12 great books on startups and entrepreneurs that I must read in 2015

One of my resolutions for the year was that I would spend less time on social media and more time reading books. The best part of this resolution is that I can have fun listing out the books I intend to read. We all love to-do lists, don’t we? And book lists are the best of those.

But seriously, I want to wrap myself around the great books in the list below for a better handle on this slippery, churning, protean world of startups and VCs that has got us hooked. They range from old favorites all the way to books that will only be published this year.

So here goes my startup book reading list (and if you don’t see a book that I must absolutely read, please be kind enough to post it in the comments section below the article).

Marissa Meyer and the fight to save Yahoo! by Nicholas Carlson

This one’s definitely a must read as soon as it comes out in February. Marissa Meyer, who moved from Google to try and turn around Yahoo!, got a lot of attention, including mine. But, as an adaptation from journalist Nicholas Carlson’s book in The New York Times points out, not everyone can be Steve Jobs, who turned Apple around.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the quest for a fantastic future, by Ashlee Vance

This is another book I’m waiting for eagerly this year. It’s Elon Musk, and not Marissa Meyer, who has a better claim to the mantle of Steve Jobs. I like to read biographies by journalists, and Ashlee Vance is an experienced tech writer for Bloomberg Businessweek – so I look forward to a lot of detailed reporting on the making of a visionary.

The Innovators: How a group of hackers, geniuses, and geeks created the digital revolution, by Walter Isaacson

His biography of Steve Jobs was a great read, because it described an era and not just a person. This new book promises to do the same, except that this time it deals with multiple personalities. I’m just waiting for a cheaper Kindle version to come out – after all, it’s only appropriate to read about the digital revolution in ebook format, right?

Scaling up excellence: Getting to more without settling for less, by Robert I Sutton and Huggy (Hayagreeva) Rao

These two professors teach from their own book in a class for entrepreneurs at Stanford University. Since “scaling” is the word that comes up most often in my interactions with VCs, I downloaded this friendly academic book published last year. A glance through it convinces me that I must read it in order to hold my own in my conversations with VCs and entrepreneurs.

The hard thing about hard things: Building a business when there are no easy answers, by Ben Horowitz

And this one is straight from the VC’s mouth. Ben Horowitz is of course the second half of legendary Silicon Valley VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. From all accounts, he has given a personal, insider’s account of the venture capital world. Those among you who spend time like me trying to fathom a VC’s mind may find clues in this book.

Zero to one: Notes on startups, or how to build the future, by Peter Thiel

Here’s another book by a top VC that came out late last year. The most important skill to master, according to Peter Thiel, is learning to think for yourself. Entrepreneurs constantly face choices between doing something better, or doing something new. This co-founder of PayPal, who is now an investor, argues that it is better to go from zero to one, which means building a startup in an entirely new space.

Hooked: How to build habit-forming products, by Nir Eyal

This entrepreneur-turned-educator tries to find patterns in the most successful tech products, from the iPhone to Pinterest. What do they have in common, and how were they built to hook us? The book’s been recommended by everyone, from the Economist to Goodreads. So I’m hooked, and many startup founders will be too if they’re putting out tech products.

The lean startup: How today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses, by Eric Ries

This modern classic is on the bookshelf of every VC I know, and it’s high time it found a place on mine. Eric Ries pioneered the lean startup movement to improve efficiency, minimise cash burn, and reduce the chances of failure. This is especially important to keep in mind for those coming out of large corporations to start up. Budgets are different on this side.

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration, by Ed Catmull

The man who co-founded Pixar with Steve Jobs shares his experience of building a creative culture. Here’s one nugget: Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up; but give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better. The book promises to jog your mind, and the author does have the credentials for it.

Antifragile: Things that gain from disorder, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

This is the latest book by the author of Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness, who is “Wall Street’s principal dissident,” in the words of Malcolm Gladwell. The thesis here is not new – that we can thrive in chaos. In India, the concept has become known as “jugaad.” But Taleb’s contrarian intellect keeps this on my reading list for a rainy day when I need inspiration.

Innovation and entrepreneurship, by Peter F. Drucker

The guru of all management gurus wrote a book about entrepreneurship way back in the eighties when I was born. I wonder how many of his ideas are still relevant in the digital age. Now that I’m exploring the new world of startups, it might pay to look back at some sage old ideas, and apply them to the current context of the internet and digital life.

Driven to distraction at work: How to focus and be more productive, by Edward M Hallowell

And finally, a book made to order for me. You know how it is: the more you do, the longer your to-do list grows; and the more you juggle, the more likely you are to drop a ball! Now Edward Hallowell, an expert on ADD (attention deficit disorder), shows us a better way. The doc’s book, published just this month, is a must read for me, and probably many an entrepreneur too.

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So those are the 12 books on startups and entrepreneurs that I intend to finish reading this year – that’s one book a month. Doable, right? And who knows, if Hallowell manages to teach me a trick or two, I might get more books under my belt. And put out more book lists in the bargain. Don’t forget to make your suggestions below on great books that entrepreneurs must read.

See: 7 must-read books for game developers

This post 12 great books on startups and entrepreneurs that I must read in 2015 appeared first on Tech in Asia.

12 great books on startups and entrepreneurs that I must read in 2015