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FROM THE SHARED SHELF · 2006–2026 SAMPLE

Zero to One

Peter Thiel, Blake Masters

9 readers recommend it across 8 discussions

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THE WORD OF MOUTH

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Original Hacker News comments, in the readers’ own words.

shansense
My list: 1. The mom test (already mentioned) - idea validation 2. Zero to one by Thiel - contrarian original thinking 3. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz - Operating lessons 4. Paul Grahams essays and pretty much all content put out by YC Beyond this it’s all about the nature of the founder and where /how you see value

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xucian
Zero to one The lean startup The 4-hour workweek The subtle art of not giving a f*ck -- What I've found out, biographies are the best thing for me because I always want to know what happens next, but I also learn invaluable lessons from the biographee (just googled this term now and it exists!), so it's a nice mix of story and self-help
lanstein
Advice to Founders and CEOs - Dear Founder (Maynard Webb) - The Hard Things About Hard Things (Ben Horowitz) - Straight Talk for Startups (Randy Komisar and Jantoon Reigersman) - The Founders’ Dilemmas (Noam Wasserman) - The Entrepreneur’s Daily Nietzsche (Brad Feld and Dave Jilk) - Build (Tony Fadell) - Zero to IPO (Frederic Kerrest) - The Great CEO Within (Matt Mochary) Finance - Wharton's Introduction to Financial Accounting course: [https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-accounting](https://w... (https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-accounting]%28https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-accounting%29) - How Finance Works: The HBR Guide to Thinking Smart About the Numbers (Mihir Desai) - Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs: What You Really Need to Know About the Numbers (Karen Berman and Joe Knight) Open-Book Company (Employee Ownership, Financial Literacy, Goal-setting) - The Great Game of Business (Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham) Legal - Acceleration (Ryan Roberts) - The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Law and Strategy (Constance Bagley and Craig Dauchy) Company Strategy and Direction (post-product/market fit) - Crossing the Chasm (Geoff Moore) - Zone to Win (Geoff Moore)…

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rayalez
- "Rationality: From AI to Zombies" - probably the most influential book I've read in my life, profoundly changed the way I think. It's a collection of LessWrong essays on science and rationality. - "On Intelligence" and "I am a Strange Loop" - how mind works. - "Rework", "Zero to One", "Start Small, Stay Small" - insightful startup advice. - Fun autobiographies: Ghost in the Wires (Kevin Mitnick), iWoz (Steve Wozniak), Catch me if you can (Frank Abagnale), Just for Fun (Linus Torvalds), Elon Musk, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! - How companies work: Creativity Inc (Pixar), In the Plex (Google) - On writing: Art of fiction/nonfiction by Ayn Rand, Story by Robert McKee, Save the Cat, Step by Step to Standup Comedy. - Other: The Selfish Gene, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Serious Creativity, Hackers & Painters, Hacking Growth, Angel (on angel investing, by Jason Calacanis). Also collections of essays by Paul Graham [1] and Scott Alexander [2]: [1] https://www.dropbox.com/s/2no0sqybnxurpcd/Paul%20Graham%20-%... (https://www.dropbox.com/s/2no0sqybnxurpcd/Paul%20Graham%20-%20Complete%20Essays.epub?dl=0)…
tlackemann
Blue Ocean Strategy by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim As a software engineer, I've come to really love how good products are built and how to explore new markets. While I don't think it's a life-changing book, it's certainly a good read and I'd recommend it to any engineer that wants to be more product-focused (also Inspired, Creativity Inc, and Zero to One)

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