What business books are the top startup blogs and publications recommending? The result of our thorough investigation is this top 10 list of startup books.
As you probably know, there are a lot of books about business. A lot.
Everyone seems to have discovered a new and innovative way that you and your business can be successful. Even as you get more niche and focus on startup books alone, there are a lot of paperbacks to wade through.
We decided to narrow our scope further and ask “What books are recommended time and again by the best in business?” We wanted a manageable list that wouldn’t scare away someone just beginning their adventure into business literature.
The following list is the result of our investigation. It’s in no particular order, so start with the book that intrigues you the most…
Spin Selling By Neil Rackham
Recommended by Startupmindset.com
What you’ll learn: How to improve a startup’s sales strategy when it comes to high-value accounts.
Spin Selling dives into helping entrepreneurs develop a killer sales methodology. It helps lay out a framework to achieve this by using what’s known SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff). This framework helps a startup ask the right questions when it comes to selling.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things By Ben Horowitz
Recommended by The CEO Library
What you’ll learn: Key real-life learnings on how to successfully build, manage, sell, and invest in businesses from successful investor Ben Horowitz.
This book challenges commonly held startup beliefs and shares the many mistakes that were made by Ben while he led large billion-dollar corporations. The book is a fun read thanks to Ben’s trademark dry humor and no bullsh*t approach.
The 4-Hour Workweek By Timothy Ferriss
Recommended by Vin Clancy @ Startupgrind
What you’ll learn: Strategies to escape the 9 to 5 grind and build an entrepreneurial lifestyle that emphasizes freedom and passive income generation.
Timothy teaches readers how to build passive income-generating businesses that will enable one to free up time to focus on things that they are truly passionate about. He pushes the boundaries and walks one through how to build an ideal lifestyle, weaved in with his unique stories, detailed guides, and a list of resources to help readers get started.
The High Growth Handbook By Elad Gil
Recommended by TechCrunch
What you’ll learn: Lessons from going from thriving startup to unicorn, and how to navigate the high-growth period in between.
The book goes over common growth strategies Elad has used. He focuses on providing advice for startups that have achieved product-market fit and covers vital topics required to successfully manage growth such as recruitment, managing shareholders, and setting up your business for a successful exit.
Zero to One By Peter Thiel
Recommended by Hiten Shah
What you’ll learn: How to develop business ideas that can change the world, and taking them from strategy to execution.
This book focuses on providing practical advice that help one tackle big business challenges. It goes into how innovation is not about building on other ideas, but doing something entirely new that can have a huge impact on the world. Carving out new industries instead of disrupting existing ones.
Trillion Dollar Coach By Alan Eagle, Eric Schmidt, and Jonathan Rosenberg
Recommended by: Forbes
What you’ll learn: The key principles that Bill Campbell used to advise and nurture the leaders of the Technology world today such as Google and Apple.
This book dives into the key management lessons they learned from Bill over the years that helped navigate Google to where it is today. It looks at the instrumental strategies Bill helped develop and execute in other organizations such as Apple and Intuit and the personal coaching he provided to leaders such as Steve Jobs.
Rework By Jason Fried and David Hansson
Recommended by Hiten Shah
What you’ll learn: To dispel the notion that launching ideas require careful planning and lots of capital – this book shows how to build a business the fast and lean way.
The book talks about the tech-enabled era we live in. How one can start a business over a weekend with the various plug and play tools at our disposable. As a result, it challenges practices such as developing a business plan but advocates for moving fast, rapid prototyping, and experimenting to understand the viability of business models.
Think and Grow Rich By Napoleon Hill
Recommended by Startup Nation
What you’ll learn: The principles one can follow in their personal and professional life to achieve the same mindset that has made many successful in their lives.
The book shares thirteen fundamental principles/steps that can be followed both in one’s personal and professional lives that can set them up for success. He backs these insights with over 500 interviews he had conducted with affluent women and men of his time.
The Lean Startup By Eric Ries
Recommended by Vin Clancy @ Startupgrind
What you’ll learn: To take advantage of scrappy ideation and how to test product-market fit.
The book shares how one can apply ‘lean’ principles in rapidly testing and validating business ideas, and grow them efficiently. It shares how companies regardless of size can adjust to changing consumer and market needs through rapid experimentation, ignoring vanity metrics, and measuring what matters.
Measure What Matters By John Doerr
Recommended by Bill Gates
What you’ll learn: How to implement metrics in an organization effectively (OKRs), with lots of case studies sprinkled throughout to illustrate the benefits.
The book dives into the popular OKRs framework, which stands for objectives and key results. John walks you through defining such goals in companies and implementing them effectively to drive better decision-making.