Looking for the best entrepreneur books of all time?
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Note: What You WON’T Find on This List
I’ve kept this list as focussed on entrepreneurship as possible.
Want more general books on e.g., business, mindset or productivity?
Want more specific books on e.g., sales or leadership?
Click one of the links above to go to straight to those reading lists.
Or browse all my book recommendations for even more options.
And in the meantime, enjoy this list of…
The 30 Best Entrepreneur Books of All Time
Why these best entrepreneur books and not others? The best entrepreneur books of all time below are the top picks from my long list of scores of books on entrepreneurship, ranked by a combination of Goodreads rating, number of Goodreads reviews and first publication date. The aim is to surface what’s most loved, what’s most popular and what’s proven timelessly relevant.
Think something’s missing? Leave a comment or email me and I’ll add it to the next round of updates. I honestly love hearing from you so please, do get in touch!
Books 1-10: The Top 10 Entrepreneur Books of All Time
Here are the 10 best entrepreneur books from my database…
1. The E-Myth Revisited – Michael E. Gerber
Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It
Published 1985 // 269 pages // Rated 4.0 over 49,500 reviews on Goodreads
2. The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Ben Horowitz
Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
Published 2014 // 304 pages // Rated 4.2 over 34,000 reviews on Goodreads
3. The Lean Startup – Eric Ries
How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
Published 2011 // 299 pages // Rated 4.1 over 153,100 reviews on Goodreads
4. Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Peter F. Drucker
Practice and Principles
Published 1985 // 288 pages // Rated 4.1 over 9,600 reviews on Goodreads
5. Crossing the Chasm – Geoffrey A. Moore
Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers
Published 1991 // 211 pages // Rated 4.0 over 22,600 reviews on Goodreads
6. The Innovator’s Dilemma – Clayton M. Christensen
The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business
Published 1997 // 286 pages // Rated 4.0 over 31,300 reviews on Goodreads
7. Zero to One – Peter Thiel
Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
Published 2014 // 195 pages // Rated 4.2 over 99,500 reviews on Goodreads
8. EntreLeadership – Dave Ramsey
20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches
Published 2011 // 306 pages // Rated 4.2 over 12,400 reviews on Goodreads
9. Built to Sell – John Warrillow
Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You
Published 2010 // 176 pages // Rated 4.2 over 5,300 reviews on Goodreads
10. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing – Al Ries
Violate Them at Your Own Risk
Published 1993 // 143 pages // Rated 4.0 over 13,600 reviews on Goodreads
Books 11-30: 20 Good Entrepreneur Books to Read Next
Here are the next 20 best entrepreneur books from my database…
11. Anything You Want – Derek Sivers
Published 2011 // 90 pages // Rated 4.1 over 19,200 reviews on Goodreads
12. Made to Stick – Chip Heath
Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Published 2006 // 291 pages // Rated 4.0 over 61,600 reviews on Goodreads
13. Traction – Gino Wickman
Get a Grip on Your Business
Published 2007 // 0 pages // Rated 4.1 over 6,600 reviews on Goodreads
14. Venture Deals – Brad Feld
Published 2011 // 219 pages // Rated 4.1 over 14,700 reviews on Goodreads
15. The 4-Hour Workweek – Timothy Ferriss (FREE Summary)
One of the most influential books on the reading list of nearly every successful digital nomad and online business owner I’ve ever met – by serial entrepreneur, life-hacker and pod-casting legend, Tim Ferriss.
