On "The Twenty Minute VC" podcast with Harry Stebbings, more than 200 top venture capitalists have stopped by to share advice and insights on building viable start-ups and overcoming challenges in business, as well as to name-drop some of their favorite books.
On Tableau, entrepreneur Joe Hovde compiled all of the books mentioned in the podcast into a helpful chart, which reveals the reads VCs mention again and again.
Whether you're hoping to hack it in Silicon Valley, launch your own business or just get ahead in your career, there's wisdom to glean from the favorite books of successful people.
Here are the four most popular books today's top venture capitalists recommend.
"The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers" by Ben Horowitz
Written by the co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley's top venture capital firms, this book provides practical advice for building and growing a startup. Horowitz draws on his own experience in the tech space to provide an honest and conversational look at the challenges of leading and developing a thriving company.
"Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future" by Peter Thiel
Noted investor Peter Thiel explains how true progress comes not from emulating what already exists but from creating something entirely new. That becomes their competitive advantage. As the book's Amazon page puts it, "Tomorrow's champions will not win by competing ruthlessly in today's marketplace. They will escape competition altogether, because their businesses will be unique."
"The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses" by Eric Ries
In this book, Ries offers start-ups at all levels insight into how to revamp their systems and work more efficiently. He provides practical guidance that can be used to change direction, redefine products and measure progress.
"The Alchemist" by Paul Coelho
This fictional favorite tells the story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy, who searches the world for the treasure he saw in a recurring dream he believes to be prophetic. A central theme of book focuses on how anyone can fulfill their own dreams but many people let the fear of failure hold them back.
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