Did you know that 90% of startups fail?
The main reason for that is that they didn’t consider that the potential consumers maybe don’t need what they offer.
To escape this kind of situation, Prelaunch.com helps creators validate their ideas before launching a company. Also, with Prelaunch you can analyze and understand the strong and weak points of your startup.
The enormous data behind Prelaunch.com gives you a comprehensive idea of how the audience will react to your product and whether there are some changes that need to be made.
After validating your idea with this platform, there’s a big chance that your business will succeed.
Before developing your concept further, learning about startups, success, and entrepreneurship is easy nowadays with books. That’s why we’ve created this list of top 11 best startup books. So, after going through it, highlight the ones you’d like to read, take something where you can write your notes, and start exploring the book.
11 Best Startup Books
Start With Why – Simon Sinek
Rating: 4.1/5
Summary: Considered one of the best startup books, “Start with Why” explores the fundamental principles of successful leadership. The book introduces the Golden Circle concept. It emphasizes the significance of starting with a clear sense of purpose or asking yourself the question “Why?”.
Sinek discusses the Law of Diffusion of Innovations. Like many other books for starting a business, this one also emphasizes the need for consistency, and genuine communication.
For startups seeking profound insights into leadership, “Start With Why” stands out as a must-read among the best startup books. It provides actionable strategies and a compelling framework for companies aiming to establish a meaningful and enduring presence in their respective industries.
What You’ll Learn:
- Leadership distinction
- Purpose-driven approach
- Importance of “Why”
- Unique selling proposition
- Psychology insights
- Golden Circle model
- Effective purpose communication
Why You Should Read It: Best business books tend to answer this kind of questions: “How can I make my business succeed?”, “What can I do in order to achieve results?”, “How can I make my customers trust my brand”, “Why should I start with the question ‘why?’”, etc. This book answers all these questions.
It provides a compelling framework for building enduring success. Whether you’re a startupper, or an individual aiming to make a positive impact, this book guides you to communicate your ideas effectively and achieve success by aligning your actions with a strong sense of purpose.
Quote From The Book: “Leading is not the same as being the leader. Being the leader means you hold the highest rank, either by earning, good fortune or navigating internal politics. Leading, however, means that others willingly follow you—not because they have to, not because they are paid to, but because they want to.”
About The Author: Simon Sinek is an English-American author and inspirational speaker. He is known for his TED Talk on the concept of WHY, viewed over 60 million times.
As a trained ethnographer, he studies impactful people and organizations, uncovering patterns in their thinking and communication. Sinek’s bestsellers are mainly best startup books, including “Start with WHY” and “Leaders Eat Last”. As the founder of The Optimism Company, he focuses on leadership development.
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable – Seth Godin
Rating: 3.8/5
Summary: Seth Godin’s “Purple Cow” is included in the best startup books that challenge traditional marketing.
Godin contends that innovation is crucial for modern marketing success. His book provides practical tips for marketers, encouraging them to involve stakeholders. He thinks about “being remarkable” as a critical success factor.
The book imparts strategies for identifying and implementing innovation in product or service offerings. “Purple Cow” makes readers rethink their approach to competitors, customer engagement, and product design. It offers a comprehensive guide to making their brands truly remarkable in a competitive market.
What You’ll Learn:
- Thought-provoking exercises
- How to stimulate innovation
- Strategic approach
- Competitor analysis
- How to target audience segments
- Niche markets exploration
- Social networks integration
- How to address customer feedback
Why You Should Read It: Seth Godin’s insights challenge the status quo and inspire marketers to prioritize innovation. The book guides readers on how to break through the noise, emphasizing the importance of creating remarkable products.
For startuppers steering established brands, “Purple Cow” serves as a valuable self-help guide. It provides actionable advice on injecting innovation into their branding strategies.
Quote From The Book: “If you’re remarkable, it’s likely that some people won’t like you. That’s part of the definition of remarkable. Nobody gets unanimous praise–ever. The best the timid can hope for is to be unnoticed. Criticism comes to those who stand out.”
