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 · Media, entertainment and games · 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 New Rules of Marketing & PR
How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Di
David Meerman Scott · 2007
3.856,679 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesMarketing and growthCompany building
About the book
"The" benchmark guide to marketing and PR, updated with the latest social media and marketing trends, tools, and real-world examples of success"The New Rules of Marketing & PR, 4th Edition" is the pioneering guide to the future of marketing, an international…
- 2
Console Wars
Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation
Blake J. Harris · 2014
3.9712,297 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
Following the success of The Accidental Billionaires and Moneyball comes Console Wars, a mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the…
- 3
Spreadable Media
Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture
Henry Jenkins · 2012
3.72524 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
Spreadable Media maps fundamental changes taking place in our contemporary media environment, a space where corporations no longer tightly control media distribution and many of us are directly involved in the circulation of content. It contrasts…
- 4
The Infinite Game
Simon Sinek · 2017
4.1630,000 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
Do you know how to play the game you're in? In finite games, like football or chess, the players are known, the rules are fixed, and the endpoint is clear. The winners and losers are easily identified. In infinite games, like business or politics or life…
- 5
George Lucas
A Life
Brian Jay Jones · 2016
4.194,248 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and games
About the book
The essential biography of the influential and beloved filmmaker George Lucas On May 25, 1977, a problem-plagued, budget-straining independent science-fiction film opened in a mere thirty-two American movie theaters. Conceived, written, and directed by a…
- 6
Winning Every Day
The Game Plan for Success
Lou Holtz · 1998
4.14903 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
"Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it."-- Lou HoltzMeet Lou Holtz, the motivational miracle worker who revitalized the Notre Dame football program by…
- 7
Epic Content Marketing
How to Tell a Different Story, Break through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less
Joe Pulizzi · 2013
3.961,339 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesMarketing and growthCompany building
About the book
One of FORTUNE Magazine's Top 5 Business Book Must-Reads How do you cut through the noise, commotion, and bad information that is right now cluttering up your customers' digital space? EPIC CONTENT MARKETING One of the world's leading experts on content…
- 8
Dream Team
How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever
Jack McCallum · 2012
4.2314,275 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and games
About the book
They were the Beatles of basketball, the Mercury Seven in sneakers. In Dream Team, acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team that captivated the…
Books on media, entertainment and games.
- 1
Convergence Culture
Where Old and New Media Collide
Henry Jenkins · 2006
3.863,860 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and games
About the book
Convergence Culture maps a new territory: where old and new media intersect, where grassroots and corporate media collide, where the power of the media producer and the power of the consumer interact in unpredictable ways. Henry Jenkins, one of America's…
- 2
The Chaos Machine
The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World
Max Fisher · 2022
4.269,592 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and games
About the book
From a New York Times investigative reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist, “an essential book for our times” (Ezra Klein), tracking the high-stakes inside story of how Big Tech’s breakneck race to drive engagement, and profits, at all costs fractured the world…
- 3
Ripped
How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music
Greg Kot · 2009
3.75755 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
A decade ago the vast majority of mainstream music was funneled through a handful of media conglomerates. Now, more people are listening to more music from a greater variety of sources than at any time in history. And big corporations such as Viacom, Clear…
- 4
The Creator's Code The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs
Amy Wilkinson · 2014
3.76813 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
Each of us has the capacity to spot opportunities, invent products, and build businesses, even $100 million businesses. How do some people turn ideas into enterprises that endure? Why do some people succeed when so many others fail? The Creator’s Code unlocks…
- 5
Masters of the Word
How Media Shaped History
William J. Bernstein · 2013
3.93297 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and games
About the book
William J. Bernstein’s A Splendid How Trade Shaped the World , an Economist and Financial Times Best Book of the Year, placed him firmly among the top flight of historians like Jared Diamond and Bill Bryson, capable of distilling major trends and reams of…
- 6
Burn Book
A Tech Love Story
Kara Swisher · 2024
3.9416,244 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
From award-winning journalist Kara Swisher comes a witty, scathing, but fair accounting of the tech industry and its founders who wanted to change the world but broke it instead. Part memoir, part history, Burn Book is a necessary chronicle of tech’s most…
- 7
Who Is Michael Ovitz?
