Startup: The Must Read Books for Founders

A friend recently asked me for the best books I would recommend to a startup founder. Here is my list.  I’d be curious if you have any additions or changes.

If you could only read one book, read The Great CEO Within. If you could add a second, make it Lean Startup.

All Time Top Books for Founders

1. The Great CEO Within
2. Lean Startup
3. 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership

Overall Philosophy

1. Lean Startup
2. Discipled Entrepreneurship
3. Zero to One
4. How Innovation Works
5. A Quantified Approach to Product Market Fit (article)

Managing Yourself

1. 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership
2. Getting Things Done
3. Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management
4. The Happiness Hypothesis

Boards and Investors

1. Startup Boards
2. Term Sheets & Valuations
3. Venture Deals
4. YCombinators Series A Guide

Sales and Marketing

1. CustomerCentric Selling
2. Crossing The Chasm
3. Predictable Revenue
4. Innovators Dilemma

People, Management and Negotiation

1. Nonviolent Communication
2. Getting More
3. Getting to Yes
4. The Hard Thing about Hard Things
5. Never Eat Alone
6. Who

There is also a lot of great content from YCombinator and Paul Graham’s articles.

1. Startup School
2. How to Start a Startup
3. A Student’s Guide to Startups
4. Why Not Not Start a Startup
5. How to Fund a Startup

I also get a lot out of hearing stories from other founders. Something about learning about their journeys and challenges makes it feel more possible for me to do it, too. Please share ideas on other great places to read or hear founder stories. Here are just a few:

1. Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure
2. How I Built This (podcast)
3. Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders (podcast)
4. Startup (podcast)
5. Acquired (podcast)

For a more comprehensive list of articles/books for founders by category, I recommend the High Output Founders library.