12 Books On Startups and Entrepreneurs That I Must Read in 2015

11/24/2015
12booksonstartupsandentrepreneursthatImustreadin2015
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Malavika Velayanikal ( https://www.techinasia.com/author/malavika-velayanikal/)

10:11 am on Jan 19, 2015
(https://www.techinasia.com/author/malavika-
12 great books on startups and entrepreneurs that I

must read in 2015
13 Comments (https://www.techinasia.com/12-great-books-startups-entrepreneurs-
read-2015/#comments)
One of my resolutions for the year was that I would spend less time on social
media and more time reading books. The best part of this resolution is that I
can have fun listing out the books I intend to read. We all love to-do lists,
dont we? And book lists are the best of those.
https://www.techinasia.com/12greatbooksstartupsentrepreneursread2015/
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But seriously, I want to wrap myself around the great books in the list below
for a better handle on this slippery, churning, protean world of startups and
VCs that has got us hooked. They range from old favorites all the way to books
that will only be published this year.
So here goes my startup book reading list (and if you dont see a book that I
must absolutely read, please be kind enough to post it in the comments
section below the article).
Marissa Mayer and the fight to save Yahoo! by Nicholas

Carlson
This ones definitely a must read as soon as it comes out in February. Marissa
Mayer, who moved from Google to try and turn around Yahoo!, got a lot of
attention, including mine. But, as an adaptation from journalist Nicholas
Carlsons book in The New York Times
(http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/magazine/what-happened-whenmarissa-mayer-tried-to-be-steve-jobs.html) points out, not everyone can be
Steve Jobs, who turned Apple around.
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Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the quest for a fantastic future,
by Ashlee Vance
This is another book Im waiting for eagerly this year. Its Elon Musk, and not
Marissa Mayer, who has a better claim to the mantle of Steve Jobs. I like to
read biographies by journalists, and Ashlee Vance is an experienced tech writer
for Bloomberg Businessweek so I look forward to a lot of detailed reporting
on the making of a visionary.
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The Innovators: How a group of hackers, geniuses, and geeks

created the digital revolution, by Walter Isaacson
His biography of Steve Jobs was a great read, because it described an era and
not just a person. This new book promises to do the same, except that this
time it deals with multiple personalities. Im just waiting for a cheaper Kindle
version to come out after all, its only appropriate to read about the digital
revolution in ebook format, right?
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Scaling up excellence: Getting to more without settling for less,

by Robert I Sutton and Huggy (Hayagreeva) Rao
These two professors teach from their own book in a class for entrepreneurs at
Stanford University. Since scaling is the word that comes up most often in
my interactions with VCs, I downloaded this friendly academic book published
last year. A glance through it convinces me that I must read it in order to hold
my own in my conversations with VCs and entrepreneurs.
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The hard thing about hard things: Building a business when

there are no easy answers, by Ben Horowitz
And this one is straight from the VCs mouth. Ben Horowitz is of course the
second half of legendary Silicon Valley VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. From all
accounts, he has given a personal, insiders account of the startup world.
Those among you who spend time like me trying to fathom an entrepreneurs
mind may find clues in this book.
Zero to one: Notes on startups, or how to build the future, by

Peter Thiel
Heres another book by a top VC that came out late last year. The most
important skill to master, according to Peter Thiel, is learning to think for
yourself. Entrepreneurs constantly face choices between doing something
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better, or doing something new. This co-founder of PayPal, who is now an

investor, argues that it is better to go from zero to one, which means building a
startup in an entirely new space.
Hooked: How to build habit-forming products, by Nir Eyal
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This entrepreneur-turned-educator tries to find patterns in the most

successful tech products, from the iPhone to Pinterest. What do they have in
common, and how were they built to hook us? The books been recommended
by everyone, from the Economist to Goodreads. So Im hooked, and many
startup founders will be too if theyre putting out tech products.
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The lean startup: How todays entrepreneurs use continuous

innovation to create radically successful businesses, by Eric
Ries
This modern classic is on the bookshelf of every VC I know, and its high time
it found a place on mine. Eric Ries pioneered the lean startup movement to
improve efficiency, minimise cash burn, and reduce the chances of failure.
This is especially important to keep in mind for those coming out of large
corporations to start up. Budgets are different on this side.
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Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the unseen forces that stand in

the way of true inspiration, by Ed Catmull
The man who co-founded Pixar with Steve Jobs shares his experience of
building a creative culture. Heres one nugget: Give a good idea to a mediocre
team, and they will screw it up; but give a mediocre idea to a great team, and
they will either fix it or come up with something better. The book promises to
jog your mind, and the author does have the credentials for it.
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Antifragile: Things that gain from disorder, by Nassim Nicholas

