Just want to point out that lists like these do suffer from <<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias</a>>.<p>Also: it's quite possible that luck and generational wealth is a huge factor to whether or not you become profitable, in which case their book recommendations may or may not be useful.<p>And finally: did these founders read these books _before_ they became profitable, or afterwards? As the website says: "a few [succesful founders] weren't into reading books at all"
I read "Start Small, Stay Small" back in 2011 and it helped me set realistic expectations. It helped me create a long term vision for my product with the expectation that it may always just be a side project and that was okay. I've been running it for 11 years now and while it's not a full-time job, it's a nice sustainable side business that keeps chugging along even if I have to ignore it from time to time.
The best advice I've seen is from the Patreon CEO, Jack Conte. (spoiler: It's don't listen to generic advice.)
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTpBFiW5PBo" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTpBFiW5PBo</a>
My recommendations (stick almost exclusively to autobiography):<p>- My Father Marconi (degna marconi)<p>- Made in Japan (sony founder)<p>- Made in America (walmart founder)<p>- How to win friends and influence people (though I hear all 4 of N Hill's books are worth their weight in gold). Alternatively I read "Never Eat Alone" which is similar and also great.<p>- Autobiography of Ben Franklin
I saw Tim Ferriss do a presentation at Google Campus once.<p>He was there for about 4 hours, so of course, somebody asked what he'd be doing with the rest of his week since he'd finished working.<p>He said those kind of events aren't work since he enjoys them.
I'll add the book 'Make' be Pieter Levels as a short, no-nonsense, no-fluff, 'guide' to shipping an idea to the public quickly.
Does this post not provide the list of books at all? I would think with a title like that the list would be there. Instead there are illegible screenshots with confusing graphs... I think your site would get more hits if the list was there to reference.
I have a simple rule about reading a book. If one person recommends it to me, it makes the list to read. If two people recommend it to me, I read it next.<p>There's really no significance of these book recommendations outside of the general idea that you're more likely to be successful if you read regularly. It's a shame nobody reads as much anymore given it's such a cost-effective way to change your life. Successful founders read. Big tech leaders read. It can change your life if you commit to doing it 30 minutes a day.
not sure how much of this correlation talks about founder's personality rather than turning the reader into a succesful entrepeneur. Not that there is no value in the books, but reading alone doesn't build companies, as well as correlation and causation etc,
Not included: an actual plain-text list of book titles, possibly sorted by frequency of recommendation. Instead there's a circular graph with <i>far</i> too many colors to match to the titles, a screengrab of a spreadsheet that's only listing the one-recommendation books, and a graph that <i>claims</i> to be grouping the book titles by number of recommendations, but appears to be in no actual order.<p>Well done, microsaashq.com. Well done.
Didn't find it in the list, but I heard it from Patrick Collison: The Dream Machine<p>"The story of the man who instigated the work that led to the internet—and shifted our understanding of what computers could be."<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Machine-M-Mitchell-Waldrop/dp/1732265119" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Machine-M-Mitchell-Waldrop/dp/1...</a><p>High confidence that most HN users will like the story. The book gave me a sense of purpose and belonging in the 'computer industry'. Software and the internet were already magical to me. After reading the Dream Machine, even more so.<p>Learning about computing pioneers' vision for what could be has kept me motivated to learn and one day contribute to humanity's greatest endeavor.
Why doesn't the second chart (Books with more than 3 recommendations) use the same color mapping as the first one? You've already color-coded all these titles. Why switch the colors?
I’m surprised to see none of the recommendations were for classics on fundamentals like The Mythical Man-Month and Peopleware. It’s baffling to see executives in modern companies make management mistakes that can be avoided by heeding advice on those two books and others.