Michael Ovitz · 2018
4.212,770 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
"When the history of Hollywood is written, few people will have played a larger role than Michael Ovitz.... It is impossible to read such a chronicle and not see Mr. Ovitz as the Steve Jobs of agenting, possessing a version of Jobs's fanatical drive and a…
- 8
Shoe Dog
A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Phil Knight · 2016
4.45389,310 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany 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…
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
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…
- 4
A Project Guide to UX Design
For User Experience Designers in the Field or in the Making
Russ Unger · 2009
3.871,774 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
“If you are a young designer entering or contemplating entering the UX field this is a canonical book. If you are an organization that really needs to start grokking UX this book is also for you. " -- Chris Bernard, User Experience Evangelist, Microsoft User…
- 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
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.…
- 7
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…
- 8
Venture Deals
Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist
Brad Feld · 2011
4.1117,486 ratings · Goodreads
Raising moneyCompany building
About the book
Praise for Venture Deals"My biggest nightmare is taking advantage of an entrepreneur without even realizing it. It happens because VCs are experts in financings and most entrepreneurs are not. Brad and Jason are out to fix that problem with Venture Deals.…
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
The Goal
A Process of Ongoing Improvement
Eliyahu M. Goldratt · 2004
4.0786,160 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Written in a fast-paced thriller style, The Goal, a gripping novel, is transforming management thinking throughout the world. It is a book to recommend to your friends in industry - even to your bosses - but not to your competitors. Alex Rogo is a harried…
- 3
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…
- 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
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…
- 6
The Ant and the Elephant
Leadership for the Self
Vince Poscente · 2004
4.203,111 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
A renowned speaker, business consultant, record-setting speed skier and Olympian, Vince Poscente believes in the enormous potential of the unconscious mind. Poscente likens the dynamic between the conscious and subconscious minds to an ant and an elephant:…
- 7
All It Takes Is a Goal
The 3-Step Plan to Ditch Regret and Tap Into Your Massive Potential | Achieve Your Resolutions and Find Success
Jon Acuff · 2023
4.552,450 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
"This is my new favorite book about goals!" -- Mel Robbins , podcaster and New York Times bestselling author of The High 5 Habit What if you could have a fulfilling career, a thriving marriage, strong friendships, and rewarding hobbies, all while being in…
- 8
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…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
Mood Machine
The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist
Liz Pelly · 2025
3.834,803 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
With unprecedented access and unsparing analysis, this is the definitive investigation into Spotify, weaving interviews with incisive cultural criticism, and illuminating how streaming has reshaped music for listeners and artists alike.Flush with testimony…
- 2
Play Nice
The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment
Jason Schreier · 2024
4.167,684 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany 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…
- 3
Who Knew
Barry Diller · 2025
4.222,332 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
Barry Diller, one of America’s most successful businessmen, reveals himself here, his successes, failures, and struggles, with surprising candor and intimacy in a memoir rich in Hollywood lore and filled with business acumen. Writing in his singular voice,…
- 4
Character Limit
How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter
Kate Conger · 2024
4.243,256 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
Rising star New York Times technology reporters Kate Conger and Ryan Mac tell for the first time the full and shocking inside story of Elon Musk’s unprecedented hostile takeover of Twitter and the forty-four-billion-dollar deal’s seismic political, social,…
- 5
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…
- 6
Battle for the Bird
Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, and the $44 Billion Fight for Twitter's Soul
Kurt Wagner · 2024
4.08483 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
An expertly reported investigation into Twitter’s messy corporate history, including Elon Musk’s takeover in 2022, its outsized cultural impact, and its significant role in shaping how the world gets its news. Bloomberg journalist Kurt Wagner takes you…
- 7
The Algebra of Wealth
A Simple Formula for Financial Security
Scott Galloway · 2024
4.0610,176 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA must-have guide to optimizing your life for wealth and success, from bestselling author, NYU professor, and co-host of the Pivot podcast Scott Galloway.Today's workers have more opportunities and mobility than any…
- 8
Collision of Power
Trump, Bezos, and THE WASHINGTON POST
Martin Baron · 2023
4.161,370 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesCompany building
About the book
“A closely observed, gripping chronicle of politics and journalism during a decade of turmoil.”, The New York Times Book Review Politics. Money. Media. Tech. …It’s all here in Collision of Power. “ All the President's Men for a new generation.”, Town…
How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.
