Best Venture Capital Books

Book rating updated 7.03.2024

Here is list of the best venture capital books of all time: those that cover the keys to successful venture funding, as far as innovation and business philosophy go. You get timeless wisdom from the best investors who take you through the VC world.

  1. Zero to One

    4.5
    35 949 ratings
    Peter Thiel
    In the book by Peter Thiel, there is guidance on how to change the way a good startup should be created. He points out to create something entirely new rather than competing within the already existing market. He goes on to say that true innovation can only be experienced when one manages to move from zero to one and not when what is already out there is copied. He goes on to give actionable advice to entrepreneurs on how they should think and put in place to create a unique and valuable company. This guide is essential for anyone looking to start their own business and innovate in their field.
  2. The Hard Thing About Hard Things

    4.6
    13 855 ratings
    Ben Horowitz
    This book offers readers a key insight into building and running a startup. It covers tough decisions and challenges entrepreneurs face, giving insights into the author's personal experiences. It focuses on problem-solving and leadership in difficult situations, underlying that in business there are no easy answers. It is a guide that helps maneuver the twists and turns of startup life by availing practical wisdom to overcome challenges on the way to success. Good for those currently running businesses or those who aspire to, this piece demonstrates how to forge ahead in the tough things that come with being the head-top of a company.
  3. Angel

    4.6
    1 413 ratings
    Jason Calacanis
    Full of personal anecdotes and practical advice, this book on angel investing in Silicon Valley is a handbook through the highly convoluted world of startup and tech innovation. Applying common experience from the world of angel investing, essential reading must-have maps out strategies by which to seek out the most hopeful startups. The book is definitely a guide essential to move around this intricate and high-stakes environment in which any would-be future tech landscape investor will do well to become acquainted. End of personal.
  4. Secrets of Sand Hill Road

    4.6
    1 034 ratings
    Scott Kupor
    Recommended by: Sam Altman
    Insider's guide to the world of venture capital, demystifying the process of securing funding for startups. It is a practical guide for the successful entrepreneur in his trip throughout the venture capital world: from pitching an idea to the negotiation of a deal. Besides, it offers resourceful information on the dos and don'ts that would guarantee an innovator maximum chances of winning an investor. A book by the managing partner of Andreessen Horowitz, one of the leading VC firms in the world.
  5. 7 Powers

    4.5
    822 ratings
    Hamilton Helmer
    The insightful work dices the essence of ultimate strategic success in business into seven core strategies, from scale economies to branding. Using new examples from leading companies, this excellent book shows how to gain a lasting edge over competitors. This sensitive book, addressed to leaders and leading venture entrepreneurs seeking addresses, offers a clear framework not only to understand but to leverage forces that shape industry power so that one can aspire to build a dominant business.
  6. Founders at Work

    4.4
    639 ratings
    Jessica Livingston
    Recommended by: Julie Zhuo
    Insightful interviews with founders and builders of the most successful startups provide rare insights into trials and victories won in building companies from scratch. Their insightful interviews offer invaluable lessons on perseverance, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit that are useful to upcoming entrepreneurs or any other interested party willing to peep behind the curtain covering challenges and struggles from the tech industry, including interactions with venture capital firms.
  7. The Power Law

    4.7
    776 ratings
    Sebastian Mallaby
    The book researched the impact of venture capital on the tech industry and the general economy, giving special attention to one of the principles characterizing such impact: the power law in defining success. It generally describes the high stakes of the world of startup financing and the outsized returns of the most successful investments, highlighting the dynamic interactions between entrepreneurs and VCs in shaping the landscape.
  8. Mastering the VC Game

    4.4
    504 ratings
    Jeffrey Bussgang
    That is on firsthand experience within the VC world, this book demystifies venture capital for entrepreneurs and provides an interface into the considerations that investors are taking. It comes as a guideline to concrete composition on how to master the art of receiving venture capital including the strategies that fit in the gulf between start-ups and investors.
  9. The Art of Startup Fundraising

    4.4
    408 ratings
    Alejandro Cremades
    A classic tome on entrepreneurship has been a practical roadmap to lure venture capital by startup founders. It's going to drop actionable advice on the core from crafting bulletproof pitches to understand the nuances in the investment process. Essential dart, entrepreneurs, need to guide their warrens of fundraising and the securing investments necessary to grow.
  10. Term Sheets & Valuations

    4.3
    324 ratings
    Alex Wilmerding
    Alex Wilmerding covers all the bases with his treatment of term sheets and valuations in the venture capital and angel investing worlds. This book is the ultimate guide to the complexities of venture capital deal negotiation and brings the reader to full comprehension of all the financial and legal facets. Good for entrepreneurs and investors, it slices through the complexities of start-up chaos, red tape, and deal-making to the ability to get the needed funds.
  11. Venture Capital For Dummies

