If you are planning to start a business or if you are running an early-stage startup, you’ll need all the advice that you can get. This is the perfect time to level up your skill sets and soak in as much knowledge as you can from who has been there before.
You can do this many different ways – look for meetups to connect with other entrepreneurs, listen to a podcast a day during your commute or read books and blogs from experts in the field.
With so many resources out there, it can be daunting knowing where to start. We’ve put together a list of our recommended reads for entrepreneurs. There’s something for everyone here – from brand new startups to established businesses.
Books for new entrepreneurs
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
A book you’re likely to find in every entrepreneur’s bookshelf. A guide to create and manage successful startups in an age when companies need to innovate more than ever.
The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor
The Financial Times calls it “nothing less than a handbook for managers who would rather disrupt than be disrupted” and we couldn’t agree more. The book covers how to achieve disruptive growth and suggests guidelines for developing your own growth machine.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
Years of intervention may have no impact at all on some of our most pressing social issues, yet the right intervention – at just the right time – can start a cascade of change.
Nail it then Scale it: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Creating and Managing Breakthrough Innovation by Nathan Furr and Paul Ahlstrom
A hands-on manual for entrepreneurs wanting to launch a high-growth company. It includes a step by step guide of key actions successful entrepreneurs take to reduce risk and increase success.
Books to grow your entrepreneurial mindset
Infinite Mindset by Simon Sinek
Why do some businesses achieve long-lasting success and others don’t? Simon Sinek applies game theory to explore how great businesses achieve long-lasting success.
Innovation is a state of mind by James O’Loghlin
James O’Loghlin spent 8 years hosting The New Inventors and in that time, studied what these inventors did differently and how they took advantage of opportunities. This read will give you ideas on how to introduce innovation into your everyday life.
The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley
Tom Kelley, partner at IDEO, takes readers behind the scenes of this inspirational company to reveal the strategies and secrets it uses. Kelley believes that everyone can be creative – and the goal is to tap into that creativity to make innovation a way of life.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Essential startup advice by the founder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley’s most respected entrepreneurs.
Books to find your leadership voice
Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
It’s hard to only pick one Brenė Brown book when she has many great ones out there. But we particularly like Dare to Lead as an essential read for everyone who is ready to choose courage over comfort, make a difference and lead.
Drive by Daniel H. Pink
Get to the bottom of what really motivates people and get real life examples from companies that are using new bold approaches to motivate their team.
Radical Candor: How to Get What You Want by Saying What You Mean by Kim Scott
A new management approach that strives to strike the balance between caring personally while challenging directly.
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
How do you create a team based on trust, where everyone wakes up inspired to go to work? Simon Sinek tackles this biggie.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
An older one, but still one of the most read business books out there. So what’s all the fuss about – have a read and judge for yourself.
Book to inspire you
Let my people go surfing by Yvon Chouinard
Patagonia’s founder shares his story from starting out to leading a company that makes $600 million a year and is regarded as a beacon for sustainable capitalism.
Chapter One You Have the Power to Change Stuff: by Daniel Flynn
Thankyou co-founder takes you behind the scenes of his startup journey, while tackling some of the most common questions asked by those looking to make a difference in the world.
That Will Never Work : The Birth of Netflix by Marc Randolph
The inside story of the creation of Netflix told by the company’s co-founder and first CE.
Milk! A 10,000-Year Food Fracas by Mark Kurlansky
Innovation doesn’t have to be big tech and super-apps, and likewise innovation books don’t always have to be about business… this biography of milk tells the compelling story of how milk has transformed the world from antiquity to the present. It’s a fascinating read into an everyday object that dives into the ramifications milk has had on evolution, religion, nutrition, politics and economics.