Taleb
This is the latest book by the author of Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness,
who is Wall Streets principal dissident, in the words of Malcolm Gladwell.
The thesis here is not new that we can thrive in chaos. In India, the concept
has become known as jugaad. But Talebs contrarian intellect keeps this on
my reading list for a rainy day when I need inspiration.
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Innovation and entrepreneurship, by Peter F. Drucker

The guru of all management gurus wrote a book about entrepreneurship way
back in the eighties when I was born. I wonder how many of his ideas are still
relevant in the digital age. Now that Im exploring the new world of startups, it
might pay to look back at some sage old ideas, and apply them to the current
context of the internet and digital life.
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Driven to distraction at work: How to focus and be more

productive, by Edward M Hallowell
And finally, a book made to order for me. You know how it is: the more you do,
the longer your to-do list grows; and the more you juggle, the more likely you
are to drop a ball! Now Edward Hallowell, an expert on ADD (attention deficit
disorder), shows us a better way. The docs book, published just this month, is
a must read for me, and probably many an entrepreneur too.
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So those are the 12 books on startups and entrepreneurs that I intend to finish
reading this year thats one book a month. Doable, right? And who knows, if
Hallowell manages to teach me a trick or two, I might get more books under
my belt. And put out more book lists in the bargain. Dont forget to make your
suggestions below on great books that entrepreneurs must read.
See: 7 must-read books for game developers
(https://www.techinasia.com/7-must-read-books-for-game-developers/)
Editing by J.T.Quigley, image by Porsche Brosseau
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13 COMMENTS
Sort by Best
Merrill Chapman (https://www.techinasia.com/author/merrill-chapman/)
Aug 9, 2015 07:11 AM
You might want to read Selling Steve Jobs Liver: A Story of Startups, Innovation, and
Connectivity in the Clouds. It thinks different about startups and entrepreneurs. More
info at:
http://www.sellingstev... (http://www.sellingstevejobsliver.com)
0
Reply
Abdullah Ansari
Jul 27, 2015 06:47 PM
Are you seriously comapring marissa mayer with elon musk?!! Also how does she come to
be near steve jobs?
0
Reply
Rohit Menon
Jun 19, 2015 12:53 AM
Thanks for sharing your list! Im gonna get going
0
Reply
sc3w
Jun 15, 2015 05:30 AM
There is a great collection of startup related books too: http://startupbooks.top
(http://startupbooks.top)
0
Reply
Phani
15/17
11/24/2015
Feb 26, 2015 05:38 PM
A link to the ebook for each would have been really appreciable and a much more user
friendly for us!
0
Reply
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11/24/2015

FEATURED STORIES (HTTPS://WWW.TECHINASIA.COM/CATEGORY/FEATURED/)

Malavika Velayanikal ( https://www.techinasia.com/author/malavika-velayanikal/)

12 great books on startups and entrepreneurs that I

Marissa Mayer and the fight to save Yahoo! by Nicholas

The Innovators: How a group of hackers, geniuses, and geeks

Scaling up excellence: Getting to more without settling for less,

The hard thing about hard things: Building a business when

Zero to one: Notes on startups, or how to build the future, by

better, or doing something new. This co-founder of PayPal, who is now an

Hooked: How to build habit-forming products, by Nir Eyal

This entrepreneur-turned-educator tries to find patterns in the most

The lean startup: How todays entrepreneurs use continuous

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the unseen forces that stand in

Antifragile: Things that gain from disorder, by Nassim Nicholas

Innovation and entrepreneurship, by Peter F. Drucker

Driven to distraction at work: How to focus and be more

Join our community or sign in now to start posting replies!

Feb 26, 2015 05:38 PM

View all comments

7 must-read books for game developers (https://www.techinasia.com/7-mustread-books-for-game-developers/?

5 fiction books every gamer needs to read (https://www.techinasia.com/5-fictionbooks-every-gamer-needs-to-read/?

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