The 30 Most Influential Books Recommended By Proven Entrepreneurs (2024)
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
How to reconstruct your life so it's not all about work.
Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan - there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times.
This new updated and expanded edition includes: More than 50 practical tips and case studies from readers (including families) who have doubled their income, overcome common sticking points, and reinvented themselves using the original book as a starting point * Real-world templates you can copy for eliminating email, negotiating with bosses and clients, or getting a private chef for less than £5 a meal * How lifestyle design principles can be suited to unpredictable economic times * The latest tools and tricks, as well as high-tech shortcuts, for living like a diplomat or millionaire without being either.
130 successful founders recommend this book.
"The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss helped me get out of the mindset of work for work’s sake."
"The 4 Hour Work Week is a convicting read because it challenges you to stop just doing “work for work’s sake” or just working to make a lot of money. It encourages you to build a business that serves your life, not the other way around."
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
Most startups fail.
But many of those failures are preventable.
Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in a age when companies need to innovate more than ever.
91 successful founders recommend this book.
"We learned quickly not to create or source a lot of any one thing before testing to see if it would sell. We love the lean startup approach. Fail fast and go bigger only on the products we know will succeed. That allows us to minimize losses and maximize revenue."
"We are big fans of the Lean Startup, which aims to eliminate market risk before technical risk. It basically says that the question is not "Can this product be built?" Instead, the question is "Should this product be built?". It’s right in the principles."
Shoe Dog
In this instant and tenacious New York Times bestseller, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight “offers a rare and revealing look at the notoriously media-shy man behind the swoosh” (Booklist, starred review), illuminating his company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
Bill Gates named Shoe Dog one of his five favorite books of 2016 and called it “an amazing tale, a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like.
Together, harnessing the electrifying power of a bold vision and a shared belief in the transformative power of sports, they created a brand—and a culture—that changed everything.
60 successful founders recommend this book.
"This book taught me that if you want to go far, you must focus on building a team."
"Books like The Alchemist, Creativity Inc., Shoe Dog, and Blitzscaling have been incredibly insightful because they analyze the challenges founders and people have faced and how they overcome them."
How to Win Friends & Influence People
'How to Win Friends and Influence People' is one of the first best-selling self-help books ever published.
Just after publishing, it quickly exploded into an overnight success, eventually selling more than 15 million copies worldwide, and pioneering an entire genre of self-help and personal success books.
This classic book will turn your relationships around and improve your interactions with everyone in your life.
76 successful founders recommend this book.
"This is **the staple** of entrepreneur handbooks."
"One of my favorite books of all time. We got to where we are a lot of the time from networking, meeting people, and getting connected with others, and I think if you can learn the art of becoming a person that others connect with, you will open up yourself to a lot more opportunities in life and business."
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
If you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets.
The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create.
Zero to One presents at once an optimistic view of the future of progress in America and a new way of thinking about innovation: it starts by learning to ask the questions that lead you to find value in unexpected places.
78 successful founders recommend this book.
"I would recommend Zero to One by Peter Thiel to any entrepreneur who’s starting out. I could not put this book down and have re-read it several times."
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
An instant classic, this revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller dispels the myths about starting your own business.
Small business consultant and author Michael E.
Most importantly, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business.
65 successful founders recommend this book.
"The E-Myth by Michael Gerber helped me understand the difference between being a technician and an entrepreneur, and that I really wanted to create a business that runs without me."
"Personally, I'm not a huge fan of business books, but if pressed, I’d say one of the most influential is The E-Myth by Michael Gerber because of its ideas about efficiency through processes and systems."
Rework
Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business.
Read it and you'll know why plans are actually harmful, why you don't need outside investors, and why you're better off ignoring the competition.
You'll learn how to be more productive, how to get exposure without breaking the bank, and tons more counterintuitive ideas that will inspire and provoke you.
33 successful founders recommend this book.
"I listen to this book every once in a while when I need inspiration or when I get stuck."
"Rework by Jason Fried is my all-time favorite - it’s short, quick and impactful."
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
Pay brand-new employees $2,000 to quit Make customer service the responsibility of the entire company-not just a department Focus on company culture as the #1 priority Apply research from the science of happiness to running a business Help employees grow-both personally and professionally Seek to change the world Oh, and make money too .
