[Answer] What Books Should First-Time Founders Read?

On the entrepreneurial journey, I’ve read quite a lot over the years. Many of these books have given me conviction and encouragement during times of confusion. Founders are often lonely, but besides knowledge and experience, these books can give you a strong sense of “virtue is not left to stand alone; he who practices it will have neighbors.” One moment that impressed me deeply: I walked out of the office in the early hours of the morning, and the first line that echoed in my mind was from The Hard Thing About Hard Things: “They leave home at 8 a.m. and get home at midnight.” At that moment, it felt like you were accompanied by countless entrepreneurs burning the candle at both ends, just like you. Some of these books have Chinese translations published domestically, while others I read as e‑books or in English.

I. Entrepreneurship Fundamentals

1. The Lean Startup – Author: Eric Ries

• About the author: Eric Ries is an American entrepreneur and writer, best known for advocating the Lean Startup methodology.
• Summary: This book introduces a new approach to entrepreneurship that emphasizes rapid iteration, customer feedback, and product–market fit.
• Highlights & insights: The lean methodology presented in the book has been adopted by many startups and large companies, focusing on maximizing the effective use of resources.

2. Zero to One – Author: Peter Thiel

• About the author: Peter Thiel is a renowned venture capitalist and co‑founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies.
• Summary: Thiel discusses how to build unique and innovative companies in a highly competitive world.
• Highlights & insights: The book offers profound insights into building valuable companies and stresses innovation over competition.

3. The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Author: Ben Horowitz

• About the author: Ben Horowitz is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist, and co‑founder of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
• Summary: Horowitz shares his experience as a CEO, especially how to make decisions and manage teams during tough times.
• Highlights & insights: The book portrays the challenges and hardships of entrepreneurship in a very real way and gives founders practical advice.

4. The Founder’s Dilemmas – Author: (listed as) Steve Blank Wasserman

• About the author: Steve Blank has been a powerful driving force for innovation. With fresh perspectives, he has reshaped how startups are built and how entrepreneurship is taught. This book is one of his major contributions to founders.
• Summary: This is a comprehensive, detailed manual that guides you step by step in building and operating an early‑stage startup. It helps founders understand the customer development process, get out of the office, and talk to real customers so they can eventually build products customers are eager to buy.
• Highlights & insights: The book systematically analyzes potential early‑stage startup problems and offers advice, making it especially suitable for first‑time founders.

5. The Lean Entrepreneur – Authors: Brant Cooper and (here) Ryan Holiday

• About the authors: Brant Cooper and Ryan Holiday are experienced entrepreneurs focusing on innovation and startup strategy.
• Summary: The book explains how to validate products and markets effectively with minimal resource investment.
• Highlights & insights: For those who want to start companies in an agile and lean way, this book offers practical guidance and case studies.

6. The Entrepreneur Mind – Author: Kevin D. Johnson

• About the author: Kevin Johnson is a successful entrepreneur with extensive experience in business operations and consulting.
• Summary: The book explores the mindset of successful entrepreneurs, including how to overcome challenges, formulate strategy, and keep innovating.
• Highlights & insights: Through real‑world cases, it shows readers how to cultivate the mindset required for successful entrepreneurship.

7. Rich Dad Poor Dad – Authors: Robert Kiyosaki and (in some editions) Donald Trump

• About the author: Robert Kiyosaki is an American entrepreneur and investor, well known for his work in financial education. I read this book long ago, but only later realized that Trump is listed as the second author in some versions, hence the special note.
• Summary: The book presents unconventional views on money and investing, encouraging entrepreneurship and financial freedom.
• Highlights & insights: Kiyosaki’s ideas have changed many people’s perspectives on money and investing and have inspired them to pursue financial independence.

8. The Black Swan – Author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb

• About the author: Nassim Taleb is a well‑known risk analyst and scholar of randomness.
• Summary: The book explores the impact of extreme, uncertain events and how to deal with unpredictable changes in business.
• Highlights & insights: Its ideas are highly valuable for understanding and dealing with uncertainty in the business world.

9. The Psychology of Entrepreneurship – Author: Kelly Dayton

• About the author: Kelly Dayton is a psychologist focusing on entrepreneurial psychology and founder behavior patterns.
• Summary: The book analyzes entrepreneurs’ psychological traits, including motivation, risk tolerance, and stress resilience.
• Highlights & insights: It offers founders deep self‑understanding and helps them better grasp their own motives and behaviors.

10. Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence—and How You Can, Too – Author: Gary Vaynerchuk

• Gary Vaynerchuk, born November 14, 1975, is an American businessman, writer, speaker, and internet personality. He first became famous as a wine critic who expanded his family’s wine business.
• Summary: In this book, Vaynerchuk revisits and updates his advice on seizing your personal mission and expanding your influence. It includes examples and case studies on using social media to grow a business and underscores the vital role social media plays in business growth. With his characteristic empathy and direct style, he turns this into an important read for aspiring entrepreneurs.
• This book is both an evidence‑based exploration of the influencer world and a practical manual on using that knowledge to build a successful business around a personal brand.

