Startup Library: A selection of 65 books

Original author: leventcemaydan


We translated and adapted the original selection of books on startups. We are sure that it will be useful to both novice entrepreneurs and those who are working on their next project.

Putting a selection together. We will be glad to add books according to your suggestions, which would be most convenient to express in the comments.




“Startup Guide. How to start ... and not shut down your Internet business ”

From the idea to market launch and powerful promotion, this is a real set of rules from leading Russian startup gurus and venture capitalists: Sergey Belousov, Alena Vladimirskaya, Igor Ryabenky and other experts. The book was published under the auspices of the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF). The compiler and editor of this unique collection was Margarita Zobnina, associate professor at the Higher School of Economics.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ LiteRes ]




Steve Blank “Four steps to insight. Strategies for creating successful startups "

Four Steps to Enlightenment" describes strategies for doing business from the moment of the idea to the formation of a successful company. It is on these strategies that thousands of companies around the world work and develop. For the first time, the book outlines the only effective way to create a new business, which is based on the scientific method of testing hypotheses - the Customer Development methodology .

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ Amazon ]




John Brooks “Business Adventures: 12 Classic Wall Street Stories”

According to Bill Gates, this is the best business book he has ever read. Even if your product is beyond praise, and you have come up with an excellent marketing strategy, without an intelligent manager who can find innovative solutions to problems, it is impossible to guarantee success. 12 classic stories of successes and failures of several American companies: from Ford to Xerox.

[ Ozon ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Paulo Coelho. "Alchemist"

One of the best books of the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho on the topic of finding his fate. The parable novel urges readers not to give up, to follow their dream and strive for its realization.

[ Ozon ] [ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Eric Rice “Business from scratch. Lean Startup Method »

Lean Startup is an entrepreneurial concept first formulated by Eric Rees to quickly test ideas and select the right business model. The strategy combines the principles, approaches and practices of such business practices as lean manufacturing, customer development and a flexible development methodology.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Dale Carnegie. “How to Make Friends and Influence People”

The book by Dale Carnegie outlines the basic principles of conflict-free and successful communication, as well as tips for self-improvement, effective communication skills, speaking, and much more.

[ Boffo ] [ Amazon ]




Jim Collins “From good to great”

One of the most popular books summarizing the experience of companies that have made a quantum leap from good to incredibly high. As a well-known business consultant, Jim Collins examines the factors, conditions and mechanisms that have led many companies to succeed.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ Amazon ]




Richard Branson “Losing innocence. How I built a business doing it my own way. ”

Richard Branson, founder of a diversified business conglomerate under a common brand, wrote a book about how he managed to build the Virgin empire. In it, Branson reveals the secrets and strategies of becoming a successful entrepreneur. The main idea of ​​the book is the idea of ​​"do it yourself": the author vehemently denies a passive position in the course of doing business.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ Amazon ]




Stephen Covey. “The Seven Skills of Highly Effective People”

Stephen Covey offers a positive concept for achieving high performance by developing seven simple communication skills with people. The book says that you need to always look for a way out even of the most seemingly hopeless situation.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ Bookmate ] [ LiteRes ] [ Amazon ]




A. Osterwalder. “Building business models. The handbook of the strategist and innovator ”

Osterwalder suggests starting a business not just with an idea, but with a meaningful and structured business model. The book describes a unique methodology for visualizing ideas in a business model based on nine structural blocks in the order specified by the author.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Reed Hoffman. “Life is like a startup. Build a career according to the laws of Silicon Valley.

The authors of this book argue that a successful entrepreneur is distinguished from others by one skill: adapt quickly to the situation. They do not stand still, but are constantly looking for new ideas, new consumers, new opportunities. They believe that a personal career can be built according to the same rules. 

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




M. Gladwell. “Geniuses and outsiders. Why is everything one and nothing else? ”

Malcolm Gladwell says that to succeed is not enough to be talented, to have desires and aspirations. All people are born and live in different circumstances, therefore, each person has his own career path.

[ LitRes ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Sophia Amoruzo, “The Girl Chief” [Eng.]

A very positive book that motivates you to immediately get up and fulfill your dream. Sofia Amoruzo, creator of the Nasty Gal online clothing store, provides valuable tips on how to build a business, how to find investors, how to save, how to maintain a good reputation and much more.

[ Amazon ]




Joseph Bauer. From Resource Allocation to Strategy

Joseph Bauer and Clark Gilbert present the results of a study of how managers actually create strategies at seven levels of the organization. The strategy consists to a lesser extent of the officially announced corporate strategy and to a greater extent of the resource constraints that exist at each level of the organization.