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Fast-paced and down-to-earth, DELIVERING HAPPINESS shows how a very different kind of corporate culture is a powerful model for achieving success-and how by concentrating on the happiness of those around you, you can dramatically increase your own.
28 successful founders recommend this book.
"A great story about company culture - it has inspired me on ways to incorporate it into Spuds."
"A book on building a great brand that is focused on customer and employee happiness."
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business
Don't let common problems run you and your business.
Get a grip and gain control with the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).
Based on years of real-world implementation, the EOS is a practical method for achieving the business success you have always envisioned.
60 successful founders recommend this book.
"I would also recommend for anyone looking to move beyond just starting out to either get Traction by Gino Wickman or Scaling Up by Verne Harnish. These are very good roadmaps to running a successful business."
"For those who have some ‘lift’ in your business, I strongly suggest the book Traction (Gino Wickman) to organize your business and its components as it grows in complexity. It’s an “entrepreneurial operating system” and what’s great is it helps you with some very practical tools that will help your team and processes be sustainable. Tip: the book is great, but don’t be afraid to customize/adjust the advice to suit your own needs."
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert's story of growing up with two dads — his real father and the father of his best friend, his "rich dad" — and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing.
The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you..
The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you.
17 successful founders recommend this book.
"Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad taught me that we are the owners of our destiny and that working for others was not for me. It also realigned me on the benefits of creating passive income."
"Rich Dad Poor Dad convinced me that I was definitely on the right track when I picked up entrepreneurship as a passion. But it also showed me the need to create passive income and avoid depending on only one source of income."
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup—practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn’t cover, based on his popular ben’s blog.
While many people talk about how great it is to start a business, very few are honest about how difficult it is to run one.
Filled with his trademark humor and straight talk, The Hard Thing About Hard Things is invaluable for veteran entrepreneurs as well as those aspiring to their own new ventures, drawing from Horowitz's personal and often humbling experiences.
35 successful founders recommend this book.
"Any entrepreneur will tell you that building a business is hard. In this book, Ben Horowitz walks through a variety of different types of challenges that you face and provides tangible advice on how to handle them. It’s real, it’s raw, and it’s great."
"I love The Hard Thing About Hard Things. It just puts in perspective how in business there are no easy answers."
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't
Can a good company become a great one and, if so, how?After a five-year research project, Collins concludes that good to great can and does happen.
In this book, he uncovers the underlying variables that enable any type of organization to.
In this book, he uncovers the underlying variables that enable any type of organization to
13 successful founders recommend this book.
"This book provided the framework for not only how to build a sustainable, long term business but how to avoid many of the mistakes and the reasons why the majority of startups fail."
"A true classic. Collins really showed his readers how great companies triumph over time and the book is full of real-life case studies. I think that most books about business management are usually a waste of time, but these two really stand out for me."
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over?
People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all started with why.
It was their natural ability to start with why that enabled them to inspire those around them and to achieve remarkable things.
In studying the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way—and it's the complete opposite of what everyone else does.
And it all starts with WHY.
47 successful founders recommend this book.
"This book provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY."
"We just had the team read Start With Why. I think it help us hone our mission and brand vision and get everyone on the same page. I tend to read online articles on specific business or e-commerce topics."
The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future: Chris Guillebeau
Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead of life of adventure, meaning and purpose – and earn a good living.
Still in his early thirties, Chris is on the verge of completing a tour of every country on earth – he’s already visited more than 175 nations – and yet he’s never held a “real job” or earned a regular paycheck.
Rather, he has a special genius for turning ideas into income, and he uses what he earns both to support his life of adventure and to give back.
You can start small with your venture, committing little time or money, and wait to take the real plunge when you're sure it's successful.
16 successful founders recommend this book.
"I love this book because it inspired me to get started. I used to think that launching a business meant the traditional business plan and bank loan, but that book opened my eyes to the world of microbusinesses."
"This book taught me that I didn’t need to spend a lot of money to start a business. So I spent $100 to reserve a domain name and host a website on Wix."
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
The One Thing explains the success habit to overcome the six lies that block our success, beat the seven thieves that steal time, and leverage the laws of purpose, priority, and productivity.