II. Innovation

11. The Innovator’s Dilemma – Author: Clayton M. Christensen

• About the author: Clayton Christensen was a professor at Harvard Business School, renowned for his work on innovation management.
• Summary: This book explores why market leaders often fail when faced with technological innovation and how to identify and respond to disruptive technologies.
• Highlights & insights: It provides deep insights into how companies can cope with technological change and is essential reading for understanding the nature of business innovation.

12. The Innovator’s DNA – Authors: Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton Christensen

• About the authors: Jeff Dyer and Hal Gregersen are well‑known management thinkers and professors; Clayton Christensen is the author of The Innovator’s Dilemma.
• Summary: The book discusses five common skills shared by innovators and how to cultivate them to enhance individual and organizational innovation capability.
• Highlights & insights: Through case studies and research data, it shows how innovators generate and realize breakthrough ideas.

13. Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Author: Peter Drucker

• About the author: Peter Drucker is hailed as the father of modern management; his work has had a profound influence on management theory and practice.
• Summary: The book delves into the essence of innovation and entrepreneurship and how to implement innovation within organizations.
• Highlights & insights: It offers a systematic innovation management framework and practical guidance, suitable for organizations of all sizes and types.

14. The Innovator’s Method – Authors: Nathan Furr and Jeff Dyer

• About the authors: Nathan Furr and Jeff Dyer are business school professors focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Summary: Combining lean startup principles and design thinking, the book presents an evidence‑based methodology for developing and testing new business models.
• Highlights & insights: It offers innovators a systematic way to reduce uncertainty and risk and speed up the pace of innovation.

15. Blue Ocean Strategy

• About the authors: W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne are internationally renowned management scholars focused on strategy and competition.
• Summary: The book proposes a new strategic concept, encouraging entrepreneurs and companies to move away from the bloody “red oceans” of intense competition and instead create and discover new “blue ocean” markets.
• Highlights & insights: Its concepts and frameworks have been adopted by companies worldwide, providing guidance on opening new markets and creating new demand.

16. The Third Wave – Author: Steve Case

• About the author: Steve Case is the co‑founder of AOL and a well‑known entrepreneur and investor.
• Summary: Case discusses the next phase of the internet, the “third wave,” and how it will profoundly transform business and society.
• Highlights & insights: The book predicts future technology trends and offers strategies and insights for succeeding in this new era.

17. The Innovator’s Solution – Authors: Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor

• Summary: As the sequel to The Innovator’s Dilemma, this book provides more practical guidance, explaining how organizations can become disruptors of themselves. It focuses on turning theory into practice and guiding organizations to achieve disruptive innovation.

18. Crossing the Chasm – Author: Geoffrey Moore

• Summary: Based on the theory of innovation diffusion, this book examines how innovations are first used by a small group of early adopters and then cross into the mainstream market to achieve real success. It identifies the “chasm” between early markets and mainstream markets and explains why many startups and products fail to cross it.

19. Ten Types of Innovation – Author: Larry Keeley

• Summary: Innovation is traditionally seen as synonymous with new product development. Larry Keeley, co‑founder of the innovation consultancy Doblin, proposes a much broader perspective. This book identifies ten different ways innovation can create competitive advantage.

20. Competing Against Luck – Author: Clayton Christensen and co‑authors

• Summary: The book explains the “Jobs to Be Done” theory and shows how to use it to predict and create new businesses and innovations. The core idea is that customers do not actually want to “buy” products or services; they want to “hire” them to get specific jobs done.

III. Leadership

21. Good to Great – Author: Jim Collins

• About the author: Jim Collins is a renowned management thinker and writer, best known for his in‑depth corporate case studies.
• Summary: The book explores how companies transform from mediocre to great and the shared characteristics of great companies.
• Highlights & insights: It analyzes leadership and team‑building in depth and offers companies practical improvement strategies.

22. The Leadership Challenge – Authors: James Kouzes and Barry Posner

• About the authors: Kouzes and Posner are well‑known authors and educators in the field of leadership development.
• Summary: Through research and cases, they propose five core leadership practices to help leaders improve their capabilities.
• Highlights & insights: The book provides a clear framework for leadership development and is widely used in leadership training and personal growth.

23. Shark Leadership – Author: Sonia A. Bouez

• Summary: The book explores how leaders can lead change in complex and challenging situations.
• Highlights & insights: For leaders facing major challenges and transformation tasks, it offers practical strategies and insights.