About The Author: Seth Godin, an author, and founder of Akimbo is a luminary in marketing and education. With over 30 years of experience, he has published 20 bestselling books translated into nearly 40 languages. He is focused on inspiring and empowering individuals to elevate their work.
Godin has impacted over 60,000 people through online courses like The Marketing Seminar. Recognized in various marketing aspects, he pioneers ethical online direct marketing, contributing to a $30 billion industry. His latest best startup books include “Purple Cow”, “The Practice” and “This Is Marketing”.
The 4-Hour Workweek – Timothy Ferriss
Rating: 3.9/5
Summary: “The 4-Hour Work Week” challenges conventional assumptions about life and work. It emphasizes the value of time and mobility over financial wealth. Using the DEAL framework (Definition, Elimination, Automation, Liberation), the author guides readers to redefine possibilities, ignore unimportant tasks, automate processes, and liberate themselves from traditional work settings.
If you want to achieve a life where one lives without being financially broke, you should add this to your “the best startup books” list. The focus is on achieving not just financial richness. Here the more important factor is free time.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to challenge old assumptions
- How to prioritize time and mobility
- DEAL framework
- Gain life control
- Processes automation
- How to overcome fear
Why You Should Read It: Choosing this book as a guide will provide practical strategies about how to free up time, and automate tasks. It inspires readers to pursue a life where they live on their terms. With candid accounts of the author’s experiences, the book motivates readers to overcome fear, question assumptions, and embrace a new approach to work and life.
Quote From The Book: “Information is useless if not applied to something important. Or if you will forget it before you have a chance to apply it.”
About The Author: Tim Ferriss is an American entrepreneur, author, podcaster, and investor. He is renowned for his influential book series, including “The 4-Hour Workweek,” “The 4-Hour Body,” and “The 4-Hour Chef.”
Ferriss founded BrainQUICKEN in 2001, later selling it and basing “The 4-Hour Workweek” on this experience. He is an angel investor and advisor to startups, with notable contributions to companies like Twitter and Uber.
Rocket Man: Elon Musk In His Own Words – Jessica Easto
Rating: 3.8/5
Summary: Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is known as the richest person in the world. And just imagine that he started with nothing. Musk just moved from Africa to America and didn’t even have a place to live. But, oh God, he had the motivation, the discipline, and the most important part: he knew what he wanted. So he put all his efforts into these 2 startups to make them succeed, as their main goal is to improve global life.
After years of work, failure, and success, Musk learned lots of lessons, and so one of the best startup books, Rocket Man, was created. It is based on the most insightful and inspiring quotes, taken from his own interviews, blogs, posts, public speeches, etc. The quotes will make you understand how you can motivate yourself, and how you can succeed in the business world.
What You’ll Learn:
- General ideas on spaceships, electric cars, sustainable energy and Mars
- Self-motivation strategies
- Inspiration from others
- Understanding company dynamics
- Life goals definition
Why You Should Read It: Firstly, let’s agree that not everyone can establish two successful startups that now are worth more than $900 billion. Secondly, isn’t it a good chance to read quotes from the richest person in this world? Because he definitely knows what he’s talking about. Thirdly, if you want to become rich, you should follow the advice of a person who has already succeeded.
You’ll find hundreds of quotes about realms such as business, innovation, technology, space exploration, electric vehicles, entrepreneurship, and many life lessons.
Quote From The Book: “The basic rule for meetings is that unless somebody is getting enormous value from the information they are receiving or they are contributing to the meeting itself, they should not be there. And we also have a rule that if somebody’s in a meeting and finds that this meeting is not helping them in a meaningful way and they are not contributing to the meeting, they should just leave.”
About The Author: Jessica Easto is a Chicago-based writer and editor with a journalistic background and an MFA in fiction writing. Her literary journey includes the publication of short fiction and ongoing work on a novel.
With experience in literary magazines, college-level writing instruction, and content development for marketing agencies, she’s proven her versatile skill set. Notably, Easto served as an acquisitions and manuscript editor for an independent trade publisher and taught copyediting at DePaul University.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t – Jim Collins
Rating: 4.1/5
Summary: Collins led a five-year research project with a team to understand how some companies make the leap to greatness while others remain mediocre. The findings are summarized in “Good to Great” – recognized by many as one of the best startup books.