- 1
Fifty Years of 60 Minutes
The Inside Story of Television's Most Influential News Broadcast
Jeff Fager · 2017
4.09249 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesFounder stories
About the book
The ultimate inside story of 60 Minutes , the program that has tracked and shaped the biggest moments in post-war American history. From its almost accidental birth in 1968, 60 Minutes has set the standard for broadcast journalism, joining us in our living…
- 2
The Jordan Rules
The Inside Story of One Turbulent Season with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls
Sam Smith · 1992
4.2519,445 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesFounder stories
About the book
Sam Smith’s seminal, New York Times bestselling “eye-opener” ( The San Diego Union-Tribune ) on Michael Jordan and the 1990-1991 Chicago Bulls team, perfect for fans of ESPN’s hit documentary series The Last Dance. This is the book that changed the way the…
- 3
Walt Disney
The Triumph of the American Imagination
Neal Gabler · 2006
4.0711,791 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
From Neal Gabler, the definitive portrait of one of the most important figures in twentieth-century American entertainment and cultural history. Seven years in the making and meticulously researched - Gabler is the first writer to be given complete access to…
- 4
DisneyWar
James B. Stewart · 2005
4.128,674 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
The dramatic inside story of the downfall of Michael Eisner, Disney Chairman and CEO, and the scandals that drove America’s best-known entertainment company to civil war. “When You Wish Upon a Star,” “Whistle While You Work,” “The Happiest Place on…
- 5
Steve Jobs
Walter Isaacson · 2011
4.161,391,990 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesFounder storiesCompany 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
Prisoner's Dilemma
John von Neumann, Game Theory, and the Puzzle of the Bomb
William Poundstone · 1992
3.922,204 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesFounder stories
About the book
A masterful work of science writing that’s "both a fascinating biography of von Neumann, the Hungarian exile whose mathematical theories were building blocks for the A-bomb and the digital computer, and a brilliant social history of game theory and its role…
- 7
Howling at the Moon
The Odyssey of a Monstrous Music Mogul in an Age of Excess
Walter Yetnikoff · 2004
3.84451 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesFounder stories
About the book
he music industry’s most outspoken, outrageous, and phenomenally successful executive delivers a rollicking memoir of pop music’s heyday.During the 1970s and '80s the music business was dominated by a few major labels and artists such as Michael Jackson,…
- 8
Motown
Music, Money, Sex, and Power
Gerald Posner · 2001
3.91357 ratings · Goodreads
Media, entertainment and gamesFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
In 1959, twenty-nine-year-old Berry Gordy, who had already given up on his dream to be a champion boxer, borrowed eight hundred dollars from his family and started a record company. A run-down bungalow sandwiched between a funeral home and a beauty shop in a…
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
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…
- 4
- 5
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…
- 6
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…
- 7
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie · 1936
4.211,172,289 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
"How to Win Friends and Influence People' is one of the first best-selling self-help books ever published. Just after publishing, it quickly exploded into an overnight success, eventually selling more than 15 million copies worldwide, and pioneering an entire…
- 8
The Think and Grow Rich Success Journal
Napoleon Hill · 1937
4.16388,753 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
For the millions of readers of Napoleon Hill's classic bestseller Think and Grow Rich comes this inspiring journal-the ultimate way to add riches and success into their lives. Designed to be used in conjunction with Hill's original classic, The Think and…
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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.