8 books in this topic
Strategy books help founders answer two questions that no amount of hustle can replace: where should we compete, and why would we win there? This shelf covers contrarian thinking from Peter Thiel, market creation from Blue Ocean Strategy, practical choice-making from Playing to Win and the economics of platforms.
Read them once you have early traction or before a big decision such as a pivot, a new market or a fundraise. Each book on this shelf gives you a different lens on the same decision.
The oldest book here is Blue Ocean Strategy (2005); the newest is Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. (2023).
W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Two INSEAD professors argue that the best growth comes from creating new demand instead of beating rivals on price. They give founders visual tools to redraw what a product offers and who it serves.
First published 2005Scott Galloway
NYU professor Scott Galloway dissects four tech giants and the human instincts each one feeds. He lists the traits that let a company reach enormous scale and adds blunt career advice.
First published 2017Alex Moazed and Nicholas L. Johnson
Two people from the platform consultancy Applico explain why companies that connect buyers and sellers beat companies that make things. The book breaks down how platforms start, grow and fail.
First published 2016Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van Alstyne and Sangeet Paul Choudary
Three platform researchers explain why networked markets beat traditional pipeline businesses. They cover network effects, launch tactics, pricing, openness and rules for keeping a marketplace healthy.
First published 2016A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin
The former head of Procter & Gamble and a leading strategy professor show that strategy is a short set of linked choices. Their 5 questions turn vague ambitions into decisions a team can act on.
First published 2013Arthur Yeung and Dave Ulrich
Two organisation experts study firms such as Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, Amazon and Google to show how companies swap rigid hierarchy for small teams backed by shared platforms. They give leaders a framework for redesigning structure.
First published 2019Colin C. Campbell
A serial founder who built and sold several internet companies walks through the 4 stages of a venture. He checks people, money, story and systems at each stage and adds advice from dozens of other founders and experts.
First published 2023Peter Thiel and Blake Masters
Thiel argues that real progress comes from building something new instead of copying what works. He makes the case for small, defensible monopolies and for founders who bet on truths others miss.
First published 2014Or browse the full directory of 100 startup books.