16 books, summarised simply.
The Lives of a Cell
by Lewis Thomas
A collection of essays by physician and researcher Lewis Thomas that reflects on biology, medicine, systems, and the human condition. While not a startup handbook, it is widely regarded as essential reading for founders and innovators who want to think more clearly about complex systems, science, and society—perspectives that can deeply inform how startups understand innovation and long-term impact.
Friend & Foe
by Adam Galinsky & Maurice Schweitzer
Psychology and strategy book on balancing cooperation and competition in relationships, relevant to startup founders managing co-founders, teams, and partners in high-stakes environments.
On The Edge
by Nate Silver
On The Edge by Nate Silver is a business and finance book exploring the high-risk world of gamblers, hedge fund titans, crypto speculators, and technologists who are reshaping markets and society through aggressive risk-taking. While centered on risk, volatility, and the mindset of high-stakes players, it offers startup founders insight into decision-making under uncertainty, probabilistic thinking, and the psychology of ambitious actors operating at the edge of finance and technology.
Quit
by Annie Duke
Annie Duke's insightful book on the strategic importance of knowing when to quit, offering valuable lessons for startup founders on decision-making and risk management.
Superforecasting
by Philip E. Tetlock & Dan Gardner
Book on probabilistic thinking and prediction that teaches how to make better forecasts and decisions under uncertainty—highly valuable for startup founders making strategic bets with incomplete information.
The Power of Intuition
by Gary Klein
A management and decision-making book that teaches leaders to systematically develop and trust their intuition—useful for startup founders making high-uncertainty strategic choices with incomplete data.
Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work
by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
The Heath Brothers tackle one of the most critical skills for startup founders: making better decisions. This #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller introduces the WRAP framework to counter common decision-making biases and improve choices in both business and life.
Predictably Irrational
by Dan Ariely
Dan Ariely reveals the hidden forces that shape our decisions. Essential reading for founders to understand customer behavior, pricing psychology, and why people don't always act rationally.
Right/Wrong: How Technology Transforms Our Ethics
Explores ethical frameworks in the context of rapidly advancing technologies like AI and biotechnology. Encourages founders to reflect on whether they should build something beyond just capability. Relevant for leaders in innovation fields impacting society and trust.
Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
A bold work from Nassim Nicholas Taleb exploring the concept that skin in the game—having shared risk when taking decisions—is necessary for fairness, commercial efficiency, and risk management. Part of the Incerto series, this #1 New York Times bestseller challenges beliefs about risk and reward, politics, religion, finance, and personal responsibility.
The Dip
by Seth Godin
Seth Godin explains when to quit and when to stick. Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt—until they commit to beating the Dip.
The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)
Seth Godin's concise guide helping entrepreneurs and business leaders understand when to persevere through challenges and when to quit strategically to focus on winning endeavors.
Thinking in Bets
Annie Duke, former World Series of Poker champion, teaches how to make better decisions under uncertainty. Essential framework for startup founders who must constantly make high-stakes decisions with incomplete information.
The 48 Laws of Power
by Robert Greene
By Robert Greene (1998, Penguin), this is a widely read (and widely debated) compendium of strategies for gaining and keeping influence, drawn from historical figures ranging from political leaders to con artists. It's often read by founders and executives as a guide to organizational politics.
Radical Focus: Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results
by Christina Wodtke
By Christina Wodtke (2016, self-published, 2nd edition 2021), this book uses a business-fable format to teach the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) goal-setting system in a startup context, showing how a struggling founding team learns to focus on what matters most.
Negotiation Genius: How to Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Brilliant Results at the Bargaining Table and Beyond
by Deepak Malhotra and Max H. Bazerman
By Deepak Malhotra and Max H. Bazerman, Harvard Business School professors (2007, Bantam), this book combines negotiation theory and psychology to give readers concrete tactics for overcoming tricky obstacles like deception, power imbalances, and multi-party deals.