- 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
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
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,…
- 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
UX for Lean Startups
Faster, Smarter User Experience Research and Design
Laura Klein · 2013
4.092,097 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingFinding product-market fit
About the book
Great user experiences (UX) are essential for products today, but designing one can be a lengthy and expensive process. With this practical, hands-on book, you’ll learn how to do it faster and smarter using Lean UX techniques. UX expert Laura Klein shows you…
- 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
Turn the Ship Around!
A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders
L. David Marquet · 2013
4.2222,785 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
"David Marquet is the kind of leader who comes around only once in a generation ... his ideas and lessons are invaluable" Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why Captain David Marquet was used to giving orders. In the high-stress environment of the USS…
- 2
The Ride of a Lifetime
Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
Robert Iger · 2019
4.4099,495 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
A grand vision defined: The CEO of The Walt Disney Company shares the ideas and values he has used to reinvent one of the most beloved companies in the world, and inspire the people who bring the magic to life. In 2005, Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt…
- 3
A Different Kind of Power
Jacinda Ardern · 2025
4.4521,916 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
From the former prime minister of New Zealand, then the world’s youngest female head of government and just the second to give birth in office, comes a deeply personal memoir chronicling her extraordinary rise and offering inspiration to a new generation of…
- 4
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,…
- 5
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…
- 6
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…
- 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…
- 8
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…
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
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…
- 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
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
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
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
My Share of the Task
A Memoir
Stanley McChrystal · 2013
4.112,140 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRFounder stories
About the book
In early March 2010, General Stanley McChrystal, the commanding officer of all U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, walked with President Hamid Karzai through a small rural bazaar. As Afghan townspeople crowded around them, a Taliban rocket loudly…
- 4
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…
- 5
On the Clock
What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane
Emily Guendelsberger · 2019
4.262,744 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRCompany building
About the book
After the local newspaper where she worked as a reporter closed, Emily Guendelsberger took a pre-Christmas job at an Amazon fulfillment center outside Louisville, Kentucky. There, the vending machines were stocked with painkillers, and the staff turnover was…
- 6
In the Plex
How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
Steven Levy · 2011
3.8430,033 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
Written with full cooperation from top management, including cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, this is the inside story behind Google, the most successful and most admired technology company of our time, told by one of our best technology writers. Few…
- 7
Creating Magic
Lee Cockerell · 2008
4.273,449 ratings · Goodreads
Work and HRFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
It's not the magic that makes it work; it's the way we work that makes it magic. The secret for creating magic in our careers, our organizations, and our lives is outstanding leadership--the kind that inspires employees, delights customers, and achieves…
- 8
Never Die Easy
The Autobiography of Walter Payton
Walter Payton · 2000
4.231,581 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
"Never die easy. Why run out of bounds and die easy? Make that linebacker pay. It carries into all facets of your life. It's okay to lose, to die, but don't die without trying, without giving it your best." His legacy is towering. Walter Payton, the man they…
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
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…
- 5
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…
- 6
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…
- 7
The First American
The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
H.W. Brands · 2000
4.1123,067 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growth
About the book
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the pivotal figure in colonial and revolutionary America, comes vividly to life in this “thorough biography of ... America’s first Renaissance man” ( The Washington Post ) by the two-time Pulitzer Prize…
- 8
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…
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.