5 best books on startups you can read right now

More than an idea, starting up a business requires sound knowledge, direction, and a road map. Here are a few books that can give you the insights you need for building your own business.

ZERO TO ONE by Peter Thiel

In Zero to One, entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows one can find a way to create great new things. To make any kind of progress, a leader has to start thinking for himself. His explanation for Zero to One is that when one does what someone already knows, it takes the world 1 to n by adding something familiar. But when someone does something new, he goes from 0 to 1. The future winners will not compete but escape competition completely by creating new businesses – in which they go 0 to 1. Zero to One is a book about finding value in unexpected places.

LEAN STARTUP by Eric Ries

Starting up your business is not always about success. Often, it is also about embracing failure. There’s risk involved. The Lean Startup is about the time someone starts a business. The book highlights the need for increasing the capital efficiency of companies as well as using human creativity to its highest level. 

HOOKED by Nir Eyal

Nir Eyalin Hooked reveals how successful companies create outstanding products. Why do some products catch the eye while others don’t. Why do some things make us engage out of habit, while others don’t draw attention? Eyal describes the phenomenon with a ‘Hook Model’ – a four-step process when embedded into products, subtly influences customer behaviour. The book is a clear-cut guide to building better products. It is written for product managers, designers, marketers, start-up founders, and anyone who seeks to understand how products influence human behaviour.

THE HARD THING ABOUT HARD THINGS by Ben Horowitz

One of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, Horowitz offers tips on both building and running a startup. Many people talk about how great it is to start a business but only a few, talk about the same. Horowitz enhances his business lessons with lyrics from his favourite songs and discloses openly about firing friends to poaching competitors and owning the CEO mentality about knowing the right time to cash in. The Hard Thing About Hard Things is invaluable for everyone who has entrepreneurial aspirations.
 

THE $100 STARTUP by Chris Guillebeau

Change your job to change your life. You no longer need to work nine-to-five in a big company to pay the mortgage, send your kids to school and afford that yearly holiday. You can quit the rat race and start up on your own. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau is your manual to a new way of living. Learn how to: earn a good living on your own terms, when and where you want. Achieve the perfect blend of passion and income to make work something you love. The book presents powerful insights from 50 case studies of businesses that were started with $100 or less.