[ Amazon ]






Jason Friday and David Heinmeyer Hansson. “Rework. Business without prejudice ”

In their book, Jason and David, the founders of 37signals, argue that everyone can start and run a business without prejudice: unnecessary meetings, advertising campaigns, budgeting, directors and other“ necessary ”cases from the so-called“ real ” of the world. Do not miss your inspiration, only what you do matters, not what you think, say or plan.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ LitRes ] [ MYTH ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Alfred Sloan. “My Years at General Motors”
Alfred Sloan emphasizes the importance of a scientific management approach that collects all the possible information on a particular issue, and develops a solution plan through a brainstorming session.

[ Amazon ]




Peter Drucker. “Management Practice”

One of the best books about how a leader should be, what qualities and skills he should possess, what strategies and methods he should be able to use. Peter Drucker believes that learning to work efficiently is possible, and even necessary.

[ Boffo ] [ MYTH ] [ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Jessica Livingston “How It All Began” [English]

Paul Graham's wife, co-founder of Y Combinator, Jessica Livingston has written a book about the most successful startups of our time. This book tells the stories of the founders of Apple, Yahoo !, Adobe and other global companies about how it all began: from the idea and creating a team to attracting investors.

[ Amazon ]




Rich Christiansen The “Zigzag Principle” [Eng.]

Rich Christiansen believes that success can be achieved in a “zigzag”: get revenue, improve the business environment (more staff, quality equipment), and then expand the organization. The book contains tips on how not to deviate from the chosen course, how to motivate the team, how to cope with success.

[ Amazon ]




Dan Arieli. “Predictable irrationality”

“The key idea of ​​economics - rationality - is the basis of many economic theories, forecasts and recommendations,” write in many books about successful startups, but Dan Ariely believes that people act on the same unobvious scenarios, in other words, lead yourself predictably irrational.

[ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Marc Kuban “How to Win a Sport Under the Name of Business”

In the book, a well-known entrepreneur shares his business ideas from his popular blog Maverick. According to his stories, with what persistence he studied his business, versed in the intricacies of doing business and IT technologies.
[ Amazon ]




Timothy Geithner Stress Test

The book describes Timothy Geithner’s career, from Assistant Secretary of the Treasury to the Secretary of the Treasury. He witnessed the crisis of the 90s, the panic on Wall Street, the struggle within the administration of President Obama, and he has something to tell about.

[ Ozon ] [ Amazon ]




Macklin and Elkind. Enron's Incredible Success and Scandalous Failure

The story of the disclosure of Enron’s financial fraud, written by two reporters, Bethany Macklin and Peter Elkind, served as the basis for a documentary of the same name.

[ Amazon ]




William Draper “Startups. Silicon Valley Professional Games ”

William Draper worked with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to create the first text editor, which was later converted to the BlueBox app. In his book, he shares success stories in which he was directly involved.

[ Ozon ] [ Amazon ]




Martin and Lafley. “A game to win. How the strategy really works. ”

Now Roger Martin is the dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a consultant on strategy, business creation, innovation and integrative thinking. Roger Martin has published many articles and several books about his business strategies and approaches to business.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ LiteRes ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Peter Drucker. “Business and Innovation”

Peter Drucker describes in his book his systematic approach to evaluating innovation, and gives real-life examples. This book has become a classic in entrepreneurship and innovation, it was the first time to systematize the accumulated practical knowledge in these areas.

[ Amazon ]




Niall Ferguson. “The Rise of Money: The Financial History of the World”

Known for his provocative statements and consistent criticism, Niall Ferguson in his book decided to tackle the problems of the current global crisis, to find out the role of money in the financial world, tracing their history from ancient times to the present.

[ Ozon ] [ LitRes ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Nate Silver. “Signal and Noise”

In his book, Nate Silver explains to the reader how to recognize a real signal and distinguish it from all useless informational noise based on a personally developed event probability estimation system.

[ Ozon ] [ LitRes ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Cal Newport. “You are too good not to be noticed” [

Cal .] Newport believes that finding a hobby job is dangerous and hectic, and can even lead to depression. He revealed that the love of work necessarily appears after people, wanting to achieve an amazing result, give all the best 100%.

[ Ozon ] [ Amazon ]






Seth Godin “All marketers are liars. Talent to create the stories that this incredulous world is waiting for. ”[Eng.]

Seth Godin is convinced that it is better to create products that consumers would long for, and not those that would buy from hopelessness. He believes that marketers themselves create and create stories that are often greatly exaggerated. However, if the consumer is carried away by history, most likely, he will look for its embodiment in reality.

[ Amazon ]




Robert Green. “48 Laws of Power”

In his book, Robert Green talks about power and the success that goes with it, about the motives of all people, regardless of position in society. One of the best books on psychology, which will help to gain self-confidence and try to change the surrounding reality.