The first chapter emphasizes that being good can be the enemy of becoming great. The author introduces the idea of a “flywheel” to represent the cumulative process of improvement. In Chapter 4, the author emphasizes the need to face the truth to make good decisions.
The book also discusses building a culture of discipline and using technology as an accelerator of momentum.
Ultimately, “Good to Great” offers a roadmap for companies, providing insights into leadership, team dynamics, decision-making, and organizational culture.
What You’ll Learn:
- Level 5 Leaders traits
- Transcends competence
- Three Circles principle
- Good-to-great company mindset
- Understanding of technology’s role
Why You Should Read It: If you are satisfied with things you have, and almost never force yourself to go out of your comfort zone and find new ways to achieve success, but think about changing, then this book is for you. It’ll help you understand how you can transform your company from good to great and what should be undertaken in order to highlight the strengths of your company.
Quote From The Book: “Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”
About The Author: James C. Collins is an American author, speaker, and consultant renowned for his expertise in business management. A Stanford University graduate, Collins began his career at McKinsey & Co., later teaching at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
Some of the best startup books like “Good to Great” and “Built to Last” are written by him. The author delves into enduring principles for visionary companies. Collins blends research and practical insights, contributing to publications like Harvard Business Review. His impactful work has left a lasting mark on business strategy and leadership.
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future – Peter Thiel
Rating: 4.2/5
Summary: “Zero to One” is an exploration of entrepreneurial philosophy. It challenges the traditional notions of business success. The co-founder of PayPal focuses on the concept of 0-1 instead of improving something that already exists.
The book shows the importance of technology over globalization. It champions the concept of monopolies, asserting that true innovation stems from ventures that redefine markets. Thiel’s insights delve into network effects, economies of scale, and branding.
“Zero to One” emerges not only as one of the best startup books but also as a seminal guide. It reshapes the perspectives on business, technology, and monopolistic growth.
What You’ll Learn:
- Questioning business paradigms
- Technology, network effects, branding
- Actionable startup strategies
- Seven evaluation questions
- Venture potential success
- Cleantech industry analysis
- Strategic mindset for entrepreneurship
Why You Should Read It: “Zero to One” is irreplaceable for entrepreneurs seeking a new and transformative approach to startups. Thiel’s insights challenge conventional thinking and provide a unique roadmap for achieving market dominance.
Reading the book will help you learn to think strategically. It will become a compass for you to understand the dynamics of successful ventures.
Quote From The Book: “Every moment in business happens only once. The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search engine. And the next Mark Zuckerberg won’t create a social network. If you are copying these guys, you aren’t learning from them.”
About The Author: Thiel is a German-American billionaire known as an entrepreneur, and political activist. Co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, Thiel has played a pivotal role in shaping the tech landscape. With an estimated net worth of $9.7 billion as of June 2023, Thiel’s influence extends beyond business.
Thiel has established himself not only as a notable businessman but also as an influential thinker. His writing career reflects his deep engagement with a range of topics, from entrepreneurship to philosophy.
Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World – Rand Fishkin
Rating: 4.3/5
Summary: Best startup books aren’t always about a main character who achieves success starting from nothing. Sometimes it starts with the opposite, when you have everything, but you slowly lose it. “Lost and Founder” is one of the best entrepreneur books that describes the ups and downs of a startup company.
The book mentions that at the beginning, as a startup founder, you can earn very little money compared to an office employee. And if you don’t have enough patience, it’s better if you don’t establish your own startup at all. As the founder of Moz, Fishkin provides a realistic portrayal of the challenges. He emphasizes the time, dedication, and resilience as requirements for success.
As one of the best books for startups, it underscores the importance of transparent leadership. The book recognizes strengths and weaknesses, and steers clear of common pitfalls in the startup ecosystem.
What You’ll Learn:
- Practical lessons on product-market fit
- Risks of venture capital
- Importance of transparent communication
- Understanding team dynamics
- Cautionary growth strategies
- Deep understanding of complexities
Why You Should Read It: Let’s face the fact that no matter how good a person can write, he still can’t replace a person with experience. Surely there are writers who can publish books and inspire you, but be honest with me, isn’t a book written by someone who went through it more valuable?
