
Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read - anthonydramirez
http://www.thedailymuse.com/entrepreneurship/10-books-every-entrepreneur-should-read/
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kitsune_
Call me old-fashioned, but why would I read boring self-help books when there
are thousands of books available, from all ages, that document the human
experience? For instance:

\- Scriptures of the major religions

\- The Conquest of Happiness (Bertrand Russell)

\- On Aggression (Konrad Lorenz)

\- Crowds and Power (Elias Canetti)

\- LSD, My Problem Child (Albert Hofmann)

\- Huis Clos (J.P. Sartre)

\- Essays by Michel de Montaigne

\- The Incoherence of the Incoherence (Ibn Rushd)

~~~
daeken
I'd add the following:

\- Makers (Cory Doctorow) -- I recommend this to every entrepreneur and
technologist I know, if only because it will inspire you to create something
great.

\- Masters of Doom (David Kushner) -- History of id software

\- Game Over (David Sheff) -- History of Nintendo; seriously wild

~~~
dsirijus
You don't need to call me old-fashioned - I am.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_ludens>

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptonomicon>

Just my 2 cents on the list that actually matters.

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jrkelly
This is a terrible list. Is it really likely that the 10 best books for
entrepreneurs were all written after 2010? These are just the latest fad
books.

~~~
daeken
Thank you. To take this one step further, these books fall into the Bermuda
Triangle of bullshit: taking successful experiences and expecting that they'll
work for others; make you feel good -- you can do it! Don't let your boss
stand in your way!; selection bias, survivor bias, ....

I don't know if I've read it somewhere and I'm regurgitating it or if it's my
own original thought, but I'm going to call this the Malcolm Gladwell effect.
Take your limited scope, strip away the "irrelevant" pieces (regardless of how
much they could've actually mattered), package up a bunch of anecdotes that
convey the point you want them to, and make people feel good about that part
of themselves.

Complete bunkum.

~~~
carleverett
I find this particularly true for the "163 Ways to Pursue Excellence" book. I
haven't read it, but the idea is laughable. Am I supposed to be "pursuing
excellence" while I sit on the toilet with this "very compelling and browsable
book"? It's worthless - just a way of providing people with their small fix of
self-fulfillment one paragraph at a time by giving a "helpful hint" on how to
improve their lives.

Sorry for the excessive use of quotations, I just wanted to emphasize the
bullshit.

~~~
andyjohnson0
Totally agree. I wonder why they stopped at 163? I suspect they just
completely lost the will to continue any further.

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mironathetin
Is this an academic discussion?

The more books an entrepreneur reads, the more he/she may realize, that the
success of the enterprise is more or less random (if you don't believe that,
read Daniel Kahnemann: thinking fast and slow - but that advice would be
against the advice I give in this post ;O). Its much better not to know all
the problems in advance and get scared away. Instead, just start and solve
problems as they appear. Stay motivated, hold alive a positive attitude and
remain in good mood contributes most to success IMHO.

And while youre still reading, someone else may start your business...

But who am I to give advice to entrepreneurs? I'm not an entrepreneur myself
(read too much).

~~~
quaunaut
As long as your aims are small('make a living', 'realize a dream', and not 'be
the next Google/Facebook/Apple'), the best advice anyone can give someone who
is thinking about being an Entrepreneur is "Just do it."

Yeah, you're probably in over your head. But you won't know till you try, and
being in over your head and knowing it's all up to you is a pretty fantastic
motivating power to overcome that difficulty.

------
hobin
:|

I always cringe when I see lists like these. These books aren't even
interesting! Pretty much everything you need to know about becoming an
entrepreneur can be found on PG's site, and the rest can easily be found by
searching the web. There is no hidden secret to working hard and solving
problems.

I'd much rather spend all the time I'd be reading these books by reading
something interesting and useful, say, a book on macroeconomics (you can of
course pick a different subject if you don't like thise one) or even fiction
(at least that's fun).

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ThomPete
Like most other non-scientific fields it's my experience that you should read
books around the topic not on the topic.

If you want to be good with UX you don't read books about UX you read books
about psychology, typography, color-theory, comics.

If you want to be a good entrepreneur you read about well everything kitsune_
wrote and even non-fiction.

You can't read your way to experience.

~~~
technology
"You can't read your way to experience."

This reminds of a decision making book which are based on empirical
observation and theory. Good if you want to know how to make decisions in
ambiguity, uncertainty and other complex situations.

Streetlights and Shadows: Searching for the Keys to Adaptive Decision Making -
Gary Klein

[http://www.amazon.com/Streetlights-Shadows-Searching-
Adaptiv...](http://www.amazon.com/Streetlights-Shadows-Searching-Adaptive-
Decision/dp/0262013398)

------
kmfrk
That _The Innovator's Dilemma_ is not on that list shows that it is complete
and utter fluff. _Delivering Happiness_ is probably a great book, but the rest
looks like self-help-new-age gibberish. Better use the classics, as kitsune_
suggested, then.

~~~
wamatt
Yeah, great book. I've heard it mentioned that it was one of Steve Job's
favorite books too.

------
jayzee
I always recommend _Founders at Work_ to all my friends who are contemplating
a start-up. Incredibly motivating stories!

~~~
technology
I never liked founders at work, there's nothing in there which you could
learn. Here's the rating which I would to the book just like what Derek sivers
did 2/10 - <http://sivers.org/book/FoundersAtWork> . It just turns out Jessica
and PG has tons of influence in hacker community that's why you here her book
being recommended all the time.

Alternative : Try Venture capitalist at work by Tarang Shah

[http://www.amazon.com/Venture-Capitalists-Work-Billion-
Dolla...](http://www.amazon.com/Venture-Capitalists-Work-Billion-Dollar-
Successes/dp/1430238372)

~~~
jayzee
Ok, follow-up post 13 days' after technology's recommendation. I got the book
and I read it and I did not find the advice actionable. He interviews a bunch
of vcs (and a few founders) but mostly vcs and you hear the same thing that
you expect:

\- Startups fail because they run out of money

\- VC's like to invest in smart passionate entrepreneurs who are solving a
personal problem who are not in it for the money.

