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 · Real estate and construction · Seed
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ShortlistThe best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
The best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
- 1
Your First 365 Days in Real Estate
How to build a successful real estate business
Shelley Zavitz · 2019
4.24362 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
Your successful career in real estate starts here!The first 365 days of working in real estate can be one of the most tumultuous times in your career - full of hard lessons, heart breaks and hard work. Just because you have a license, doesn’t mean you have a…
- 2
The Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents
It's Your Time to Rise and Shine
Hal Elrod · 2014
4.301,119 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
All real estate agents share one thing in we're all striving to get to the NEXT LEVEL of personal and professional success. We want to take our lives, our businesses, and ourselves to the next level. What if you could get there, faster than you ever thought…
- 3
The Book on Managing Rental Properties
Find, Screen, and Manage Tenants With Fewer Headaches and Maximum Profits
Brandon Turner · 2020
4.541,579 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
From the top-selling author ofThe Book on Rental Property Investing, this companion book will be your comprehensive guide to effectively managing tenants in your rental properties. No matter how great you are at finding real estate deals, you could lose…
- 4
Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat
The BRRRR Rental Property Investment Strategy Made Simple
David Greene · 2019
4.382,425 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
Invest in real estate, flip houses, buy rental properties, and never run out of money, using the hottest strategy in the real estate world! “From A–Z (or B–R), David covers just what you'll need to execute like a master and build wealth like the pros.", David…
- 5
Real estate finance and investments
William B. Brueggeman, Jeffrey Fisher · 1993
55 Open Library reading lists
Real estate and construction
- 6
The Housing Boom and Bust
Thomas Sowell · 2009
4.192,145 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
This is a plain-English explanation of how we got into the current economic disaster that developed out of the economics and politics of the housing boom and bust. The “creative” financing of home mortgages and the even more “creative” marketing of financial…
- 7
Loopholes of Real Estate
Garrett Sutton · 2013
4.27677 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
Voted Best Business Book in 2014! by Pacific Book Review Loopholes of Real Estate clearly reveals the tax and legal loopholes you need to know to be a successful real estate investor. Knowledge is power; this book is a must read for the strategic investor. -…
- 8
Other People's Money
Inside the Housing Crisis and the Demise of the Greatest Real Estate Deal Ever Made
Charles V. Bagli · 2013
3.92664 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
In just over three years, real estate giant Tishman Speyer and its partner, BlackRock, lost billions of investors’ dollars on a single deal. The New York Times reporter who first broke the story of the sale of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village takes…
Books on real estate and construction.
- 1
The Book of YES
The Ultimate Real Estate Agent Conversation Guide
Kevin Ward · 2016
4.10253 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
The Book of YES In Kevin Ward's book, you will find the most powerful scripts in the real estate industry today. If you’re tired of the same old sales scripts or if you’ve done away with them all together, I know how you feel because I’ve been there. I was…
- 2
The Book on Investing In Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down
Creative Strategies for Investing in Real Estate Using Other People's Money
Brandon Turner · 2014
4.182,560 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionInnovationCompany building
About the book
COMPLETELY REVISED AND UPDATED Is your lack of cash holding you back from your real estate dreams? Discover the creative real estate financing techniques that savvy investors are using to do more deals, more often. No matter how much money you have in…
- 3
Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur
What It Takes to Win in High-Stakes Commercial Real Estate
James A. Randel · 2005
4.13277 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
A front row seat into the world of high-stakes commercial real estate investing “A must-read book … one of the best real estate investment books I have ever read. On my scale of 1 to 10, this unique book rates an off-the-charts 12.” ---Robert Bruss…
- 4
The Public Domain
Enclosing the Commons of the Mind
James Boyle · 2008
4.12349 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionInnovation
About the book
In this enlightening book James Boyle describes what he calls the range wars of the information age, today’s heated battles over intellectual property. Boyle argues that just as every informed citizen needs to know at least something about the environment or…
- 5
17 Cents & a Dream
My Incredible Journey from the USSR to Living the American Dream
Daniel Milstein · 2012
3.87374 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and construction
About the book
“Through pure determination, fortitude and attitude, Daniel pulled out of impossibly difficult situations. His story is true, his story is a personal inspiration to me and I hope it will inspire you too to maximize your potential and go for the greatest of…
- 6
Brand It Like Serhant
Stand Out From the Crowd, Build Your Following, and Earn More Money
Ryan Serhant · 2024
3.95275 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
Bestselling author and real estate, television, and media icon Ryan Serhant shares his proven, three-step strategy to build your brand from scratch Brand is everything. Whether you’re a real estate broker, a hair stylist, or a freelance contractor, your end…
What founders at seed need most: company building, finding product-market fit, raising money, first sales, marketing and growth.