A non-fiction, self-help book written by authors and real estate entrepreneurs, Gary W.
Keller and Jay Papasan.
The book discusses the value of simplifying one's workload by focusing on the one most important task in any given project.
26 successful founders recommend this book.
"When I was trying to do a bunch of things at once and was having trouble deciding what to focus on, this book helped a lot."
"Other marketing and advertising efforts haven’t been as successful for me so for now I am not worrying about them. I read The One Thing and realized that multitasking just means you are doing a lot of things poorly. It is better to wholeheartedly do one thing that works."
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen: Donald Miller
Donald Miller’s StoryBrand process is a proven solution to the struggle business leaders face when talking about their businesses.
This revolutionary method for connecting with customers provides readers with the ultimate competitive advantage, revealing the secret for helping their customers understand the compelling benefits of using their products, ideas, or services.
Whether you are the marketing director of a multibillion dollar company, the owner of a small business, a politician running for office, or the lead singer of a rock band, Building a StoryBrand will forever transform the way you talk about who you are, what you do, and the unique value you bring to your customers.
27 successful founders recommend this book.
"Before I read StoryBrand, we talked about how amazing we were and why customers should pick us. I was clueless to the reality that our job is not to be the hero of our customers’ stories. We are supposed to be the guide who helps them achieve their own goals. As a result, we’ve completely changed how we communicate with our customers."
"Learn how to make a powerful impact in your marketing messages, and learn how to structure them. Hint: You & your product aren’t the heroes. Your customer is."
Steve Jobs
From the author of the bestselling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, this is the exclusive, New York Times bestselling biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing..
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From the author of the bestselling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, this is the exclusive, New York Times bestselling biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
15 successful founders recommend this book.
"I found all 600 pages absolutely compelling reading. I love it that Jobs hated the term branding because he felt that it should be about informing customers, not convincing them."
"Jobs is well written and outlines the sacrifice it takes to accomplish something great as an entrepreneur."
Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs
Measure What Matters is about using Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), a revolutionary approach to goal-setting, to make tough choices in business.
In 1999, legendary venture capitalist John Doerr invested nearly $12 million in a startup that had amazing technology, entrepreneurial energy and sky-high ambitions, but no real business plan.
Doerr introduced the founders to OKRs and with them at the foundation of their management, the startup grew from forty employees to more than 70,000 with a market cap exceeding $600 billion.
The startup was Google.
18 successful founders recommend this book.
"Measure What Matters by John Doerr is the best book I’ve read this year, we’ve adopted OKRs at Engine, and this book was quite influential in helping establish the process."
"We actually purchased copies of this book to company managers when we began adopting Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). It provides great insights on a truly effective goal-setting system that encourages quantifiable processes and both transparency and collaboration between all levels and departments."
Think and Grow Rich
This book contains money-making secrets that can change your life.
Think and Grow Rich, based on the author’s famed Law of Success, represents the distilled wisdom of distinguished men of great wealth and achievement.
If you learn and apply the simple basic techniques revealed here, you will have mastered the secret of true and lasting success—and you may have whatever you want in life!
45 successful founders recommend this book.
"A book I have referenced and re-read over the past 30 years. I prefer non-fiction and stories of successful people and their journey to success. I have spent most of my reading time devoted to books on famous scientists and how they were able to make important discoveries but most importantly how they learned from the mistakes and unsuccessful experiments to pivot, design new experiments to get to answers to important biological questions."
"This book inspired me to build something remarkable. My business is quite controversial, and that’s a good thing. You never want to build something that inspires indifference in people. Build something remarkable."
Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth
Founders and employees fail to spend time thinking about (and working on) traction in the same way they work on building a product.
This shortsighted approach has startups trying random tactics - some ads, a blog post or two - in an unstructured way that's guaranteed to fail.
This book changes that.
It allows you to think about which marketing channels make sense for you, given your industry and company stage.
19 successful founders recommend this book.
"When it comes to marketing books, I really like Traction by Gabriel Weinberg. It gives you a bunch of marketing ideas, but more importantly, it shows you the mindset you need to test these different ideas."
"Traction was great for helping me wrap my head around customer acquisition channels. I expect to continue to lean on that book for inspiration as I grow."
