The Top 10 Practical Startup Books Every Growth-Obsessed Founder Should Own
A quick search for “startup books” will give you classics like The Lean Startup, Crossing the Chasm, Zero to One, No Rules Rules, Blitzscaling, and The Hard Thing About Hard Things. While these are inspiring and often insightful, they tend to focus on high-level concepts, innovation principles, or the life stories of successful founders.
But when you’re knee-deep in the trenches of startup life—trying to land your first customers, craft your go-to-market strategy, or scale your business—it’s the practical, actionable advice that makes all the difference. That’s why I’ve curated this list of the books I most frequently suggest to founders. I hope you find them helpful.
1. The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick
Every founder knows that customer feedback is crucial, but getting honest, useful insights can feel like pulling teeth. The Mom Test tackles this challenge head-on by showing you how to ask the right questions in customer interviews. Rob Fitzpatrick explains why traditional feedback can be misleading—especially when people want to spare your feelings—and provides a simple framework to cut through the noise.
What makes this book exceptional is its practical, no-nonsense tone. It’s packed with real-world examples of good and bad customer conversations, and Rob explains why well-meaning compliments from potential customers can lead you astray. For any founder struggling with customer discovery or market validation, The Mom Test is a must-read. You’ll walk away with a toolkit to uncover the truth, even when it’s not what you want to hear.
2. Obviously Awesome by April Dunford
Positioning is often misunderstood as just another marketing buzzword, but April Dunford shows why it’s the foundation of any successful startup. In Obviously Awesome, April explains how to position your product so that customers instantly understand its value and relevance. The book is structured around a practical, step-by-step process that walks you through identifying your best-fit customers, defining your product’s unique value, and aligning it with their priorities.
What sets this book apart is its focus on clarity and simplicity. April doesn’t overwhelm you with jargon or abstract theories; instead, she offers concrete exercises and examples to help you craft a positioning statement that actually works. Whether you’re launching a new product or pivoting an existing one, Obviously Awesome will give you the tools to stand out in a crowded market.
3. Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller
Great products don’t sell themselves; they need great stories. Building a StoryBrand provides a framework for crafting a compelling narrative that positions your customer as the hero and your product as the essential guide. Drawing from principles of storytelling and psychology, Donald Miller explains how to clarify your messaging, connect with your audience, and communicate your value in a way that sticks.
The book is packed with actionable advice, from crafting a one-liner that captures your product’s essence to designing a website that converts visitors into customers. Donald’s approach is particularly useful for founders who struggle with branding and marketing, as it simplifies the process without dumbing it down. If you’ve ever felt like your messaging is “off” or your customers don’t fully get your product, this book will be a game-changer.
4. Founding Sales by Peter Kazanjy
Selling is often one of the most daunting aspects of running a startup, especially for founders without a sales background. Founding Sales demystifies the process, offering a detailed, tactical guide to everything from crafting your sales pitch to closing your first deals. Peter Kazanjy draws from his own experience as a founder to explain the nuances of founder-led sales and why it’s so critical in the early stages of a startup.
What makes this book stand out is its depth. Peter doesn’t just tell you what to do; he shows you how to do it, with templates, scripts, and real-world examples. He also tackles common challenges, like handling objections, managing follow-ups, and transitioning from founder-led sales to hiring your first sales team. If the idea of cold-calling prospects or negotiating deals makes you break out in a sweat, this book is your survival guide.
5. Hacking Growth by Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown
Hacking Growth offers a comprehensive look at how startups can achieve scalable growth by embedding experimentation into their culture. Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown introduce a process-driven approach, showing how to optimize customer acquisition, retention, and monetization.
However, it’s essential to approach “growth hacking” with caution. While the term has been popularized for its creative, data-driven strategies, it’s also been criticized for prioritizing short-term wins over long-term value. The authors stress the importance of ethical practices and sustainable growth. Despite being almost 10 years old now, If you’re looking to develop a culture of experimentation in your startup, this book is a great place to start.
6. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
Why do some products become indispensable while others fade into obscurity? Hooked answers this question by diving into the psychology of habit formation. Nir Eyal introduces the Hook Model, a four-step framework (Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, Investment) that explains how products can create lasting user engagement.
That said, it’s important to use these insights responsibly. As Nir himself notes, the goal should be to build products that genuinely enhance users’ lives, not exploit their vulnerabilities. If you’re designing a product that relies on habit formation, this book offers valuable insights—as long as you remember to keep ethics front and center.
7. Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself by Wes Bush
The concept of product-led growth (PLG) has gained significant traction in recent years, and Wes Bush’s book is one of the best resources on the topic. Product-Led Growth explores how startups can use their product as the primary driver of acquisition, activation, and retention. The book is packed with case studies, practical advice, and frameworks to help founders transition from traditional sales-led models to a PLG approach.
One of the book’s strengths is its focus on metrics and experimentation. Wes explains how to identify your product’s “aha moment,” optimize your onboarding process, and measure the effectiveness of your growth efforts. While PLG isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, this book provides a clear roadmap for founders who want to explore this powerful strategy.
8. The High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil
As your startup scales, the challenges you face will evolve. The High Growth Handbook is a comprehensive guide to navigating this transition, covering topics like hiring executives, managing culture, and scaling operations. Elad draws on his experience as an investor and advisor to offer practical advice for founders managing high-growth companies.
While the book leans more toward later-stage challenges, it’s still a valuable resource for early-stage founders who want to plan for the future. The interviews with industry leaders add depth and perspective, making this a must-read for anyone aiming to build a startup that scales sustainably.
9. Shape Up by Ryan Singer
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the complexity of product development, Shape Up offers a refreshing alternative. Ryan Singer introduces a lightweight framework for managing product development that focuses on outcomes rather than outputs. The book emphasizes the importance of clear goals, cross-functional collaboration, and iterative progress.
What sets Shape Up apart is its focus on practicality. Ryan provides detailed guidance on everything from setting project boundaries to managing team workloads, making it an invaluable resource for founders scaling their product and engineering teams.
10. The Growth Equation by Andy Budd
Finally, The Growth Equation ties together many of the themes from these other books into one comprehensive, practical guide. It synthesizes lessons on customer discovery, positioning, sales, growth, and product development into an actionable playbook for founders.
If you don’t have time to read all the other books, I suggest starting with this one. It’s designed to help founders navigate the toughest part of their journey—going from zero to one. With frameworks, real-world examples, and clear next steps, it’s the perfect book to help founders kickstart growth and land the first million in revenue.
Wrapping Up
Unlike some of the more general books out there, this list is full of practical and actionable advice for early stage founders. These are the books I find myself recommending to founders time and time again, so I hope you find them useful on your own startup journey.
Happy reading!