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.
5 books on Finance for leading at scale
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The foundational text that built modern value investing.
First published in 1934 in the wake of the Great Depression, Security Analysis is the rigorous, technical foundation of value investing. Graham and Dodd lay out a...
1 founder recommends Get the book ↗
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Economic freedom is the foundation of political freedom.
Friedman argues that competitive capitalism and free markets are essential to individual liberty and political freedom. He makes the case for limited government and...
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The world is shifting from owning products to subscribing to outcomes.
Tzuo argues that customers increasingly prefer ongoing access over one-time ownership, pushing every industry toward subscription models. The first half traces the...
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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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Eight contrarian CEOs who crushed the market by mastering capital allocation.
The book profiles eight unconventional CEOs (including Warren Buffett, Tom Murphy, and Katharine Graham) whose companies dramatically outperformed the S&P 500. Their...
Questions, answered
What books do founders recommend?
Founders on the eChai network recommend titles like Security Analysis, Capitalism and Freedom, and Subscribed. 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.
