In case one of your 2020 resolutions is to do more reading, we thought we’d pull together a short list of recommended books covering venture capital and private equity. Whether you’re a founder, an investor, or want to learn more about the space, these are some of the titles that stand out for our team. How many of these are on your list?
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
By Ben Horrowitz
In just a few years, The Hard Thing About Hard Things has already become a classic among business management books. Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz addresses the real problems and issues founders face—from launching to selling a business, and everything in between.
Mastering Private Equity
By Claudia Zeisberger, Michael Prahl and Bowen White
This two-volume set provides a unique and comprehensive reference for investors, business owners, finance professionals and others looking to access private equity funds and the teams that manage them. It covers every facet of the private equity life cycle—from deal sourcing to exit—in precise detail.
Zero to One
By Peter Thiel
In Zero to One, PayPal co-founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel talks about the thrill of creating companies that revolutionize the way we work and live. Zero to One is equal parts how-to advice and philosophical discussions on capitalism and entrepreneurship.
The Business of Venture Capital
By Mahendra Ramsinghani
Often positioned as the definitive guide to demystifying the venture capital business, this book goes deep on everything from raising funds and structuring investments to defining exit strategies and pathways. Sprinkled throughout the book are insights from more than 25 of the field’s leading practitioners.
What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence
By Stephen A. Schwarzman
A New York Times and Amazon bestseller, What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence uses Schwarzman’s life experiences to show readers how to build, transform and lead organizations. The chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone—an investment firm that manages more than $500 million—provides insight applicable to anyone striving to make a greater impact.
The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
By Eric Ries
In The Lean Startup, Ries offers entrepreneurs a new approach to business that is changing how companies are built and products are launched. The book emphasizes continuous testing, as well as provides insight on how to adapt and adjust before it’s too late. Using a scientific approach to learn what your customers want, Ries uses a precise approach for creating, launching and fostering success in companies at all sizes.
Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers
By Gabriel Weinberg, Justin Mares
Scattered, misaligned approaches to gaining traction typically don’t pan out for eager startups or anyone else. This book’s authors set out to give founders and their employees a better roadmap toward traction, providing insight about which marketing channels make the most sense for your business and backing up their recommendations with examples frameworks employed by successful companies.
Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy
By Bruce Greenwald, Judd Kahn
Based on his hugely popular course offering at Columbia Business School, Greenwald and his coauthor provide a simple methodology for grasping the competitive structure of your industry and crafting an appropriate strategy for your unique position.
Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies
By Tim Koller, Thomas E. Copeland, Marc Goedhart, David Wessels
Valuation’s fourth edition provides timely and practical advice on how to launch, manage and evaluate an organization’s value. The authors have included case study examples that illustrate how valuation techniques and principles are applied in the real-world, developments in academic finance, the impact on stock markets after the Internet bubble, and more.
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