The ultimate reading list for entrepreneurs

This list is our selection of the top 22 must-read books for entrepreneurs who want to stack the deck in their favor.

This list is our selection of the top 22 must-read books for entrepreneurs who want to stack the deck in their favor.  


Reading voraciously is probably the single biggest advantage that any founder can give themselves. This isn't just true for entrepreneurs—the most influential people throughout history generally share one thing in common: they read constantly. This is still true today, whether it's Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, or Elon Musk. There is such a strong correlation between reading and success because people who read are constantly learning.


At StackDeck, our mission is to help entrepreneurs succeed. We have created our toolkit from years of research, hands-on experience, and hundreds of the best books on launching and growing a business. We know how hard it is to launch a new business and simultaneously take the time to read all the books that could help you and your new venture. That's why our goal has been to simplify the learning process for new entrepreneurs. Here we've provided 20 of our top books for entrepreneurs, broken up by category. Our startup program covers the core principles in these books and hundreds more. 


Starting a new business 


The Art of the Start - Guy Kawasaki 


The Lean Startup - Eric Ries 


BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship) - Jim Collins & Bill Lazier


Zero to One - Peter Thiel & Blake Masters 



Mindset


Atomic Habits - James Clear 


The Upside of Stress - Kelly McGonigal 


Antifragile - Nassim Nicholas Taleb 


Principles - Ray Dalio 


The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey


Originals - Adam Grant 



Customer Discovery


The Startup Owner's Manual - Steve Blank and Bob Dorf


The Mom Test - Rob Fitzpatrick



VC and fundraising


The Founder's Dilemmas - Noam Wasserman 


The Secrets of Sand Hill Road - Scott Kupor & Eric Ries 


Get Backed - Evan Baer & Evan Loomis



Marketing 


The One Page Marketing Plan - Allan Dib 


Growth Hacker Marketing - Ryan Holiday


Hacking Growth - Sean Ellis & Morgan Brown 



Strategy


Better, Simpler Strategy - Felix Oberholzer-Gee


The E Myth Revisited - Michael E. Gerber 



Negotiation & persuasion 


Start With No - Jim Camp 


Influence - Robert B. Caldini



Many excellent books are not on this list, but we can confidently say that every one of these books deserves to be here. As you go through our startup toolkit, we will share lots of new books and our favorite concepts from them. If you find this list interesting and want to learn more about StackDeck, then become a Member today and begin checking out all our resources. 







Key takeaways

The ultimate reading list for entrepreneurs

This list is our selection of the top 22 must-read books for entrepreneurs who want to stack the deck in their favor.

This list is our selection of the top 22 must-read books for entrepreneurs who want to stack the deck in their favor.  


Reading voraciously is probably the single biggest advantage that any founder can give themselves. This isn't just true for entrepreneurs—the most influential people throughout history generally share one thing in common: they read constantly. This is still true today, whether it's Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, or Elon Musk. There is such a strong correlation between reading and success because people who read are constantly learning.


At StackDeck, our mission is to help entrepreneurs succeed. We have created our toolkit from years of research, hands-on experience, and hundreds of the best books on launching and growing a business. We know how hard it is to launch a new business and simultaneously take the time to read all the books that could help you and your new venture. That's why our goal has been to simplify the learning process for new entrepreneurs. Here we've provided 20 of our top books for entrepreneurs, broken up by category. Our startup program covers the core principles in these books and hundreds more. 


Starting a new business 


The Art of the Start - Guy Kawasaki 


The Lean Startup - Eric Ries 


BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship) - Jim Collins & Bill Lazier


Zero to One - Peter Thiel & Blake Masters 



Mindset


Atomic Habits - James Clear 


The Upside of Stress - Kelly McGonigal 


Antifragile - Nassim Nicholas Taleb 


Principles - Ray Dalio 


The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey


Originals - Adam Grant 



Customer Discovery


The Startup Owner's Manual - Steve Blank and Bob Dorf


The Mom Test - Rob Fitzpatrick



VC and fundraising


The Founder's Dilemmas - Noam Wasserman 


The Secrets of Sand Hill Road - Scott Kupor & Eric Ries 


Get Backed - Evan Baer & Evan Loomis



Marketing 


The One Page Marketing Plan - Allan Dib 


Growth Hacker Marketing - Ryan Holiday


Hacking Growth - Sean Ellis & Morgan Brown 



Strategy


Better, Simpler Strategy - Felix Oberholzer-Gee


The E Myth Revisited - Michael E. Gerber 



Negotiation & persuasion 


Start With No - Jim Camp 


Influence - Robert B. Caldini



Many excellent books are not on this list, but we can confidently say that every one of these books deserves to be here. As you go through our startup toolkit, we will share lots of new books and our favorite concepts from them. If you find this list interesting and want to learn more about StackDeck, then become a Member today and begin checking out all our resources.