[ LitRes ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Clayton Christensen. “Innovator's dilemma”

Companies are usually limited by their field of activity, however, they must remain competitive. However, do not be too diligent with the introduction of "disruptive" technologies, because this can lead to financial losses or even complete collapse.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ LiteRes ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Tony Shay. “Delivering Happiness”

Zappos, led by the author of the book, has gone from zero sales to a billion dollar turnover in less than ten years. Tony Shay believes that the basis of his company is corporate culture, to which Shay devoted a significant part of the book.

[ Boffo ] [ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Austin Cleon. “Steal as an artist. 10 lessons of creative expression”

Thanks to an extraordinary bold approach to creativity, Austin Cleon became known throughout the world. His book is an original creative toolkit for those who want to realize their ideas in the digital age.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Simon Saynik. “Start with the question“ why ”[English]

Simon Saynik convinced that the most important thing is to know the answer to the question:“ Why? ”. Why does a company exist at all, what are its goals, what is its significance. Success comes not when it is only important to make a profit, but when the process itself is important.

[ Amazon ]




Ben Horowitz. “Hard facts about hard things”

Many people just say that having your own business is cool, but only a few are honest: it’s really difficult to run a business. Ben Horowitz analyzed the problems that entrepreneurs face every day.

[ Amazon ]




Yvonne Chouinard. “Patagonia - a business in the style of surfing”

Realizing the fact that he became a successful businessman, Yvonne Chouinard seriously thought: is it possible to create a successful business without contradicting its own principles? Yvon Shuinar managed to create a multi-million dollar organization, doing what he likes.

[ Boffo ] [ Bookmate ] [ LiteRes ] [ Amazon ]




Jack Welch “Winner: The Handbook of a Businessman”

Jack Welch is a well-known businessman who has worked at General Electrics for a long time and managed to get his business out of a severe crisis. His book describes strategies for communicating with subordinates, teamwork tips, and other tips for managers.

[ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Bill Gates. “Business with the speed of thought”

The main feature of modern business is the use of modern information technology. According to Bill Gates, an established "electronic nervous system" will help lead the business to success.

[ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Howard Schulz. “How Starbucks was built cup by cup”

This book tells the story of the formation of the Starbucks empire from a small shop selling coffee beans to an incredibly popular cafe chain with great service in 50 countries.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Erickson and Lorenzen. Raising the Bar

This book tells an amazing story from the life of Gary Erickson, head of Clif Bar. When his business reached millionths, he refused to sell his company, for him his contribution and efforts were more important than money.

[ Amazon ]




Timothy Ferris “How to work 4 hours a week”

In this book, the author tells how to manage yourself and effectively share work time and leisure, as well as how to avoid information overload. He gives advice on creating your own lifestyle.

[ Boffo ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Napoleon Hill. Think and Grow Rich

American writer and psychologist Napoleon Hill was inspired after reading Carnegie books and wrote about his way of thinking differently and getting rich. This book has been included on John Maxwell's best-seller list.

[ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Cheryl Sandberg “Don't be afraid to act”

Cheryl Sandberg is one of the most influential women in business to date. She worked in key positions at Google and Facebook, while managing to engage in personal life. Cheryl discusses the business world, which dictates to all women unspoken rules of conduct, and gives advice on how to behave in order to become more confident.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ Bookmate ] [ LiteRes ] [ Amazon ]






Daniel Kahneman “Think slowly ... Decide quickly”

Daniel is one of the most famous scientists in the field of psychology and economics, a Nobel Prize in economics for studying behavior in the face of uncertainty. In the book, he describes in detail two types of thinking: slow when we think about a problem and possible solutions, and fast, impulsive, instant, intuitive.

[ Ozon ] [ Bookmate ] [ LiteRes ] [ Amazon ]




Michael Gerber “Entrepreneurship: Myth and Reality” [

Michael ] Michael Gerber in his book writes that the main secret of business organization is a process approach. The author believes that the main work at the enterprise is carried out by professionals, specialists in their field, and not just by the entrepreneurs themselves.

[ Amazon ]




Guy Kawasaki. “Startup. 11 workshops ”[English]

Guy Kawasaki is a psychologist by education and an entrepreneur by state of mind, as well as a startup philosophy guru. He has written an excellent career book for those who want to take action right now. Guy Kawasaki believes that the main thing is not to get stuck at the "stage of microscopes", making a breakthrough into the future.

[ Amazon ]




Chris Gilbo. "Startup for $ 100"

This book contains the results of an analysis of the 50 most interesting entrepreneurs who started their business from scratch. Moreover, the author is not limited to general recommendations, but gives an order of actions, analyzes the mistakes that novice entrepreneurs made at first.

[ Ozon ] [ Bookmate ] [ LiteRes ] [ Amazon ]




Seth Godin "Pit. How to learn to get out and become a winner ”[Eng.] The

witty book of Seth Godin’s authorship tells about the ability to get out of difficult situations. The author believes that it depends on our perseverance whether we are able to achieve more. This book will help readers decide on a difficult choice in business, weigh the pros and cons.