As we’ve already mentioned before, Fishkin’s startup had many ups and downs, which means he knows what he’s talking about. Being one of the best books for entrepreneurs, it offers an invaluable insider perspective. Rand Fishkin’s candid storytelling and practical insights provide a grounded understanding of the startup landscape.
Quote From The Book: “Managing is a skill, not a prize.”
About The Author: Rand Fishkin is a tech entrepreneur, influential blogger, and SEO luminary. He is recognized for his significant contributions to the field of Search Engine Optimization.
Renowned as a keynote speaker at marketing and startup events, Fishkin’s expertise extends to being a best-selling author with “Lost and Founder”. His career trajectory includes co-founding Moz. Fishkin’s commitment to marketing improvement is evident through his ventures, including SparkToro.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change – Stephen Covey
Rating: 4.2/5
Summary: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is a complete guide for personal and professional development. It’s one of the best books for starting a business and is easy to read. Being strategically divided into three sections helps you have a better understanding of the main concept.
In the Private Victory section, habits 1-3 focus on personal effectiveness. Moving to the Public Victory section, habits 4-6 concentrate on successful interactions with others.
The third section, Renewal, revolves around Habit 7, “Sharpen the Saw.” This habit underscores the need for continuous personal development and self-care across physical, mental, spiritual, and social/emotional dimensions. Covey introduces the concept of renewing oneself to maintain holistic health and effectiveness.
The author challenges traditional views of success. He identifies principles like integrity, courage, patience, persistence, humility, empathy, synergy, and continuous learning as essential for lasting success.
What You’ll Learn:
- Be Proactive
- Begin With the End in Mind
- Put First Things First
- Think Win-Win
- Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
- Synergize
- Sharpen the Saw
Why You Should Read It: Like many other books for starting a business, this one gives you both professional and personal advice. The habits based on this book aim to increase your productivity, achieve life balance, and learn how to make stronger relations with other human beings.
By adopting these habits, individuals can not only achieve professional success but also lead a life of significance. Reading this book is an investment in transformative insights that stand the test of time.
Quote From The Book: “But until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,” that person cannot say, “I choose otherwise.”
About The Author: Stephen Richards Covey was an American educator and author.
Covey’s philosophy emphasizes aligning values with principles. Influenced by thinkers like Peter Drucker, Covey’s work extends beyond self-help to organizational leadership.
Beyond his seminal book, Covey authored “The 8th Habit” and “The Leader in Me,” impacting education globally. He co-founded FranklinCovey, served as a professor, and received numerous awards.
The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future – Chris Guillebeau
Rating: 3.9/5
Summary: Best books on venture capital highlight the importance of practical examples of how entrepreneurs succeeded.
“The $100 Startup” stands out among the best startup books as the author challenges the notion that substantial capital or formal education is a prerequisite for starting a business. Instead, he introduces the concept of a “microbusiness”. The author emphasizes that one can launch a successful venture with minimal financial investment.
Guillebeau chooses to encourage readers to identify unique skills and turn them into business ideas. He underscores the significance of creating value for customers and solving their problems.
Guillebeau advises entrepreneurs to adopt a “ready, fire, aim” approach, taking calculated risks and making adjustments along the way. The book covers essential topics such as market research, customer validation, pricing strategies, storytelling, and effective marketing.
What You’ll Learn:
- Entrepreneurial mindset
- Importance of perseverance, resilience, adaptability
- Case studies and practical tips
- Microbusiness concept exploration
- Focus on value creation
- Differentiation for customers
- Quick launch strategies
- Scaling insights
Why You Should Read It: Not only will you be introduced to the theoretical part but also the practical. It will help you understand what your customers love and what they’re willing to pay for.
Through real-life case studies and practical advice, the author inspires readers to take immediate action, showcasing how individuals with minimal financial investment turned their passions into profitable ventures.
Quote From The Book: Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.
About The Author: Chris Guillebeau is an author, entrepreneur, and speaker renowned for his innovative approach to life and business. Most of his time Guillebeau devotes to writing books and traveling.
