Becoming an entrepreneur for the first time requires conditioning yourself to a set of attitudes, skills and knowledge you’ve never encountered anywhere else before. You’ve got to be prepared to learn faster than any time in your life. However, being prepared for this ‘knowledge hit’ hinders many young entrepreneurs in taking their $bn ambitions to actually realizing them.
For those of you that are starting your entrepreneurial careers, you’ll find this list inspiring, immersive and essential reading, even providing comfort for those inevitable moments where everyone tells you that you can’t succeed. Here are 30 books I’ve read, which i think you should too.
Attitude
These books will help you to get inspired, think big and refuse to back down when people say you can’t succeed.
1. The Google Story
The story behind the greatest start up in history
2.Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure
An emotional roller coaster through the founding of Go computer. How do u deal with technology which is too early for its market? Read this first.
3. High Stakes, No Prisoners: A Winner’s Tale of Greed and Glory in the Internet Wars
The fly-on-the wall account of founding, growing and eventually selling Frontpage to Microsoft .
4.The Nudist on the Late Shift: And Other True Tales of Silicon Valley
The story of silicon valley gold rush in 1999. Get into the mentality of an amazing time in history.
5. EBoys: The True Story of the Six Tall Men Who Backed EBay, Webvan and Other Billion-dollar Start-ups
An insight into silicon valley during the boom, set around the founding of Benchmark capital and all the companies they funded.
6. Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days
Interviews with some of the foremost founders of technology startups. Great starts are Max Levchin of Paypal and James Hong of HotOrNot.
7. Boo Hoo: A Dot Com Story
8. Against the Odds: An Autobiography (Business Icons)
James Dyson never gave up trying to make the perfect product. The insight into his struggle to what he achieved is inspirational.
9. The Perfect Store: Inside EBay
The story of eBay, from Pierre Omidyar’s bedroom to where it is now.
10. Icon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business
The unofficial biography of Steve Jobs. An unique insight into his dark and disturbing side.
11. Losing My Virginity: The Autobiography
The autobiography of Richard Branson. Just how did he grow his empire from starting with a humble magazine ?
Skills
Negotiation, networking, getting users, dealing with people and executing upon your plans, these books will help you avoid taking investor money and just burning it.
12. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity
How do you execute if you can’t prioritise. David Allen’s book will change your life.
13. How to Win Friends and Influence People
Mediating a dispute witha cofounder, or trying to impress an investor for the first time. Dale Carnegie has all the answers.
14. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement with out Giving In: The Secret to Successful Negotiation
Negotiating for your first serious round of finance, or with a supplier can be make or break. This book will mean you’ll know how to squeeze out those extra details.
15. Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff
Knowing how to build buzz is invaluable. Learn from the man who decided he would rename a town halfway Oregon to half.com Oregon just to build buzz. Incredible reading.
16. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The title says it all. Do what you can to become more effective.
17. Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
Networking is an art. Know how to build, maintain and leverage your network. Business is all about who you know as well as what, so read this.
18. The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
The concise guide to making it happen. Everything from fundraising, hiring, schmoozing, to getting your pitch right – with a dose of oomph.
19. The Effective Executive (Classic Drucker Collection)
Execution starts with you. Peter Drucker nails down how to be that bit more effective.
20. How to Be a Complete and Utter Failure in Life, Work and Everything: 39 1/2 steps to lasting underachievementThe only way to success is to know how to fail. This book gives you enough fodder to never fail again.
21. Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
This book is the best book on making a usable website i’ve read. Start pleasing your users. Good startups are distinguished by good design. Build your advantage.
Knowledge
Starting a technology company is underpinned by some fundamental facts. These range from understanding long tail economics, how to push something to tipping point or what disruptive technology actually means. Read these or sink fast as others conquer.
22. The Long Tail: How Endless Choice Is Creating Unlimited Demand
There is 80% of the market you aren’t thinking about. This is the long tail.
23. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
How do ideas, concepts or messages spread through network and reach mass popularity. Learn about the tipping point.
24. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Getting ideas to have lasting power is tricky. This book will change your perspective on marketing.
25. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
Taleb argues that rare events, can to be some extent be foreseen. Getting to that series A isn’t so random after all.
26. Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
This will change your view on the serendipity behind life-changing events.
27. The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth
This book takes the concept of disruptive innovation and summarises into a series of characterisable steps.
28. The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
This book is a classic, illustrating the term disruptive innovation with studies of where disruptive technologies have changed markets. Essential for the budding Niklas Zennstrom.
29. Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Technology Products to Mainstream Customers
How to bring technology from your early adopters into the mainstream? This book created those definitions.
30. The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few
How can the average knowledge of a million people be more correct than an expert. With the Internet growing how it is, the wisdom of crowds could be your application’s next big weapon.
So what books do you think should in here? Reply in the comments.