The 15 Best Entrepreneurial Books You Should Read
Whether you’re just starting or a seasoned entrepreneur, startup books are an excellent source of inspiration and motivation. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or simply curious about what others have encountered, startup books are an excellent source of entrepreneur advice, strategies, and inspiration. However, there are so many options available that selecting just a few to check out from your local library can become a daunting task in and of itself.
That is why we are here to assist you. This list includes some of the best startup books to assist you in getting your business off the ground, securing venture capital funding, serving as a supportive leader and remaining inspired—regardless of the challenges you face. Those who need money to start their business may read these tips for quick loan approval.
15 must-read business startup books
1. Steve Blank’s “The Startup Owner’s Manual.”
Stanford, Berkeley, and Columbia colleges teach the steps specified in “The Startup Owner’s Manual” for starting a business. That information is freely accessible, making this book one of our top recommendations for new entrepreneurs.
While most people believe that establishing a company is a hazy, confusing process, this is not the case. This book details each step necessary to launch a successful startup firm. With over 100 charts and graphs and 77 checklists, this startup guide teaches you to establish a company in explicit, concrete stages.
2. Geoff Smart and Randy Street’s “Who.”
One of the most common company errors is not in marketing, product development, or execution—it is in recruiting. Hiring the finest personnel may make all the difference in the success of your organization. That is why “Who” is one of the most excellent entrepreneurship books available.
“Who” discusses easy actions that everyone may do to enhance hiring. This book teaches you how to hire the best individual for the position, regardless of recruiting a new CEO, a front desk manager, or a marketing manager. When you’re in the early stages of a business, you’re responsible for cultivating a healthy, vibrant culture—and understanding how to employ the appropriate people is a critical component.
3. Jen Sincero’s “You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Wealth Mindset.”
Most entrepreneurs enter startups because they like the bustle associated with starting and maintaining a firm. However, the possibility of earning good pay does not harm.
“You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Money Perspective” by Jen Sincero is a quick-read book filled with personal tales and bite-sized lessons on transforming your mindset and concentrating on wealth.
Instead of being a victim of circumstance, Sincero teaches you how to influence your environment to earn as much money as possible. As an entrepreneur or founder of a business, you’ve already made the initial steps toward attaining that objective; follow Sincero’s suggestions to take them even further.
4. Peter Thiel’s “Zero to One.”
“Zero to One” has been named one of the top startup books, and if you haven’t read it yet, you should. Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook, is a controversial person, yet his book “Zero to One” is packed with provocative ideas that are hard to ignore.
While this handbook is geared toward people launching a technological firm, “Zero to One” has several concepts applicable to every sector. Utilize this book to question your preconceived beliefs about what it’s like to run a startup or small company.
5. Katherine Catlin and Jana Matthews’ “Leading at the Speed of Growth.”
As the creator of a startup, you are the CEO of your infant firm. If you’re doing everything correctly, you may experience moments of rapid development during which everything seems chaotic and out of control. The authors of “Leading at the Speed of Development” wrote this book to assist you in navigating those phases of growth and preparing for the next one.
This article contains recommendations on what to do and what not to do at each of the three phases of entrepreneurial development: early growth, fast growth, and continuous growth. Additionally, this book contains experiences from over 500 entrepreneurs that will instruct, motivate, and influence your choice to become a great leader throughout times of development.
6. Kim Scott’s “Radical Candor: How to Be a Badass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity.”
What better method to learn how to run a firm than to hire a CEO coach? However, what startup entrepreneur can afford such a luxury?
Kim Scott has served as a CEO coach at some high-profile startups, including Dropbox and Twitter. Fortunately, for the purchase of her book, “Radical Candor,” you can have her knowledge and teachings on how to deliver criticism, listen, and applaud in the manner that every competent CEO should.
This New York Times best-seller lays out a straightforward structure for becoming a better boss, making it an essential addition to your startup book library. If it works for established technology businesses, why should it not work for your startup?
7. “The Difficult Thing About Difficult Things” by Ben Horowitz
As one of Silicon Valley’s most renowned and successful entrepreneurs, it’s unsurprising that Ben Horowitz’s book is ranked among the top startup books.
Whether you’re an experienced entrepreneur or just starting your first firm, “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” has lots of information to assist you in making the tough choices that will inevitably arise when managing your new venture.
As an added treat, you’ll experience Ben Horowitz’s distinctive wit and comedy while reading.
8. Jessica Livingston’s “Founders at Work.”
While many of the finest startup books provide essential knowledge, they may also be dry and monotonous. “Founders at Work” by Jessica Livingston provides compelling interviews with business founders who share anecdotes from their firms’ early years to encourage you.
