By interest
Best Books for Entrepreneurs
Sorted by stage, because the book that helps with an idea is little use in year two.
Updated September 2026 · By Sawyer V.
The short version
Buy for the stage they are at. Someone with an idea needs The Lean Startup; someone who has just started trading needs The E-Myth Revisited and The Psychology of Money; someone managing people needs The Hard Thing About Hard Things. A founder's memoir like Shoe Dog suits every stage.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one we earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it does not change which books are here or the order they appear in. Read the full disclosure.
How we picked
We sorted by stage of business rather than by fame, because advice written for venture-backed startups is often wrong for a one-person business. Every book here is about the practice of running a company rather than getting rich. We have not read all eight.
What we do on every list: read the publisher’s own description rather than a summary of it, check print length and first publication year against library catalog data (last refreshed September 11, 2026), confirm the book is still sold in the format we suggest, and write the match line before the blurb. What we do not do is claim to have read every book here cover to cover. The full method is published, and it is written so anyone can check it.
The short answer
Who each book is for, at a glance. Select a row for the full write-up.
| # | Book | Give this if | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  The Lean StartupEric Ries · 336 pagesThe idea stage | they have an idea and have not yet tested it on a customer | |
| 2 |  The E-Myth RevisitedMichael E. Gerber · 268 pagesThe first year of a small business | they are opening a shop, a practice or a service business | |
| 3 |  The Psychology of MoneyMorgan Housel · 289 pagesThe money side | they are good at the work and nervous about money | |
| 4 |  The Hard Thing About Hard ThingsBen HorowitzThe hard middle | they have employees and problems | |
| 5 |  Shoe DogPhil Knight · 386 pagesEvery stage | they need to hear that everyone nearly failed | |
| 6 |  ReworkJason Fried · 279 pagesThe contrarian | they are drowning in startup advice | |
| 7 |  Company of OnePaul Jarvis · 272 pagesThe deliberately small business | they want a business that funds a life, not an empire | |
| 8 |  Bad BloodJohn Carreyrou · 352 pagesThe cautionary tale | they have a sense of humor about their industry |
#ad — buying through these links earns us a commission at no cost to you. No price is printed because we do not run a live price feed, and a remembered number would be a guess.
Eight, by stage
1. The idea stage
The Lean Startup
Eric Ries
Give this ifthey have an idea and have not yet tested it on a customer
The case for building the smallest version of a product, putting it in front of real customers and changing course fast. It has become the default vocabulary of early-stage business, so it doubles as a way into every conversation they are about to have.
- Print length
- 336 pages
- First published
- 2011
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
2. The first year of a small business
The E-Myth Revisited
Michael E. Gerber
Give this ifthey are opening a shop, a practice or a service business
Why most small businesses stall: the founder keeps doing the work instead of building a business that does it. It is written for the bakery and the plumbing company rather than the tech startup, which is who most founders actually are.
One caveat: Repetitive in places. The central idea is worth it.
- Print length
- 268 pages
- First published
- 1995
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
3. The money side
The Psychology of Money
Morgan Housel
Give this ifthey are good at the work and nervous about money
Short chapters on why behavior matters more than knowledge when it comes to money. It is not a business book, which is the point: a founder whose income is about to become irregular needs a calm head about money before they need a spreadsheet.
- Print length
- 289 pages
- First published
- 2020
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
4. The hard middle
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Ben Horowitz
Give this ifthey have employees and problems
A founder's account of running a company through near-collapse, and of the decisions — layoffs, demotions, bad news — that business books usually skip. It is written about tech companies, but the chapters on people apply everywhere.
- First published
- 2014
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
5. Every stage
Shoe Dog
Phil Knight
Give this ifthey need to hear that everyone nearly failed
Phil Knight's memoir of the early years of Nike, when the company was repeatedly weeks from running out of money. It is encouraging precisely because it hides none of the mistakes.
- Print length
- 386 pages
- First published
- 2014
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
6. The contrarian
Rework
Jason Fried
Give this ifthey are drowning in startup advice
Short, blunt essays from two software founders arguing against most conventional business wisdom — long plans, meetings, growth for its own sake. Each chapter is a page or two, so it fits the gaps in a founder's day.
- Print length
- 279 pages
- First published
- 2010
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
7. The deliberately small business
Company of One
Paul Jarvis
Give this ifthey want a business that funds a life, not an empire
The case for staying small on purpose: fewer employees, fewer investors, more control. It is the necessary counterweight to a shelf that assumes every founder wants to scale.