The author gained recognition exploring topics such as entrepreneurship and travel. This led to the publication of his bestselling book of the same name in 2010. He continued to make significant contributions to the entrepreneurial world with subsequent best startup books like “The $100 Startup,” “Side Hustle,” and “The Money Tree”.
The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company – Steve Blank
Rating: 4.1/5
Summary: “The Startup Owner’s Manual” is a comprehensive guide for entrepreneurs aiming to build successful companies. It emphasizes the importance of customer validation in the startup journey.
Successful startups excel at combining agile development and customer development to continuously establish, test, and refine their business models. The authors highlight nine common mistakes, such as:
- Blindly developing products without understanding customer needs,
- Following traditional business plans without problem-solving approaches
- Using improper crisis management.
The authors outline a systematic process involving stating business model hypotheses, testing them through experiments, and understanding customer problems and needs. The final part delves into preparing for sales, testing products, and validating business and financial models.
What You’ll Learn:
- Essential principles for success
- Common startup mistakes
- Blind product development
- Understanding customer needs
- Customer validation guidance
- Importance of preparing for sales
Why You Should Read It: Entrepreneurs should read this book for its practical insights into building successful companies. It challenges conventional thinking by emphasizing the significance of customer validation in contrast to untested business hypotheses.
By learning from the common mistakes outlined in the book, readers can avoid pitfalls that often lead to startup failures. The step-by-step approach to customer discovery and validation provides actionable strategies.
Quote From The Book: “Market type influences everything a company does.”
About The Author: Steve Blank is an influential American entrepreneur, educator, author, and speaker.
Blank’s impact extends beyond entrepreneurship into academia. He is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Stanford and Columbia University.
Blank has authored influential books like “The Four Steps to the Epiphany” and “The Startup Owner’s Manual”. His work emphasizes the importance of customer development and validated learning for startup success.
The Lean Startup – Eric Ries
Rating: 4.1/5
Summary: In “The Lean Startup,” Ries introduces a systematic approach, guiding entrepreneurs to build resilient businesses. Through case studies, the book emphasizes the importance of experimentation, validated learning, and the creation of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Ries’s engines of growth—sticky, viral, and paid—provide a strategic framework for sustainable success. This invaluable resource challenges traditional notions.
This book, among the best startup books, offers actionable insights and practical wisdom for those navigating the dynamic landscape of startups and innovation.
What You’ll Learn:
- Lean principles and agile development
- How to navigate uncertainty
- Creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
- Rapid testing strategies
- Customer feedback-based adaptation
- Emphasis on measurable progress
Why You Should Read It: “The Lean Startup” isn’t just a book; it’s your guide to crafting lasting business models. Dive into real-world case studies, from IMVU to Groupon, and witness how startups evolve through experimentation.
This book is a must-read for startup founders and business students seeking practical insights and actionable steps. Ries’s methodology challenges conventional thinking, offering a roadmap to navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship. If you aspire to create lasting value, adapt to change, and foster a culture of innovation, “The Lean Startup” is your indispensable companion.
Quote From The Book: “We must learn what customers really want, not what they say they want or what we think they should want.”
About The Author: Eric Ries is an American entrepreneur, blogger, and author.
In Silicon Valley, he contributed significantly to IMVU Inc., integrating customer development and lean software practices, yielding a remarkable development cycle.
Ries later joined Kleiner Perkins as a venture advisor, propagating lean startup principles. Beyond startups, he founded The Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE), reshaping the public company landscape.
Conclusion
Reading both theoretical parts and practical cases helps you become more of a master of your work. That’s why in this article we’ve mentioned the 11 best startup books that will make you understand the power of storytelling and effective marketing, give you the mindset and resilience necessary for entrepreneurial success, and teach you about the habits and practices that make businessmen succeed.
The best startup books listed here empower entrepreneurs to not only weather the storms but also to innovate, adapt, and thrive in the ever-evolving business landscape. As the startup ecosystem continues to change, these books remain timeless reservoirs of knowledge, equipping individuals with the tools they need to turn their visions into reality and make a lasting impact on the world of business.
