Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read | Hacker News Reader

Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

thedailymuse.com

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)

I agree that the scope of books that entrepreneurs would find helpful should be wider. I'd recommend some that might be a little easier to get through (just of the top of my head):

-Losing my virginity (Branson)

-How to win friends and influence people (Carnegie)

-Venture deals (Feld)

-Man's Search for meaning (Frankl)

+10 to Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl.

On a business side I personally like, "Postively Outrageous Service" & "The Heart of Change"

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

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.

I would add this one:

Decision Points - George W. Bush

http://www.amazon.com/Decision-Points-George-W-Bush/dp/03075...

Makers - Part I, is in fact very good. Just pretend that there is no part II or III.

Wow thats the first time I've ever seen Ibn Rushd mentioned on HN, may I also suggest people read Ghazalis "The incoherence of the philosophers" which Ibn Rushds book as actually a response too. Both are eye opening.

I agree. Another might be: http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-War-Sun-Tzu/dp/0385292163

Available for free from the great library. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/132

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert B. Cialdini

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in the Markets and in Life, Nassim Nicholas Taleb

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.

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.

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.

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

Fad you say? Then the list is not terrible, it is awesome.

If you can name-drop the latest fad, then the elite ninja hacker coder you're trying to hire will think you're part of their clique and speak their code - they will consider you an ideological comrade, and they are much more likely to come on board without thinking too much about working conditions or how the company is about to fail! Then you can get them on board and focus on your top priority: making sure you cash out before it does.

Dollar-for-dollar, a 1993 book like "Code Complete" just can't compete with that kind of usefulness. /s

I've read at least two of those, and, in particular, "Switch" is not an awful read. "The rider and the elephant" is certainly not a new idea (buddhists have been saying a similar thing for millenia), but it gives you a modern framework around it to act on.

Switch is a very reasonable book about affecting organizational change, but I wouldn't include it in a list of must-reads for entrepreneurs. Oddly, I might well advocate the Heath brothers other book, Made to Stick, as it gives a framework for effective communication which is something that can benefit many entrepreneurs.

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).

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.

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).

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.

"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...

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.

I absolutely agree about The Innovator's Dilemma. It's a great roundup of decisions that have long-term effects on a startup (equity decisions, team composition, wealth v. control, etc.).

This list looks like it was written by somebody who reads pop-business books, and doesn't run a business.

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

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

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...

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.

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...

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

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

Probably just by networking - no books.

Why would that matter?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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...

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.

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

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.

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.

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

- 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

I also recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/The-Millionaire-Fastlane-Wealth-Lifeti...

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.

Here's the books i'd recommend

http://www.catchcamera.com/2010/07/13/the-16-best-business-b...

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

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

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

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.

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

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

& Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds.

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

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

How about Pirates of Silicon Valley? Super 90s, but good...

ooh, just found an old hacker post on movies - favorite answer: weird science

and it would help if I added the link http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=897183

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.

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?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com