Best books for founders and investors

Your reading list

↻ Show different picks

The best matches for everything you told us, ranked.

1
Growth Hacker Marketing
A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising
Ryan Holiday · 2013
3.7711,194 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityMarketing and growthCompany building
About the book
Gmail, Facebook, AirBnb, Evernote. A new generation of multibillion dollar brands have been built without spending a dime on traditional marketing techniques. No press releases, no PR firm, and no billboards in Times Square.It wasn’t luck that took them from…
On Amazon Audible
2
Hacking Growth
How Today's Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success
Sean Ellis · 2017
4.105,586 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
The definitive playbook by the pioneers of Growth Hacking, one of the hottest business methodologies in Silicon Valley and beyond. It seems hard to believe today, but there was a time when Airbnb was the best-kept secret of travel hackers and couch surfers,…
On Amazon Audible
3
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends
The Cyberweapons Arms Race
Nicole Perlroth · 2021
4.3111,823 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany building
About the book
From The New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth, the untold story of the cyberweapons market-the most secretive, invisible, government-backed market on earth-and a terrifying first look at a new kind of global warfare.Zero day: a software bug…
On Amazon Audible
4
Hackers
Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Steven Levy · 1984
4.168,649 ratings · Goodreads
Security
About the book
A mere fifteen years ago, computer nerds were seen as marginal weirdos, outsiders whose world would never resonate with the mainstream. That was before one pioneering work documented the underground computer revolution that was about to change our world…
On Amazon Audible
5
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
Shoshana Zuboff · 2018
4.0514,274 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany building
About the book
The challenges to humanity posed by the digital future, the first detailed examination of the unprecedented form of power called "surveillance capitalism," and the quest by powerful corporations to predict and control our behavior.In this masterwork of…
On Amazon Audible
6
How to Be Invisible
The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life
J.J. Luna · 2000
3.78642 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany building
About the book
From cyberspace to crawl spaces, new innovations in information gathering have left the private life of the average person open to scrutiny, and worse, exploitation. In this thoroughly revised update of his immensely popular guide How to Be Invisible , J.J.…
On Amazon Audible
7
Hackers & Painters
Big Ideas from the Computer Age
Paul Graham · 2004
4.059,667 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany building
About the book
“The computer world is like an intellectual Wild West, in which you can shoot anyone you wish with your ideas, if you’re willing to risk the consequences.”, from Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age, by Paul Graham We are living in the…
On Amazon Audible
8
Get What's Yours
The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security
Laurence J. Kotlikoff · 2015
3.771,409 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany building
About the book
Learn the secrets to maximizing your Social Security benefits and earn up to thousands of dollars more each year with expert advice that you can't get anywhere else.Want to know how to navigate the forbidding maze of Social Security and emerge with the…
On Amazon Audible

Books on security.

1
Spam Nation
The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime, from Global Epidemic to Your Front Door
Brian Krebs · 2014
3.752,774 ratings · Goodreads
Security
About the book
There is a Threat Lurking Online with the Power to Destroy Your Finances, Steal Your Personal Data, and Endanger Your Life. In Spam Nation, investigative journalist and cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs unmasks the criminal masterminds driving some of the…
On Amazon Audible
2
Dragnet Nation
A Quest for Privacy, Security, and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance
Julia Angwin · 2014
3.68664 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany building
About the book
An inside look at who's watching you, what they know and why it matters. We are being watched.We see online ads from websites we've visited, long after we've moved on to other interests. Our smartphones and cars transmit our location, enabling us to know…
On Amazon Audible
3
The DevOps Handbook
How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations
Gene Kim · 2015
4.295,988 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany building
About the book
Increase profitability, elevate work culture, and exceed productivity goals through DevOps practices.More than ever, the effective management of technology is critical for business competitiveness. For decades, technology leaders have struggled to balance…
On Amazon Audible
4
Dark Wire
The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever
Joseph Cox · 2024
3.973,556 ratings · Goodreads
Security
About the book
The inside story of the largest law-enforcement sting operation ever, in which the FBI made its own tech start-up to wiretap the world, shows how cunning both the authorities and drug traffickers have become, with privacy implications for everyone. In 2018, a…
On Amazon Audible
5
Smartcuts
How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success
Shane Snow · 2014
3.886,577 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany buildingInnovation
About the book
Entrepreneur and journalist Shane Snow ( Wired, Fast Company, The New Yorker , and cofounder of Contently) analyzes the lives of people and companies that do incredible things in implausibly short time. How do some startups go from zero to billions in mere…
On Amazon Audible
6
Public Parts
How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way We Work and Live
Jeff Jarvis · 2011
3.781,280 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany building
About the book
International bestselling author and optimistic internet thinker Jeff Jarvis examines the way the Internet has changed the way we form communities, create identities, engage in commerce, and live our lives. A visionary and optimistic thinker examines the…
On Amazon Audible
7
The Philosopher in the Valley
Alex Karp, Palantir and the Rise of the Surveillance State
Michael Steinberger · 2025
3.721,540 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany building
About the book
‘An excellent look at what Palantir does, as well as a fascinating insight into the mind of its eccentric chief executive’ TelegraphPalantir Technologies is the most interesting company in the world – and the most controversial. Palantir builds data…
On Amazon Audible
8
The Innovators
How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
Walter Isaacson · 2014
4.1240,532 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityInnovationCompany building
About the book
Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, The Innovators is Walter Isaacson’s revealing story of the people who created the computer and the Internet. It is destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution and an indispensable guide to…
On Amazon Audible

Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.

1
The Algebra of Wealth
A Simple Formula for Financial Security
Scott Galloway · 2024
4.0610,176 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany 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…
On Amazon Audible Author's Podcasts
2
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…
On Amazon Audible
3
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
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…
On Amazon Audible
5
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
6
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…
On Amazon Audible

How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.

1
The Quest
Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World
Daniel Yergin · 2011
4.145,291 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany building
About the book
Selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year In this gripping account of the quest for the energy that our world needs, Daniel Yergin continues the riveting story begun in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Prize. A master…
On Amazon Audible
2
The Mind of War
John Boyd and American Security
Grant Tedrick Hammond · 2001
4.17380 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityFounder stories
About the book
The ideas of US Air Force Colonel John Boyd have transformed American military policy and practice. A first-rate fighter pilot and a self-taught scholar, he wrote the first manual on jet aerial combat; spearheaded the design of both of the Air Force's premier…
On Amazon Audible
3
Steve Jobs
Walter Isaacson · 2011
4.161,391,990 ratings · Goodreads
Founder 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…
On Amazon Audible
4
Heartland
A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth
Sarah Smarsh · 2018
3.7616,921 ratings · Goodreads
Founder stories
About the book
During Sarah Smarsh’s turbulent childhood in Kansas in the 1980s and 1990s, the forces of cyclical poverty and the country’s changing economic policies solidified her family’s place among the working poor. By telling the story of her life and the lives of the…
On Amazon Audible
5
Shoe Dog
A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Phil Knight · 2016
4.45389,310 ratings · Goodreads
Founder storiesCompany building
About the book
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable…
On Amazon Audible
6
Spec Ops
Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare
William H. McRaven · 1996
4.21876 ratings · Goodreads
SecurityCompany building
About the book
Vice Adm. William H. McRaven helped to devise the strategy for how to bring down Osama bin Laden, and commanded the courageous U.S. military unit that carried it out on May 1, 2011, ending one of the greatest manhunts in history. In Spec Ops, a well-organized…
On Amazon Audible

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…
On Amazon Audible
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…
On Amazon Audible
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…
On Amazon Audible
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

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.

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.