    4.6
    210 ratings
    Nicole Gravagna, Peter K. Adams
    It is written for beginners, so it does not wade too deep into the complexities involved in venture capital, but gives brilliant clarity on how to steer it. From seminal VC concepts and principles to a clear step-by-step guide, it is likely to prove a friendly source for those budding entrepreneurs who are stepping forth into the world of venture capital as they go about laying the fundamentals in their fundraising efforts.
  12. eBoys

    4.5
    159 ratings
    Randall E. Stross
    Recommended by: Bill Gurley
    It tells the adventure capital firm's story during the late 1990s investment in internet startups, having captured the pleasures and difficulties of the dot-com era. Through eBoys' experience, it delivers a behind-the-scenes account, both of life in the venture capital world and of entrepreneurship, as well as of the tech bubble, and from that devolves instructive lessons for the next generation.
  13. The Business of Venture Capital

    4.7
    144 ratings
    Mahendra Ramsinghani
    This comprehensive guide goes through the various ins and outs of the venture capital industry, starting from handling the funds to dealing with art. This work is designed for professionals in the area and therefore is a very thorough review of the principles of prosperous venture investment, naturally seeming to be a must-read for someone who would like to understand the VC business in detail.
  14. VC

    4.6
    143 ratings
    Tom Nicholas
    The informed analysis is on America's venture capital scene that has morphed over the past few decades, its role feeding the innovation and growth of the economy, and the spillover or wealth destruction effects of VC on the tech industry through engaging case studies that dig on the challenges and opportunities facing today's entrepreneurs and investors.
  15. The Startup Game

    4.1
    149 ratings
    William H. Draper III
    By way of personal stories and an amazing career in venture capital, she provides great insights into the way investors and entrepreneurs relate and the ways in which the investor/entrepreneur relationship evolves. This will help in finally understanding how industries change, the art of investing, and even more so, the necessity for mutual respect and partnership in order to propel the success of any startup.
  16. The Entrepreneurial Bible to Venture Capital

    4.4
    136 ratings
    Andrew Romans
    With the latest updates on the subject, this book unravels the bottom line behind successful venture capital investors to entrepreneurs and investors. This brings out everything that one may need to know about VC funding, from how it works—its strategies on finally getting to a successful exit. It is a must-have for this volume.
  17. Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur

    4.4
    92 ratings
    Dermot Berkery
    Such tailored advice is directly geared at those serious entrepreneurs about what it really takes to make a successful venture capital raise, from researching investor expectations and preparing a business to finally delivering a compelling business presentation - this will steer them through the equity financing landscape in a bid to propel startups to the next level of growth.
  18. Creative Capital

    4.6
    82 ratings
    Spencer E. Ante
    Having taken an overview of the early history and evolution of venture capital in the United States, these describe VC as it has been a prime mover, quite literally, in the creating of new industries and innovation. Discussing mega-bets, sprawling open tech giants that created from nothing more than just pure intellectual capital, this sets down the innovational power of creative capital in groundbreaking terms and depicts the deep effects those have been left on business by the venture capital industry.

FAQ

  • What are the best venture capital books ever written?

    These are the top 10 best books for venture capitalists of all time and for this year (2024) sorted by rating:

    1. "Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days" by Jessica Livingston
    2. "The Entrepreneurial Bible to Venture Capital: Inside Secrets from the Leaders in the Startup Game" by Andrew Romans
    3. "The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products That Win" by Steve Blank
    4. "Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future" by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters
    5. "Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It" by Scott Kupor
    6. "The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses" by Eric Ries
    7. "Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist" by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson
    8. "Venture Capital for Dummies" by Nicole Gravagna and Peter Adams
    9. "Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups—Timeless Advice from an Angel Investor Who Turned $100,000 into $100,000,000" by Jason Calacanis
    10. "The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers" by Ben Horowitz.

    These books will help you better understand the world of venture capital.

  • What are the most popular authors of VC books?

    Here are authors of good books about venture capital investing:

    • Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson
    • Scott Kupor
    • Peter Thiel
    • Jeffrey Bussgang
    • Andrew Romans
    • Sebastian Mallaby
    • Mahendra Ramsinghani.
  • What book should you start with to explore the topic of venture capital?

    List of must read venture capital investing books for beginners:

    1. Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson
    2. Secrets of Sand Hill Road by Scott Kupor
    3. The Entrepreneurial Bible to Venture Capital by Andrew Romans.

    Every aspiring VC should read these books.

  • What is the difference between Venture Capital and Private Equity?

    The venture capital firm traditionally invests in start-ups at earlier stages with growth potential business ideas, while private equity invests with the acquisition of majority stake in already established companies to restructure and improve the operations and financial performance.

List of top rated VC books everyone should read. Best sellers only!