\- VC's like either big markets or great teams or both

\- etc etc

Some of the interviews were great (Howard Morgan) but the problem with
interviewing active vcs is that they can't talk about the stuff behind the
scenes. Often founder's who have had successful exits have no such qualms.

------
wamatt
A friend I trust highly recommends "The startup owners manual" by Steve Blank
and Bob Dorf.

[http://www.amazon.com/The-Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-By-
Step...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-By-
Step/dp/0984999302)

~~~
dennem
Yes, this book plus Lean Startup by Eric Ries plus Rework - that's all any
tech startup needs to read to become successful.

~~~
rmATinnovafy
How about the successful startups that existed before those books? What books
did they read?

~~~
technology
Probably just by networking - no books.

------
ryadh
I have read tons of books like this, verdict: complete bullshit, no substance.
Best inspiring reading experience I've ever read: The old man an the sea,
Hemingway. Try to read it with an entrepreneur point of view and you will see.

~~~
andyjohnson0
Interesting. I'd never thought of The Old Man and the Sea in that way, but I
can see your point. Tough-minded perseverance.

I occasionally look through the business books section of a bookshop while
waiting for my train home from work, and I'm always struck by the intellectual
emptiness and embarrassing obsession with the latest fad of most of these
books. I wonder how this sector of the book market got like this?

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pefavre
All of this reading is great, and I mean it. I've read a lot of it. But one
thing bothers me: the time spent reading is precious if you're an
entrepreneur. It should not take over your work, so basically you read on your
free time. I personally think it is important to pull the plug sometimes.
That's why I try to read less startup stuff, and let my mind wander with
novels. Read literature, that's where the inspiration comes from.

------
pacomerh
This whole entrepreneur preparation thing feels so pre-meditated it's kinda
cheesy. "Be great, read this", no man just do your job you already know what
to do.

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mindcrime
My own list would include a few different choices:

 _The Art of the Start_

 _The Innovator's Dilemma_

 _The Four Steps to the Epiphany_

 _Positioning_

 _The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing_

 _The Lean Startup_

 _Blue Ocean Strategy_

 _Business Model Generation_

 _The Fountainhead_

 _Atlas Shrugged_

among others...

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sparknlaunch12
Not the most definitive and diverse list. The vast majority of these books are
'marketing' focused. Establishing and running a business is more than just
promotion. If you have time to read 10 books, I would mix it up a bit.

I would personally throw in an autobiography a functional business book. The
rest can be made up with personal drive and passion.

------
pacoverdi
Funny, usually such lists are littered with affiliate links but this one only
links to thumbnails of book covers.

------
draggnar
The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship is the best reference book for starting a
business. Everything you would learn from an MBA condensed for entrepreneurs.
I know most people here would say that all the old rules don't apply but
taking the unconventional route isn't the best choice in every situation.

~~~
claudiusd
The author is trying to distinguish himself. This should really be titled "10
_more_ books every entrepreneur should read" since it's missing the basics
like The Innovators Dilemma and The Four Steps To Epiphany, among others.

------
adriangranzella
Good list. I also recommend Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman--a
great read on decision making.

------
cah
\- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin \- Growing a Business \- Diary of a
Napoleonic Foot Soldier. (The original death-march) \- The Entrepreneur and
Small Business Problem Solver \- Web and Software Development by Nolo Press

------
bond
I also recommend this one: [http://www.amazon.com/The-Millionaire-Fastlane-
Wealth-Lifeti...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Millionaire-Fastlane-Wealth-
Lifetime/dp/0984358102)

~~~
13rules
I second this one ... one of the better books I've read in the last year.
Validated some of the ways I thought about myself and my business, as well as
gave me some new ideas and approaches to thinking.

------
SteveGuttenberg
Here's the books i'd recommend

[http://www.catchcamera.com/2010/07/13/the-16-best-
business-b...](http://www.catchcamera.com/2010/07/13/the-16-best-business-
books-of-all-time/)

------
akg
This list I feel has material with significantly higher quality:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3496038>

~~~
pefavre
Great list thanks, but more code-oriented in my opinion.

------
djt
I don't agree with everything on this list, so I made my own:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4018867>

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jamesbritt
What books document paths and approaches that failed?

Stuff that counters the "worked once for me" quality of so many how-to
business books.

Only reading success stories is horribly misleading.

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JumpCrisscross
There is a decent amount of literature of academic research on VC and start-
ups. Much better than this fluff.

------
acav
I'd also recommend Slide:ology by Nancy Duarte for when you're doing
presentations (for fundraising or BD)

~~~
ckluis
& Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds.

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abbasmehdi
What a coincidence! I was Googling this last night and boom, here it is! Would
also love one for movies!

~~~
nlow
yes! and "the social network" shouldn't be allowed on the list just bc it's an
obvious choice!

------
fear91
You won't learn anything good from reading books. Nothing, in written form,
can prepare your for hardship of entrepreneurial life - it is tough,
unpredictable and every case is unique.

The only thing I read are (auto)biographies of successful entrepreneurs or
books written by successful CEO's.

I don't need to know insights of some theoretics - they usually don't know
shit.

~~~
fear91
Downvotes for writting the truth?

Would you read a book about JAVA written by someone who never wrote a 1 line
of code? Only looked what others did?

