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.
8 books on Finance for fundraising
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Read your own financials and understand what the numbers really mean.
A practical guide that teaches entrepreneurs how to read and use the three core financial statements: income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow. It demystifies...
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A two-sided guide to playing the venture game and winning.
Jeffrey Bussgang draws on his experience as both founder and VC, plus interviews with entrepreneurs like Jack Dorsey and Reid Hoffman, to explain how the venture game...
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A toolkit for how VCs value, structure, and fund a company.
Berkery lays out the mechanics of how venture capitalists finance companies: what they look for in a business plan, how they value an early-stage venture, and how they...
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A century-old trader's tale on greed, fear, and timing.
Told as the memoir of speculator Larry Livingston, the book traces a trader's rise, ruin, and recovery across early twentieth century markets. It captures the...
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An insider's field guide to how venture capital really works.
Scott Kupor of Andreessen Horowitz pulls back the curtain on how venture capital firms raise money, choose startups, and structure deals. He walks founders through...
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A clause-by-clause walkthrough of a real VC term sheet.
This short, practical guide breaks down a venture capital term sheet section by section, explaining what each clause means and what can be negotiated. It includes an...
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Inside secrets on venture capital from the people who run it.
Romans compiles advice and insider perspectives from leading venture capitalists, angel investors, and entrepreneurs on how startup funding really works. The book...
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Decode the term sheet so you can negotiate as an equal.
Two experienced venture capitalists walk founders through exactly how a venture deal works, from term sheets and valuations to the economics and control provisions...
Questions, answered
What books do founders recommend?
Founders on the eChai network recommend titles like Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs, Mastering the VC Game, and Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur. 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.
