Best books for founders and investors

Your reading list

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…
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2
The Real Book of Real Estate
Real Experts. Real Stories. Real Life.
Robert T. Kiyosaki · 2010
4.111,027 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
In a world where too many financial advisors do not follow their own advice, here is a book written by experts who practice what they teach and who will teach you to thrive, not merely survive, during turbulent economic times. This is the real deal…The Real…
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3
The Book on Rental Property Investing
How to Create Wealth With Intelligent Buy and Hold Real Estate Investing
Brandon Turner · 2015
4.377,933 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
In The Book on Rental Property Investing, real estate investor and co-host of the BiggerPockets Podcast Brandon Turner has one goal in mind: to give you every strategy, tool, tip, and technique needed to become a millionaire rental property investor--while…
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4
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…
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5
Real estate finance and investments
William B. Brueggeman, Jeffrey Fisher · 1993
55 Open Library reading lists
Real estate and construction
On Amazon Audible Open Library
6
The Sell
The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone
Fredrik Eklund · 2015
3.762,613 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionFirst salesCompany building
About the book
The nation’s #1 real estate broker and star of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing New York shares his secrets for superstar success and getting what you want out of life, no matter who you are or what you do.Ten years ago, Fredrik Eklund moved to New York City…
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7
Shift
The 12 Tactics Real Estate Agents Must Do Now to Win in a Down Market
Gary Keller · 2008
4.25935 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany building
About the book
"NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLER "WALL STREET JOURNAL" BUSINESS BESTSELLER "USA TODAY" MONEY BESTSELLER "Tough times make or break people. My friend Gary teaches you how to make the tragic into magic. Read & reap from this great book."--Mark Victor Hansen,…
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8
The Book on Negotiating Real Estate
Expert Strategies for Getting the Best Deals When Buying & Selling Investment Property
J. Scott · 2019
4.25319 ratings · Goodreads
Real estate and constructionCompany buildingFirst sales
About the book
Want to close more investment deals...and make more money in the process? When the real estate market gets hot, it’s the investors who know the ins-and-outs of negotiating with sellers (and with agents, banks, contractors, and other institutions) who will…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
On Amazon Audible
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.…
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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…
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5
UX for Beginners
A Crash Course in 100 Short Lessons
Joel Marsh · 2016
4.04527 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
Apps! Websites! Rubber Ducks! Naked Ninjas! This book has everything. If you want to get started in user experience design (UX), you've come to the right 100 self-contained lessons that cover the whole spectrum of fundamentals. Forget dry, technical…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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Leading and managing a team as the company grows.

1
Good to Great
Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
Jim Collins · 2001
4.12312,279 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
The Challenge: Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning. But what about the…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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5
Empowered
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products
Marty Cagan · 2020
4.253,822 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
What is it about the top tech product companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Netflix and Tesla that enables their record of consistent innovation? Most people think it’s because these companies are somehow able to find and attract a level of talent that…
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6
American Icon
Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company
Bryce G. Hoffman · 2012
4.425,255 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
THE INSIDE STORY OF THE EPIC TURNAROUND OF FORD MOTOR COMPANY UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF CEO ALAN MULALLY. At the end of 2008, Ford Motor Company was just months away from running out of cash. With the auto industry careening toward ruin, Congress offered all…
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7
Vermilion Strong Ground.
Brené Brown · 2025
4.156,637 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Brené Brown returns with an urgent call to reimagine the essentials of courageous leadership. In a time when uncertainty runs deep and bluster, hubris, and even cruelty are increasingly framed as acceptable leadership, Brown delivers practical, actionable…
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8
The Dilbert Principle
A Cubicle's-Eye View of Bosses, Meetings, Management Fads & Other Workplace Afflictions
Scott Adams · 1996
3.8710,042 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
The creator of Dilbert, the fastest-growing comic strip in the nation (syndicated in nearly 1000 newspapers), takes a look at corporate America in all its glorious lunacy. Lavishly illustrated with Dilbert strips, these hilarious essays on incompetent bosses,…
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Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.

1
Hey, Hun
Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing
Emily Lynn Paulson · 2023
3.5814,654 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthFirst salesCompany building
About the book
She signed up for the sisterhood, free cars, and the promise of a successful business of her own. Instead, she ended up with an addiction, broken friendships, and the rubble of a toppled pyramid . . . scheme. Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the…
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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…
On Amazon Audible
3
The First-Time Manager
Sales
Mike Weinberg · 2023
4.43282 ratings · Goodreads
First salesCompany building
About the book
The First Time Manager Series has sold over 500,000 copies and is a go-to guide for new and aspiring sales managers on what to expect and how to succeed. The jump from sales superstar to sales manager has made or broken many a sales career. As a…
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4
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…
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5
Apple in China
The Capture of the World's Greatest Company
Patrick McGee · 2025
4.4810,559 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
For readers of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs and Chris Miller’s Chip War, a riveting look at how Apple helped build China’s dominance in electronics assembly and manufacturing only to find itself trapped in a relationship with an authoritarian state making…
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6
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…
On Amazon Audible
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…
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8
No More Tears
The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson
Gardiner Harris · 2025
4.1722,997 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
An incendiary, deeply reported exposé of Johnson & Johnson, one of America’s oldest and most trusted pharmaceutical companies, from award-winning investigative journalist Gardiner Harris One day in 2004, Gardiner Harris, early for a flight, sat down at an…
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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…
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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…
On Amazon Audible
3
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…
On Amazon Audible
4
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…
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5
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…
On Amazon Audible
6
The Elon Musk Blog Series
Wait But Why
Tim Urban · 2016
4.701,837 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
In 2015, Elon Musk reached out to blogger Tim Urban and asked him if he'd take a crack at explaining Elon's endeavors, and the industries surrounding them, to the world. Tim accepted, and after extensive meetings with Elon and his staff, he wrote four blog…
On Amazon Audible
7
The Situation Room
The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis
George Stephanopoulos · 2024
4.3211,278 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
George Stephanopoulos, former senior advisor to President Clinton and for more than 20 years anchor of This Week and co-anchor of Good Morning America , recounts the crises that decided the course of history, from the place 12 presidents made their…
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8
I Came Upon a Lighthouse
A Short Memoir Of Life With Ratan Tata
Shantanu Naidu · 2021
4.443,152 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
An endearing portrait of an Indian legend I told him that when I write a book, I would write about another side of him and not just historic events or business milestones. I would write about us and our adventures together, and how I saw him, colours and…
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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…
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2
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…
On Amazon Audible
3
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…
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4
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…
On Amazon Audible
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…
On Amazon Audible
6
Rich Dad Poor Dad
What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money, That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
Robert T. Kiyosaki · 1997
4.08761,349 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert's story of growing up with two dads, his real father and the father of his best friend, his "rich dad", and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explodes the myth that you need to…
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7
The Long Tail
Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More
Chris Anderson · 2006
3.8330,263 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingFirst sales
About the book
The New York Times bestseller that introduced the business world to a future that s already here -- now in paperback with a new chapter about Long Tail Marketing and a new epilogue. Winner of the Gerald Loeb Award for Best Business Book of the Year. In…
On Amazon Audible
8
Freakonomics
A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Steven D. Levitt · 2005
4.01911,271 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?…
On Amazon Audible

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Reading list: the books for what you are building

Your reading list

Written by the people who write the cheques

Read what the people you are pitching read.