curated list

books recommended by tech founders

What the founders of Stripe, Airbnb, Tesla, OpenAI, Spotify, Dropbox, Y Combinator, and other defining tech companies actually read — with sources where we have them.

Aggregated across 38 people we track · 60 books ranked by how many on this list have publicly recommended each one.

most recommended books on this list

  1. Only the Paranoid Survive
    8 people

    Only the Paranoid Survive

    Andrew S. Grove · 1998

    8 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  2. High Output Management
    7 people

    High Output Management

    Andrew S. Grove · 1995

    7 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  3. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
    7 people

    The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

    Ben Horowitz · 2014

    7 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  4. The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (Management of Innovation and Change)
    6 people

    The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (Management of Innovation and Change)

    Clayton M. Christensen · 2003

    6 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  5. Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger, Expanded Third Edition
    5 people

    Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger, Expanded Third Edition

    edited by Peter Kaufman · 2006

    5 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  6. Principles: Life and Work
    4 people

    Principles: Life and Work

    Ray Dalio · 2017

    4 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  7. Steve Jobs
    4 people

    Steve Jobs

    Walter Isaacson · 2011

    4 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  8. The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
    4 people

    The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

    Eric Ries · 2011

    4 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  9. “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character
    3 people

    “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character

    Richard P. Feynman · 2018

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  10. Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader
    3 people

    Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader

    Brent Schlender · 2015

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  11. Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies
    3 people

    Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies

    Reid Hoffman · 2018

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  12. Dune
    3 people

    Dune

    Frank Herbert · 2019

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  13. Good To Great : Why Some Companies Make The Leap and Others Don't
    3 people

    Good To Great : Why Some Companies Make The Leap and Others Don't

    Jim Collins · 2001

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  14. Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs
    3 people

    Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs

    John Doerr · 2018

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  15. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
    3 people

    Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

    Carol S. Dweck · 2006

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  16. Outliers: The Story of Success
    3 people

    Outliers: The Story of Success

    Malcolm Gladwell · 2008

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  17. Play Nice But Win
    3 people

    Play Nice But Win

    Michael Dell, James Kaplan · 2021

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  18. Snow Crash: A Novel
    3 people

    Snow Crash: A Novel

    Neal Stephenson · 2018

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  19. The Art o f War
    3 people

    The Art o f War

    Sun Tzu · 2005

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  20. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
    3 people

    Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

    Peter Thiel · 2014

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  21. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
    2 people

    21 Lessons for the 21st Century

    Yuval Noah Harari · 2018

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  22. Atlas Shrugged (Centennial Ed.)
    2 people

    Atlas Shrugged (Centennial Ed.)

    Ayn Rand · 1999

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  23. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
    2 people

    Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

    John Carreyrou · 2018

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  24. Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
    2 people

    Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

    Robert M. Sapolsky · 2017

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  25. Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society
    2 people

    Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society

    Nicholas A. Christakis MD PhD · 2019

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  26. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great, 2)
    2 people

    Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great, 2)

    Jim Collins · 2004

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  27. Consider Phlebas
    2 people

    Consider Phlebas

    Iain M. Banks · 1988

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  28. Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers
    2 people

    Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers

    Geoffrey A. Moore · 2006

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  29. Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?
    2 people

    Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?

    Graham Allison · 2017

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  30. Einstein: His Life and Universe
    2 people

    Einstein: His Life and Universe

    Walter Isaacson · 2007

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  31. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
    2 people

    Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

    Ashlee Vance · 2015

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  32. Excession
    2 people

    Excession

    Iain M. Banks · 1998

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  33. Foundation
    2 people

    Foundation

    Isaac Asimov · 2004

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  34. Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days
    2 people

    Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days

    Jessica Livingston · 2007

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  35. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
    2 people

    Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

    Jack Weatherford · 2018

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  36. Getting to Yes
    2 people

    Getting to Yes

    Roger Fisher · 1992

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  37. Guns, Germs, and Steel
    2 people

    Guns, Germs, and Steel

    Jared Diamond · 2005

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  38. History Has Begun
    2 people

    History Has Begun

    Bruno Macaes · 2020

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  39. Homage to Catalonia
    2 people

    Homage to Catalonia

    George Orwell · 1980

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  40. How to Win Friends and Influence People
    2 people

    How to Win Friends and Influence People

    Dale Carnegie, Robert Petkoff, Donna Dale Carnegie, Simon & Schuster Audio · 1998

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  41. Inversions
    2 people

    Inversions

    Iain M. Banks · 2001

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  42. Lenin
    2 people

    Lenin

    Victor Sebestye · 2017

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  43. Lenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror
    2 people

    Lenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror

    Victor Sebestyen · 2017

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  44. Life 3.0
    2 people

    Life 3.0

    Max Tegmark · 2017

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  45. Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX
    2 people

    Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX

    Eric Berger · 2021

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  46. Lights Out
    2 people

    Lights Out

    Thomas Gryta · 2020

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  47. Look to Windward
    2 people

    Look to Windward

    Iain M. Banks · 2002

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  48. Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture
    2 people

    Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture

    David Kushner · 2004

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  49. Matter
    2 people

    Matter

    Iain M. Banks · 2008

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  50. Mythical Man-Month, The: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition
    2 people

    Mythical Man-Month, The: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition

    Frederick P. Brooks Jr. · 1995

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  51. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
    2 people

    Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

    Yuval Noah Harari · 2015

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  52. Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life (Incerto)
    2 people

    Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life (Incerto)

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb · 2018

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  53. Stranger in a Strange Land
    2 people

    Stranger in a Strange Land

    Robert A. Heinlein · 1991

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  54. Stuff Matters
    2 people

    Stuff Matters

    Mark Miodownik · 2014

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  55. Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
    2 people

    Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies

    Nick Bostrom · 2014

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  56. Surface Detail
    2 people

    Surface Detail

    Iain M. Banks · 2010

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  57. Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages
    2 people

    Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages

    Carlota Perez · 2003

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  58. The Alchemist: 25th Anniversary Edition
    2 people

    The Alchemist: 25th Anniversary Edition

    Paulo Coelho · 2014

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  59. The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
    2 people

    The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

    Stephen Pinker · 2012

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  60. The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a new section: "On Robustness and Fragility" (Incerto)
    2 people

    The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a new section: "On Robustness and Fragility" (Incerto)

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb · 2007

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop

on this list

other curated lists