[ Amazon ]




Gary Vaynerchuk. “Passion is a business”

Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the first entrepreneurs who began to communicate with clients “one on one” on social networks on all popular platforms at once. Of course, it is time consuming, but ultimately, it is worth it. Passion can be a business if you are hardworking and ready to devote all of yourself constantly searching for interesting ideas, chips, features and share it with your readers and fans.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Richard Tedlow's "Business Giants" [English]

The book "Business Giants" tells of the ups and downs of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time. In the book you can find unique advice from professionals in their field, so that, starting your business, have a solid theoretical base and not repeat their mistakes.

[ Amazon ]




Josh Kaufman. “Your own MBA. Self-education is 100%. ”

The author of this book, Josh Kaufman, consciously decided not to get an MBA from a business school. Many people waste time on education in higher education, while it is much more efficient to get knowledge directly from practice. This book will help you gain self-confidence and understand the unspoken principles of effective business.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Daniel Pink "Drive. What really motivates us. ”

Daniel Pink writes that the worst motivation in the long run is money, because it kills a person’s interest in work. On the contrary, the author suggests encouraging the employee’s interest in improvement, mastery and independence, gives advice on how to find out if a person has strong intrinsic motivation.

[ Boffo ] [ Bookmate ] [ LiteRes ] [ Amazon ]




David Allen “How to put things in order”

David Allen is the author of the “Getting Things Done” time management methodology, the main principle of which is to free one’s head from an endless list of current affairs and focus on the direct implementation of these tasks.

[ MYTH ] [ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Feld and Mendelssohn. “Attracting investments in a startup”

The book describes the intricacies of working with venture capital and the stages of creating a startup, stipulates the conditions of ownership and investment, and resolves issues of equity and business value. The book will be useful to all novice entrepreneurs.

[ Ozon ] [ Boffo ] [ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Charles Dahigg. “The Power of Habit”

The book describes the intricacies of working with venture capital and the stages of creating a startup, stipulates the conditions of ownership and investment, and decides on the size of share capital and business value. The book will be useful to all novice entrepreneurs.

[ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Downs and Nunez. The Big Bang

Larry Downes and Paul Nunez know exactly how modern society is changing with the introduction of more and more new technologies, and why their role in human life will grow rapidly. The book analyzes technical revolutions, their causes and consequences, both in society and in the world of technology.

[ Amazon ]




Paul Graham “Hackers and Artists" [English]

Programming is a creative process, somewhat reminiscent of painting. After reading this book, you can become closer to the people of this profession, understand the features of working with information, which can significantly increase the efficiency of your business.

[ Amazon ]




Winesimmer and McConaughey. “The Wisdom of Failure” [Eng.]

Success always goes side by side with failure, and people learn better from mistakes, especially their own. This book is a guide to frequently made mistakes that every leader goes through before becoming truly successful.

[ Amazon ]






Hugh MacLeod. “Ignore everyone, or How to become creative”

In his book, Hugh MacLeod urges to ignore everyone who condemns you, looks down, shows disapproval. People do not like the changes in you, but without changing anything around you and in yourself, you will not become creative.

[ Ozon ] [ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Eliyahu Goldratt. "Goal. The process of continuous improvement. ”

Eliyahu Goldratt is the author of the well-known theory of constraints, a management technique that has gained worldwide recognition. He wrote an art book with lots of practical tips on doing business with manufacturing.

[ LitRes ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Stephen Schiffman “

Cold call techniques” A cold call is a call to a client whose need for your product or service has not yet been formed. This book helps sales managers choose the right approaches for a particular type of customer during a telephone conversation.

[ Boffo ] [ Bookmate ] [ Amazon ]




Gary Vaynerchuk. “Information kick”

Gary Vaynerchuk compares his strategy with boxing: first he will flood you with macro content, in other words, with useful information messages (jab - hit), and then ask you to do something for him (right hook - hook on the right), and you cannot refuse him.

[ Ozon ] [ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Walter Isaacson. "Steve Jobs"

This book is about one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time - Steve Jobs. The biography was based on conversations with the Steve Jobs family, his friends, colleagues, competitors and with himself.

[ Ozon ] [ LitRes ] [ Amazon ]




Chris Anderson "A long tail. A new model of doing business. ”

Long Tail - a new model of doing business, proposed by Chris Anderson to work effectively even with not the most popular and popular products. This book contains tips, opportunities, and tools for doing business in a highly competitive environment.

[ MYTH ] [ Amazon ]




Putting a selection together. We will be glad to add books according to your suggestions, which would be most convenient to express in the comments.

Our other selections:


PS If you notice an error in the description, a big request is to inform us in the LAN.

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