The startup ecosystem can feel overwhelming for anyone who is a first-time entrepreneur or investor. Gaining insight from those who have tried and tested the journey is an essential approach in making sure you can better navigate your startup journey.
We have compiled a concise list of 5 books we suggest reading if you are an aspiring entrepreneur or anyone who wants to better understand the ecosystem. From dissecting the complexities of venture capital to exploring how a country rose to become the land of entrepreneurial innovation, we have covered it all in our list below!
Take a look.
Venture Deals - Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson
A brilliant book that provides practical insights into venture capital structure and strategy from the perspective of both investors and entrepreneurs. It not only delves into the intricacies of the venture capital process but also explains the misunderstood aspects of capital funding. This book is for you if you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, venture capitalist, lawyer involved in VC deals or a mere stakeholder in the VC market.
Zero to One - Peter Thiel
In this book, Peter Thiel - the co-founder of PayPal and an early investor at Facebook - draws on his experience of building a technology startup. Thiel explains the shift of startups from zero to one by thinking outside the box and by highlighting the importance of strong foundations, team culture and persistence. He addresses the need to challenge preconceived notions around what a startup or entrepreneurial life looks like.
Start-Up Nation - Dan Senor and Saul Singer
Start-Up Nation explores how Israel, a small and politically isolated country, became one of the most densely concentrated centres of innovation and entrepreneurship in the world. It explains Israel’s bottom-up culture, its history and geopolitics as the main ingredient that led to the country’s economic miracle.
Billion Dollar Loser - Reeves Wiedeman
The Billion Dollar Loser provides the inside story of WeWork and its CEO, Adam Neumann who managed to revolutionise office space for freelancers worldwide. This book tells the remarkable saga of one of the most epic rise and spectacular fall in American business history; whilst doing so, it also makes you question the current venture capital and startup system.
The Lean Startup - Eric Ries
This book is about starting and operating a business with minimal resources. The Lean Startup is about progressing through the Build-Measure-Learn loop as efficiently as possible and creating a product that the customer really wants. This book is a must read for entrepreneurs, marketers, developers and business leaders.
Signed off, SDS team 🚀
