Bill Gates, probably one of the top tech founders in the world, reads about 50 books each year. “On vacation, I get to read about 3 hours a day”, he said. He’s such a book lover that he has his own blog where he recommends books and discusses reading. For him, reading is not just a hobby. It’s his passion, it’s how he works on self-reflection and development in life. So, if you’re looking to create your own startup, your own tech company, why not follow this leader's example? 
 

Here at Eagerworks, we share the same thought. For us, exploring books to get inspired and get some advice paves the way for business success. Recently, we’ve talked about 5 books every tech entrepreneur should read. Now we’re going to add another 4 to the list, especially if you’re looking for practical tools for you as a startup founder.

One last piece of advice from Gates before we get started: in an interview with Reddit, he said that he takes notes on about 20% of the books that he reads. It doubles the reading time but, for a lot of books, that is key to his learning. Got your pen close? Then you’re ready to jump into our chosen best business startup books.

 

The behind-the-scenes of creating tech startups

“Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future'' by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters is the guidance you were looking for. This book is not about reimagining existing ideas but about finding new ones. At least that’s what Peter Thiel and Blake Masters help you do in this guidebook.

Peter Thiel is a known entrepreneur that has co-founded PayPal and Palantir and launched a venture capitalist that invested in game-changing companies like Facebook. Blake Masters is a venture capitalist that worked as COO of Thief Capital.

So, they have enough experience to take you on a trip of 224 pages that will make you think out of the box about starting a tech company. This book has been recognized as one of the best books on tech startups, probably because it truly provides guidelines to help entrepreneurs overcome stagnation, focus on building brand-new ideas instead of rethinking the old ones, and creating businesses made to change the industry and not just propose a few differentiators from the competition.

And most of all they focus on how to ask yourself the right questions to achieve all of those goals.

Our favorite quote from the book: “All failed companies are the same: they failed to escape competition.” Got your interest? Find this book on Amazon.

 

For the tech company’s builder that loves step-by-step guides

“The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business” by David S. Rose is made of  320 pages to get you into what you need to know and do to create your tech company. As a startup founder, you have many things to pay attention to and David S. Rose resumes them for you in this book.

The serial entrepreneur and investor gives you step-by-step directions and advice you can really turn into action to give life to your own successful startup or make the one you have grow.

David covers the keys to finding a viable business model, networking with other entrepreneurs like you, exploring the legal and financial systems and making the most of them, building your teams, and securing funding.

This book is easy to read and concise, and outlines every single crucial aspect you need to take into account to trace your roadmap: from management and legal to practical process. It’s all here.

And here’s a quote that we really liked: “In particular, it is crucial at the beginning to distinguish the business concept from the product concept.” If this quote caught your eye, imagine what the whole book will do. Get this book on Amazon.
 

What successful businesses are made of

What’s inside this startup owner's manual is currently being taught at well-known universities like Stanford, Berkeley, and Columbia. But, of course, “The Startup Owner’s Manual” by Steve Blank brings you best-in-class guidelines for less. The book includes +100 charts and graphs, and +70 checklists.

Steve Blanks creates, in this book, a step-by-step, detailed process on how to build a successful, scalable startup. You’ll find pieces of advice to apply from the beginning and beyond, including elements that range from finding the right channel for your product and defining the right first customers to metrics that matter to boost growth.

Plus, Steve brings the “Business Model Canvas” into the discussion of creating startup hypotheses and explains the different paths and tips for web/mobile versus physical products.

Our favorite quote? “Rule No. 1: There are no facts inside your building, so get outside.”  Want more rules? Buy this book on Amazon.

 

The truth behind the fairy entrepreneurship tale

We all know those stories of successful businesses that started with a great idea from a young, brilliant entrepreneur. Rand Fishkin, in his book “Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World”, decided to tell the truth behind this almost mythical story of how startups are supposed to be created.

Rand Fishkin created Moz, he’s founder and CEO too, and probably one of the experts that know the most about SEO in the world. Yes, he runs a $45 million/year business, but that took him 15 years.

With transparency and humor, Rand tells the truth about how startups are started. Through its 300 pages, you’ll find titles like: “Don’t raise money for the wrong reasons or from the wrong people” and “Startups carry their founders’ baggage”.

He explains everything about pivoting, scalable marketing, launching products at the right time, and more. This book is a must on your reading list if you're just starting in the startup world.

Here’s our favorite quote from this one: “Great founders don’t do what they love; they enable a vision”. If you’re already into this book, get it on Amazon. 

 

This was just a small selection of books that will undoubtedly light the flame of those tech entrepreneurs that are looking for inspiration and tidying up their ideas to make things happen. If you want to get more inspiration from the latest news in the tech world, explore our blog.