Published 2007 // 308 pages // Rated 3.9 over 221,700 reviews on Goodreads
16. The Innovator’s Solution – Clayton M. Christensen
Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth
Published 2003 // 320 pages // Rated 4.0 over 12,300 reviews on Goodreads
17. Founders at Work – Jessica Livingston
Stories of Startups’ Early Days
Published 2001 // 456 pages // Rated 3.9 over 21,600 reviews on Goodreads
18. Blue Ocean Strategy – W. Chan Kim
How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant
Published 2004 // 240 pages // Rated 3.9 over 41,600 reviews on Goodreads
19. Running Lean – Ash Maurya
Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works
Published 2012 // 240 pages // Rated 4.1 over 17,500 reviews on Goodreads
20. Sprint – Jake Knapp
How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days
Published 2016 // 274 pages // Rated 4.2 over 16,700 reviews on Goodreads
21. The Four Steps to the Epiphany – Steve Blank
Successful Strategies for Startups That Win
Published 2003 // 281 pages // Rated 3.9 over 15,400 reviews on Goodreads
22. The Startup Owner’s Manual – Steve Blank
The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company
Published 2012 // 608 pages // Rated 4.1 over 11,600 reviews on Goodreads
23. Pitch Anything – Oren Klaff
An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal
Published 2011 // 241 pages // Rated 4.1 over 9,200 reviews on Goodreads
24. Hooked – Nir Eyal
How to Build Habit-Forming Products
Published 2013 // 256 pages // Rated 4.1 over 14,300 reviews on Goodreads
25. Crush It! – Gary Vaynerchuk
Why Now Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
Published 2009 // 142 pages // Rated 3.9 over 30,700 reviews on Goodreads
26. Disciplined Entrepreneurship – Bill Aulet
24 Steps to a Successful Startup
Published 2013 // 288 pages // Rated 4.3 over 1,300 reviews on Goodreads
27. Profit First – Mike Michalowicz
A Simple System To Transform Any Business From A Cash-Eating Monster To A Money-Making Machine
Published 2014 // 191 pages // Rated 4.4 over 2,100 reviews on Goodreads
28. DotCom Secrets – Russell Brunson
The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online
Published 2015 // 274 pages // Rated 4.4 over 1,800 reviews on Goodreads
29. Traction – Gabriel Weinberg
A Startup Guide to Getting Customers
Published 2014 // 288 pages // Rated 4.1 over 8,000 reviews on Goodreads
30. The Pumpkin Plan – Mike Michalowicz
A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field
Published 2012 // 228 pages // Rated 4.1 over 2,600 reviews on Goodreads
BONUS: The 10 Best Business Biographies of All Time
These didn’t feel right to include above.
But the list also wouldn’t be complete without them.
So, here are the top 10 biographies of business leaders and companies of all time if that’s how you’d rather read about entrepreneurship…
1. Shoe Dog – Phil Knight
A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE
Published 2016 // 386 pages // Rated 4.5 over 134,000 reviews on Goodreads
2. Bad Blood – John Carreyrou
Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
Published 2018 // 339 pages // Rated 4.4 over 197,700 reviews on Goodreads
3. Creativity, Inc. – Ed Catmull
Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
Published 2009 // 368 pages // Rated 4.2 over 76,000 reviews on Goodreads
4. Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson
Published 2011 // 656 pages // Rated 4.1 over 934,900 reviews on Goodreads
5. The Ride of a Lifetime – Robert Iger
Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
Published 2019 // 272 pages // Rated 4.4 over 50,400 reviews on Goodreads
6. How to Get Rich – Felix Dennis
Published 2007 // 352 pages // Rated 4.2 over 3,500 reviews on Goodreads
7. The Outsiders – William N. Thorndike Jr.
Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success
Published 2012 // 272 pages // Rated 4.2 over 8,700 reviews on Goodreads
8. Losing My Virginity – Richard Branson
How I’ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way
Published 1999 // 416 pages // Rated 4.0 over 44,600 reviews on Goodreads
9. Delivering Happiness – Tony Hsieh
A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
Published 2010 // 246 pages // Rated 4.0 over 52,700 reviews on Goodreads
10. Giants of Enterprise – Richard S. Tedlow
Seven Business Innovators and the Empires They Built
Published 2001 // 544 pages // Rated 4.2 over 800 reviews on Goodreads
Note: For more biographies and memoirs, check out this list of the 70 best biographies and memoirs of all time.
Enjoyed this list of the best entrepreneur books of all time?
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Or, you can read all my book recommendations.
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Arthur Worsley
I founded TAoL to discover and share the best wisdom on how to live long and prosper. Before that I studied Psychology, Philosophy & Physiology at Oxford and consulted at McKinsey. Still curious? Learn more or take my FREE productivity quiz.
I founded TAoL to discover and share the best wisdom on how to live long and prosper. Before that I studied Psychology, Philosophy & Physiology at Oxford and consulted at McKinsey. Still curious? Learn more or take my FREE productivity quiz.