24. Principles: Life and Work – Author: Ray Dalio

• About the author: Ray Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, and is regarded as a legend in the investment world.
• Summary: Dalio shares the principles that guide his life and work and how to apply them in business and personal life to achieve success.
• Highlights & insights: It offers deep insights and practical advice suitable for any individual or organization striving for excellence.

25. Nonviolent Communication – Author: Marshall Rosenberg

• About the author: Marshall Rosenberg was a psychologist best known for developing the Nonviolent Communication (NVC) model.
• Summary: The book introduces a communication approach based on compassion and empathy, aimed at building more harmonious interpersonal relationships and teamwork.
• Highlights & insights: Its methods help improve team communication, reduce conflict, and build stronger work and personal relationships.

26. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Author: Stephen R. Covey

• About the author: Stephen Covey was a well‑known leadership consultant and bestselling author, famous for his work on personal and organizational effectiveness.
• Summary: Covey elaborates on seven habits that help enhance personal and professional effectiveness.
• Highlights & insights: The book offers practical guidance and frameworks to help readers improve leadership and personal performance in all areas.

27. First, Break All the Rules – Authors: Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

• About the authors: Buckingham and Coffman are well‑known writers and researchers in management thinking.
• Summary: Based on extensive research on tens of thousands of managers, the book proposes unconventional management methods and ways of thinking.
• Highlights & insights: Its ideas challenge traditional management and leadership principles and provide leaders with fresh perspectives and practical tools.

28. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Author: Patrick Lencioni

• About the author: Patrick Lencioni is a well‑known business consultant and author specializing in team building and organizational health.
• Summary: Lencioni reveals five common reasons why teams fail and offers specific strategies to overcome these obstacles.
• Highlights & insights: The framework and advice are critical for building and maintaining high‑performing teams.

29. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead – Author: Sheryl Sandberg

• Summary: Written by Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In is a widely popular book on women’s leadership. Inspired by her 2010 TED talk and personal experience, Sandberg describes how women often miss career opportunities because of passivity and politeness. She encourages women to seek strong mentors, speak up for themselves, and claim their place in the business world. These actions can empower women to become leaders rather than simply accept the roles they are given.

30. Leaders Eat Last – Author: Simon Sinek

• Summary: In Leaders Eat Last, Sinek draws inspiration from military principles, where senior officers eat after their troops, placing their people’s needs before their own. The book explains a people‑first leadership style that makes employees feel supported and respected, thereby inspiring loyalty and performance that exceeds expectations. Sinek emphasizes that trust and psychological safety are the keys to excellence and illustrates this through numerous examples from different types of organizations around the world.

IV. Marketing

31. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind – Authors: Al Ries and Jack Trout

• About the authors: Ries and Trout are pioneers and thought leaders in marketing strategy.
• Summary: This book introduces the concept of positioning and explains how to create a brand image in the consumer’s mind.
• Highlights & insights: It offers a new perspective on marketing and stresses the importance of creating a unique selling proposition in a highly competitive market.

32. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Author: Robert Cialdini

• About the author: Robert Cialdini is a social psychologist focusing on research into persuasion and influence.
• Summary: The book explores six core principles of persuasion and how to apply them in sales and marketing.
• Highlights & insights: It gives deep insight into persuasion techniques and is crucial reading for boosting sales effectiveness and influence.

33. Blue Ocean Strategy – Authors: W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

• About the authors: W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne are internationally renowned management scholars specializing in strategy and competition.
• Summary: The book proposes a new strategic concept, encouraging entrepreneurs and companies to leave cut‑throat red oceans and create or discover blue oceans of new market space.
• Highlights & insights: Its concepts and frameworks have been widely adopted by companies around the world, providing guidance for opening new markets and creating new demand.

34. Marketing Management – Author: Philip Kotler

• About the author: Philip Kotler is an authority in marketing and is known as the “father of modern marketing.”
• Summary: Considered the bible of marketing, this book comprehensively explains marketing theory and practice.
• Highlights & insights: It offers marketing professionals and students a complete body of marketing knowledge and strategies and is essential for understanding marketing.

35. Outliers: The Story of Success – Author: Malcolm Gladwell

• About the author: Malcolm Gladwell is a Canadian journalist and writer, famous for his deep insights into the social sciences.
• Summary: The book explores the factors behind successful people, including culture, family background, and personal experience.
• Highlights & insights: It reveals little‑known stories and patterns behind success and provides a fresh perspective on how to stand out in the business world.

36. Consumer Behavior – Author: Michael R. Solomon

• About the author: Michael Solomon is an expert in marketing and consumer behavior, known for his in‑depth research into consumer psychology.
• Summary: The book deeply analyzes consumers’ purchasing behavior and decision processes and the various factors influencing that behavior.
• Highlights & insights: Combining rich cases with the latest research, it provides marketers with important tools for understanding consumer psychology.

37. Platform Revolution – Publication year: 2016; Authors: Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van Alstyne, and Sangeet Paul Choudary

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