Recommended Books, Podcasts, and Courses for Startup Enthusiasts
Starting a new business can be an exciting yet daunting endeavor. As an entrepreneur, you need all the help you can get to increase your chances of success. One of the best ways to gain valuable insights is by learning from those who have been there before. Books, podcasts, and courses created by seasoned founders and investors are loaded with hard-earned lessons, case studies, frameworks, and best practices.
Consuming these information sources helps equip budding entrepreneurs with the right knowledge and skills to start strong and scale effectively. To help you get started, here are some of the top recommended books, podcasts, and courses for startup enthusiasts in 2022:
Top 10 Recommended Books
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries – This book pioneered the lean startup methodology which emphasizes iterative product releases and customer feedback over lengthy planning. Essential reading for software entrepreneurs.
- Zero to One by Peter Thiel – PayPal co-founder and renowned investor Peter Thiel offers contrarian insights on how to build an impactful tech business in a unique way.
- Traction by Gabriel Weinberg – An actionable playbook for startup growth hacking using various marketing and sales channels.
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz – Ben’s raw reflections on the harder truths of entrepreneurship that you won’t find in classes.
- Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman – LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman’s lightning-fast scaling strategies for unicorns like Airbnb, Facebook, Google etc.
- The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen – All about disruptive innovation and how startups can challenge incumbents. Still hugely relevant decades after publication.
- Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore – The bible for marketing and selling disruptive tech products to mainstream customers.
- The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick – Essential tips for customer discovery interviews to extract real insights (not just compliments).
- The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau – Inspiring stories and actionable advice for launching highly profitable micro-businesses.
- Venture Deals by Brad Feld – An insider’s perspective on venture capital financing and startup fundraising from a VC.
Top 10 Recommended Podcasts
- How I Built This – Engaging startup origin stories from Guy Raz interviewing founders of major companies like Stripe, Airbnb, Spanx, etc.
- This Week in Startups – Jason Calacanis hosts candid conversations largely focused on the LA tech scene.
- Startup – Raw journeys of building companies like Gimlet Media itself, Dating Ring, and more.
- Masters of Scale – Reid Hoffman explores scaling challenges with big names like Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Eric Schmidt.
- The Pitch – Fascinating presentations from early-stage startups trying to convince real investors to fund them.
- a16z – The esteemed Silicon Valley VC firm Andreessen Horowitz shares market insights and trends.
- Indie Hackers – Interviews developers behind profitable online businesses built on their own.
- The Tim Ferriss Show – Tim deconstructs tactics from top performers applicable to startups too.
- Startup School Radio – Companion to YCombinator’s free course featuring alumni interviews and lessons.
- The $100 MBA Show – Omar Zenhom demystifies essential business lessons and concepts in bite-sized episodes.
Top 5 Recommended Courses
- Stanford University Startup Engineering – Learn the Lean Launchpad method for testing and validating new ventures.
- YCombinator’s Startup School – Build and iterate on ideas guided by advice from YC founders and partners.
- EDx Entrepreneurship 101 – Introduction to entrepreneurship covering opportunity recognition, business models, startup financing, and more.
- Udemy The Complete Startup Launch Roadmap – Steer from ideation to product-market fit with help from startup coach Dhaval Chadha.
- Coursera Entrepreneurship Specialization – Sequence exploring creativity, startup teams, business models, fundraising, and launching.
Additional Recommended Resources
- Books – The Lean Product Playbook, The Art of the Start, Venture Deals, The Founder’s Dilemma, Inspired, The E-Myth Revisited.
- Podcasts – Acquired, StartUp Podcast, Entrepreneurs on Fire, The Pitch, Business Wars Daily, Masters of Scale, How I Built This.
- Online Communities – Indie Hackers, Startup School Forum, Hacker News, In Search of Beta, Betalist.
- Blogs/Publications – Paul Graham Essays, a16z, First Round Review, Y Combinator Blog, TechCrunch, Forbes.
- Newsletters – Morning Brew, The Hustle, Nat Eliason’s Newsletter, Andrew Chen’s Blog.
- Conferences – SaaStr Annual, Lean Startup Week, Startup Grind Global.
- Influencers To Follow – Naval Ravikant, Elad Gil, Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin, Sahil Lavingia, Ryan Hoover.
FAQs on Resources for Startup Enthusiasts
Which is the best startup podcast on Spotify?
Some of the top startup and business podcasts on Spotify are Masters of Scale hosted by Reid Hoffman, How I Built This with Guy Raz, The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and This Week in Startups with Jason Calacanis.
What are some good tech startup podcasts?
For tech startups, recommended podcasts include a16z from Andreessen Horowitz, Acquired focused on tech acquisitions, Indie Hackers featuring founders of profitable online businesses, and Product Hunt Radio covering new product launches.
Which podcast episode talks about the early days of a startup?
On the show StartUp by Gimlet Media, Season 1 Episode 1 ‘How Not to Pitch a Billionaire’ chronicles Alex Blumberg’s journey of starting the podcasting company from scratch in 2014. It provides rare insights into the messy early-stage challenges of turning an idea into a business.
What are the top 10 business podcasts?
Top business podcast picks are How I Built This, Masters of Scale, The Tim Ferriss Show, StartUp, HBR Ideacast, Entrepreneurs on Fire, The $100 MBA Show, The Dave Ramsey Show, Planet Money, and The Prof G Show.
Which podcast is best for beginner investors?
For investors just starting out, recommended podcasts include Invest Like the Best with Patrick O’Shaughnessy, The Investors Podcast, Motley Fool Money, The Dave Ramsey Show, and BiggerPockets Money Podcast.
What are some of the best books on startups?
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, Zero to One by Peter Thiel, The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, and Venture Deals by Brad Feld are among the most highly recommended books for startup founders and teams.
What is the number 1 podcast recommended for entrepreneurs?
The Tim Ferriss Show is frequently cited as the top startup and business podcast. Tim deconstructs world-class performers from all walks of life including entrepreneurs to extract tactical insights applicable to startups.
Where can I find a list of the top 50 business podcasts?
Some leading aggregators like Chartable maintain rankings of top business podcasts based on listenership and engagement. Others like HubSpot, Entrepreneur, Business Insider publish regularly updated lists of best business podcasts across categories like marketing, productivity, leadership etc.
What podcasts do successful entrepreneurs recommend?
How I Built This is recommended by many founders. Others like Naval Ravikant suggest Tim Ferriss, Masters of Scale, and Invest Like The Best. The a16z podcast is popular in Silicon Valley along with IndieHackers for software entrepreneurs.
Which is better – books or podcasts for startup advice?
Both serve different needs. Books provide comprehensive advice you can revisit. Podcasts offer more convenience and bite-sized insights from practitioners. Ideal to consume both books like Zero to One and podcasts like Masters of Scale for well-rounded learning.
Summing it Up
In the dynamic world of entrepreneurship, your learning should never stop. Leverage books distilling decades of wisdom, podcasts with intimate founder interviews, online communities to tap collective experiences and conferences to gain outside perspectives. Consume these resources voraciously, identify the signals from the noise and blend it with your own unique entrepreneurial journey.
