We plan to bring eChai across 100 cities in India. It starts with eChai Startup Demo Day on 26 September, all in person. 13 cities confirmed, 628 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city

The Founder Bookshelf

Books founders recommend to each other. Browse by topic or by where you are as you grow, mark what you've read, and add what's next.

2 books on Founder Memoirs

  1. Backstage: The Story Behind India's High Growth Years cover

    Montek Singh Ahluwalia

    An insider's account of the reforms that powered India's growth.

    Backstage is part memoir and part economic history, recounting Ahluwalia's role in India's liberalization and high-growth years. He offers a behind-the-scenes view of...

  2. The Z Factor cover

    Subhash Chandra with Pranjal Sharma

    How a small-town outsider built India's first private TV empire.

    The Z Factor is the autobiography of Subhash Chandra, founder of Zee TV and the Essel Group. He recounts his rise from a family grain-trading business in Haryana to...

Questions, answered

What books do founders recommend?

Founders on the eChai network recommend titles like Backstage: The Story Behind India's High Growth Years and The Z Factor. The bookshelf ranks books by how many founders have read them.

Where can I find a startup reading list?

The eChai founder bookshelf is a curated, founder-recommended reading list you can browse by topic (fundraising, product, hiring) and by stage.

How is the bookshelf ordered?

By recommendation: the more founders mark a book read, the higher it ranks. You can also sort by newest or A to Z.

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