If you’re looking for startup advice from the inventors and co-founders of Apple, Google, Microsoft, Flickr, Hotmail, and PayPal, to name a few, you may do so. By following along with this fascinating walkthrough, you’ll be able to discover precisely how they did it all!
9. Eric Ries’ “The Lean Startup.”
Eric Ries’s “The Lean Startup” is the number one best-selling book on Amazon. This book is not only about how to establish a new business but also about how to do it on a shoestring budget. Most businesses do not begin with a large amount of additional funding, which is where this book comes in.
The major takeaways from “The Lean Startup” include using human creativity effectively and on a shoestring budget, making it one of the most outstanding business startup books. With those two lessons in hand, you’ll be able to have your business up and running in no time.
10. Rob Kornblum’s “It’s Never Too Late to Start a Business.”
Our traditional picture of a startup founder is that of the disruptor: the young child in their parent’s garage or dorm room experimenting with something new and growing it into a multibillion-dollar enterprise. This view overlooks the many company founders who begin in their forties after a successful career in employment.
Fortunately, author and venture investor Rob Kornblum’s book “Never Too Late to Start” is here to dispel that myth as he recounts his conversations with a dozen midlife business entrepreneurs. This book is replete with insights about how experience and age may be advantages in the startup world and guidance for integrating later-life commitments, such as kids, with the rigors of startup culture.
Apart from its insightful content, what distinguishes this as one of the most fantastic startup books for entrepreneurs is the inclusion of a set of practical tools. It contains a 90-day company schedule, a one-page business plan, and a fundraising pitch form.
11. Sydney Finkelstein’s “Superbosses.”
While many of the skills required to start a firm are operational, an intelligent startup founder must know how to lead. There are few startup books on this subject. However, “Superbosses” addresses the premise that a good leader has specific personality attributes.
According to author and professor Sydney Finkelstein, a super boss assists in motivating and inspiring the workforce. Additionally, super bosses assist their staff in developing into leaders who establish their great enterprises and lifestyles.
Finkelstein distills years of study and hundreds of interviews with leaders from various sectors into a practical, advice-packed book that can assist you in developing into a more effective leader for your team.
12. Jeffrey Bussgang’s “Mastering the Venture Capital Game.”
One of the most stressful phases of development for most businesses is obtaining money from VCs or venture capitalists. You must persuade VCs not just that they should finance your concept but also that your fledgling venture will succeed and provide a profit for them.
Author Jeffrey Bussgang takes a comprehensive perspective of startup finance in his book, “Mastering the VC Game,” advising entrepreneurs to locate a VC. They would provide cash and collaborate with them to get their concept off the ground. This book compiles advice from dozens of successful venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, each with their unique viewpoint.
Bussgang has sought and been the recipient of venture capital funding—his balanced perspective makes “Mastering the VC Game” one of the top business startup books if you’re looking to finance your next enterprise.
13. Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace’s “Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Prevent True Inspiration.”
A common misperception regarding startups is that you must be developing ground-breaking technology or software. That is not the case. With animator Ed Catmull and author Amy Wallace, delve inside the genius of Pixar Animation.
The authors of “Creativity, Inc.” discuss how to make your office more motivating, how to seek out unorthodox leaders, and how to search for innovation. While striking this balance can frequently be challenging as a business grows, it is not impossible. After all, Pixar has maintained a culture of talent and innovation under Catmull’s leadership.
14. Arianna Huffington’s “Thrive.”
Arianna Huffington, the co-founder of the Huffington Post, wrote “Thrive” after breaking her cheekbone in an exhaustion-induced fall. While starting a business takes a lot of time and work, it’s not worth it if you’re not around to enjoy it—a point Huffington makes clearly.
The theme of “Thrive” is redefining success. It’s not just about money and power but also about time for recreation, sleep, and mindfulness. That’s why “Thrive” makes a solid case for supporting the latest science in athletics, psychology, and sleep.
Among the most fantastic startup books available, “Thrive” can help any business founder understand that balance is just as critical to success as any other factor.
15. Blake Mycoskie’s “Start Something Meaningful.”
Many of the top startup books emphasize the importance of establishing something fresh or disruptive that will generate a lot of revenue. Then there’s Blake Mycoskie, the Toms’s creator. “Establish Something That Matters” presents tales, practical recommendations, and inspirational ideas on how to start a business that you love, that is profitable, and that has the potential to impact the world—all at the same time.
While it’s tempting to dismiss Toms as a startup, keep in mind that Mycoskie developed it into a multibillion-dollar firm in less than a decade. This starter book contains several lessons.
Finally, an idea
Getting a business off the ground may be a frightening and time-consuming endeavor. However, there are instances when it’s beneficial to get outside of one’s brain and recognize that other outstanding individuals have been in your shoes. Whatever challenge you’re encountering as a company founder, one of the books on this list is sure to offer something for you.