- Print length
- 272 pages
- First published
- 2019
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
8. The cautionary tale
Bad Blood
John Carreyrou
Give this ifthey have a sense of humor about their industry
The rise and fall of Theranos, reported by the journalist who broke the story. It reads like a thriller, and it is a better lesson in why honesty with investors and customers matters than any chapter on ethics.
One caveat: Give it with a smile, not as a warning.
- Print length
- 352 pages
- First published
- 2018
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
Why stage matters more than fame
Business books are written for particular kinds of company, and the difference is rarely on the cover. A book about venture-backed growth can actively mislead someone opening a café, and a small-business manual is little use to a founder raising money.
So before choosing, find out two things: is the business still an idea or already trading, and is it meant to grow large or stay small? Those two answers sort this entire shelf.
The quick match
| If they are | Give | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Testing an idea | The Lean Startup | It is about finding out cheaply whether anyone wants it |
| Opening a shop or practice | The E-Myth Revisited | It is written for exactly that business |
| Nervous about money | The Psychology of Money | A calm head about money comes before a spreadsheet |
| Managing people for the first time | The Hard Thing About Hard Things | It covers the decisions other books skip |
| Wanting to stay small | Company of One | It argues for what they already want |
| At any stage | Shoe Dog | Everyone needs to hear that everyone nearly failed |
They will not have time to read
The honest problem with this gift is that a new founder has less spare time than at almost any point in their life. Two ways around it: choose a book in short chapters, like Rework, or give it as audio, since founders tend to spend their reading time in cars and on trains. The subscription panel on this page explains which service suits that.
If the business is a side project alongside a job, books to give a boss and personal finance for beginners are the adjacent shelves, and investing for beginners covers what to do once the business makes money.
Two ways to read this list for less
If several books here appeal, a subscription usually beats buying them one at a time — but only for the right kind of reader. Here is who each one actually suits.
Audible Premium Plus
For anyone whose hands are busy
Driving, walking, cooking, cleaning. It converts hours that were never available for reading, which is a bigger effect than any discount. Books bought with a credit stay yours after you cancel — titles from the included catalog do not, and confusing the two is the most common complaint about the service.
See Audible plans and current pricingHow Audible actually works — credits, gifting and what happens when you cancel.
Kindle Unlimited
For fast readers who browse
It pays off from about three ebooks a month, in the genres the catalog covers well — romance, romantasy, cozy mystery, thriller, progression fantasy. It does not pay off if you are waiting on a specific new hardcover, because those are usually not included. Everything is borrowed, not owned.
See Kindle Unlimited terms and pricingIs Kindle Unlimited worth it? — the arithmetic, done on your own reading.
#ad — how we are funded. We print no subscription prices anywhere on this site, because they change and a stale figure sends you to a checkout expecting something that is not there. And if you read in silence in a chair, neither of these is for you — buy the book, or borrow it from your library.
What we would skip
Get-rich and hustle books
Anything promising passive income, a four-hour week or a fortune by thirty. They sell well and they are the wrong gift for someone actually starting a business, because they are about the dream of money rather than the work of running a company. The books above are about the second thing.
Questions people ask
What is the best book for a new entrepreneur?
It depends on the stage. The Lean Startup for someone testing an idea, The E-Myth Revisited for someone opening a small business, and Shoe Dog for anyone who needs to hear that everyone nearly fails.
What book should I give someone starting a small business?
The E-Myth Revisited, which is written for owner-run businesses rather than venture-backed startups, and The Psychology of Money for the calm head about money that an irregular income demands.
Are startup books useful for a small business?
Often not. Advice written for companies raising investment can be wrong for a business meant to stay small, which is why this list is sorted by stage.
What if they have no time to read?
Give a book in short chapters, like Rework, or the audiobook. New founders spend a lot of time commuting and very little sitting still.
Sources
- Open Library Search API — First publication year, median print length and cover art for every book on this page. Queried 8 September 2026.
- Audible Premium Plus membership page — The only authoritative source for current Audible plans, prices and terms.
Read next
- Best Books to Give Your Boss
Eight books a boss will enjoy rather than read as feedback, sorted by how well you know them.
- Best Personal Finance Books for Beginners
Eight personal finance books for beginners, sorted by the problem each one solves.
- Best Investing Books for Beginners
Eight investing books for beginners, from the case for index funds to the classic to save for later.
- Best Books to Give as Graduation Gifts
Seven books for a week when everyone else is handing out advice.
- Best Book Gifts for Him
Seven books with forward pull, including the ones that convert people who say they do not read.