- 1
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…
- 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
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
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…
- 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
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 Ride of a Lifetime
Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
Robert Iger · 2019
4.4099,495 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
A grand vision defined: The CEO of The Walt Disney Company shares the ideas and values he has used to reinvent one of the most beloved companies in the world, and inspire the people who bring the magic to life. In 2005, Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt…
- 3
Rising Strong
The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution
Brené Brown · 2015
4.2590,292 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Social scientist Brené Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness. Her pioneering work uncovered a profound truth: Vulnerability, the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome, is the only path…
- 4
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…
- 5
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:…
- 6
Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated
And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
Keith Ferrazzi · 2014
3.8451,138 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
The bestselling business classic on the power of relationships, updated with in-depth advice for making connections in the digital world. Do you want to get ahead in life? Climb the ladder to personal success? The secret, master networker Keith Ferrazzi…
- 7
The 360 Degree Leader
Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization
John C. Maxwell · 2005
4.158,377 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Don't wait for that promotion! Start leading NOW... right where you are! What's the number one question leadership expert John C. Maxwell is asked while conducting his leadership conferences? "How can I implement what you teach when I'm not the top leader?"…
- 8
Originals
How Non-Conformists Move the World
Adam M. Grant · 2016
3.9559,008 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
In Originals the author addresses the challenge of improving the world from the perspective of becoming original: choosing to champion novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battle conformity, and buck outdated traditions. How can we originate new…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
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…
- 2
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…
- 3
- 4
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…
- 5
Careless People
A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
Sarah Wynn-Williams · 2025
4.12150,174 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
Sarah Wynn-Williams joined Facebook believing the company could change things for the better. Instead, what she encountered over seven years was so shocking that Meta obtained a legal order to silence her. Now you can read her award-winning story. Candid…
- 6
The 5 Types of Wealth
A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life
Sahil Bloom · 2025
4.1312,431 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
A groundbreaking guide to rejecting the default path and designing your dream life, a life centered around The 5 Types of Wealth. Launch your journey to fulfillment with this transformative system from inspirational writer, speaker, and entrepreneur Sahil…
- 7
Enshittification
Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It
Cory Doctorow · 2025
4.0615,589 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
Winner of the 2026 Locus Award for Nonfiction Enshittification: It’s not just you―the internet sucks now. It’s been enshittified. That was no accident, and it’s not gonna fix itself. Here’s how we’ll disenshittify it so we can have a new, good internet.…
- 8
How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.
- 1
Zeckendorf
The autobiography of the man who played a real-life game of Monopoly and won the largest real estate empire in history.
William Zeckendorf · 1970
4.16609 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
Not since the days of the Louisiana Purchase has America seen any bigger real estate transactions than those executed by William Zeckendorf, the derring-do head of Webb & Knapp. Figuring with supersonic speed and an uncanny flair for making money, the…
- 2
Powerhouse Principles
The Billionaire Blueprint For Real Estate Success
Jorge Pérez · 2008
4.24189 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
The #1 private developer in the U.S. Jorge Pérez shares his billionaire secrets to empower both small and seasoned investors. Known as the King of Condominiums and the Steven Spielberg of Real Estate, Jorge Pérez reveals his principles for achieving success…
- 3
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…
- 4
Sam Walton
Made in America
Sam Walton · 1992
4.1527,178 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…
- 5
Irrational Exuberance
Robert J. Shiller · 2000
3.988,608 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
As Robert Shiller’s new 2009 preface to his prescient classic on behavioral economics and market volatility asserts, the irrational exuberance of the stock and housing markets “has been ended by an economic crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Great…
- 6
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
Founder 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…
- 7
Walt Disney Imagineering
A Behind the Dreams Look At Making the Magic Real
The Imagineers · 1996
4.121,961 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
Making dreams come true is what Disney does best -- and the Imagineers unite art and science to create a world in which reality surpasses imagination. The Imagineers are like Santa's elves: they are the nuts-and-bolts workers who allow Disney's magic to take…
- 8
The Power Broker
Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Robert A. Caro · 1974
4.5329,550 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • A modern American classic, this huge and galvanizing biography of Robert Moses reveals not only the saga of one man’s incredible accumulation of power but the story of his shaping (and mis-shaping) of twentieth-century New York. One 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
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
Contagious
Why Things Catch On
Jonah Berger · 2013
3.9834,129 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingMarketing and growth
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…
- 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
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
To Sell is Human
The Surprising Truth About Moving Others
Daniel H. Pink · 2012
3.8726,914 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingFirst sales
About the book
From the bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind comes a surprising--and surprisingly useful--new book that explores the power of selling in our lives.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. Every day…
- 8
The Lean Startup
Eric Ries · 2011
4.11374,139 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
Most new businesses fail. But most of those failures are preventable.The Lean Startup is a new approach to business that's being adopted around the world. It is changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. Essential reading for any…
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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.