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition
Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say "yes"—and how to apply these understandings.
Dr.
Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of Influence will move you toward profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.
24 successful founders recommend this book.
"According to Robert Cialdini, who studied the principle of social proof in-depth in his book, “we view a behavior as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it”. So for example, if you’re uncertain about purchasing this one product but then you see that “insert famous celebrity name who you really like” posts something it, this would transfer the positive attributes they see in these “celebrities” to the product."
"I’m a really big fan of Psychology and how the human brain works, which is probably why I love marketing and advertising so much, as I’m able to position things in a way that will make someone want to do something by touching on specific queues that will trigger certain actions and responses. Here, Cialdini talks about the seven key influencers of persuasion (which are based on 35 years of evidence-based research). I highly recommend this book to anyone that is interested in what influences people to make the decisions they make."
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed.
With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation.
At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work..
With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation.
At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.
15 successful founders recommend this book.
"This book really helps you understand how habits are formed and how they can be changed. Habits are at the core of what we do, and learning the science will help you better understand yourself and your clients."
"Habits are some of the most powerful things in life, I’m currently reading The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg and it really helps understand how much of what we do is a habit and why they are so important."
This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See
Godin offers the core of his marketing wisdom in one accessible, timeless package.
At the heart of his approach is a big idea: Great marketers don't use consumers to solve their company's problem; they use marketing to solve other people's problems.
Truly powerful marketing is grounded in empathy, generosity, and emotional labour.
This book teaches you how to identify your smallest viable audience; draw on the right signals and signs to position your offering; build trust and permission with your target market; speak to the narratives your audience tells themselves about status, affiliation, and dominance; spot opportunities to create and release tension; and give people the tools to achieve their goals.
19 successful founders recommend this book.
"Another book that I suggest to read - regardless of the kind of business you have or want to start - is “This is Marketing” by Seth Godin. It is an essential reading for everyone who is involved in marketing!"
"A great book for startups."
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
Outlines a systematic framework for enabling greater productivity without overworking, sharing strategies on how to eliminate unnecessary tasks while streamlining essential employee functions.
By the co-author of the best-selling Multipliers..
By the co-author of the best-selling Multipliers.
17 successful founders recommend this book.
"I got a lot of guidance from Essentialism; this especially helped me to not do things, in order to focus on more essential things. I also get a lot of inspiration from reading books about eastern philosophy, especially Zen."
"This book changed the trajectory of how I used my whole business. It was one of those books that came at the right time in my life— when I was completely overwhelmed and overcommitted in my business. I felt like I was carrying the load of the work because I was such a go-getter. I would sacrifice sleep and time with my family to complete projects for the business."
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
A generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be "positive" all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.
For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life.
A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives.
15 successful founders recommend this book.
"I don’t really read business books anymore. I think it’s a lot more important to focus on the mental health and personal development side of things. For that, I recommend Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck."
"This book helped me massively in conflict negotiation and interpersonal conflicts"
"This has been a game changer book that has taught me how to be a better negotiator, leader, communicator and empathize with team members, partners and third parties. It has been so good, we initiated an internal MonetizeMore seminar just about the teachings of this book. As a result, internal communication has improved, our sales performance has spiked and customer empathy has grown. These are all key improvements that have led to MonetizeMore’s growth in 2018. I even use some of the communication strategies in my personal relationships. I never realized how important and powerful empathetic communication can be."
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion.
Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits.
More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy.
10 successful founders recommend this book.
" The realest badass entrepreneur of them all! He risks it all because he believes so heavily in his vision. There’s so much we can all learn from this man."
Contagious: Why Things Catch On
What makes things popular? Why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral?
If you said advertising, think again.
People don't listen to advertisements, they listen to their peers.
But why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral?
10 successful founders recommend this book.
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.
It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time.
He then presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of four "rules," for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill.
12 successful founders recommend this book.
"This book has really helped me as I now use this technique on a daily basis. Since a lot of my time is spent on writing tutorials/articles, this helps me a lot."
Over the past two years, we've interviewed over 1,000 entrepreneurs.
In every interview, we ask them what books influenced them the most in their journey.
Here's a look at the top 30 most recommended books, in order:
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