Best Books About the Tech World
Getting into the tech scene, the world of startups, investors, and technology; is challenging if you didn’t study engineering or business. I know, I was there myself four years ago. Acronyms and weird words get thrown around, and lot and in people seem to live in a completely different world, where, for example, Airbnb is not just a web service, but one of the many companies which’s founders you should know by name.
In the past few years, I have read a lot about startups, investors, technology companies, and their founders. These eight books have, in my opinion, provided the best overview of how the tech scene works. These books talk about how startups function, why some companies can get millions of dollars to develop what is essentially just an idea into reality, and of course, why the tech scene is far from perfect. They are mostly well written, but their value, however, ability to depict the cogs of the tech world.
Although these books can be read in any order, reading them in this order should provide the best experience for beginners and people new to the tech scene.
Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble
by Dan Lyons
A former technology journalist gets fired and joins a Boston-based startup with 100 million dollars of venture capital in the bank. The book gets crazier with every page until the true state of Silicon Valley is revealed.
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters
To disrupt is to progress as a society declares Peter Thiel, the founder of Paypal, in a book that was originally a collection of lecture notes. Thiel’s thesis of value creation is very much part of today’s tech scene, and the something you will come across often.
Lab Rats: How Silicon Valley Made Work Miserable for the Rest of Us
by Dan Lyons
A book about what makes working in the technology scene crazy. Will make you question the teachings of lean startup and agile, as well see the other side of being overly efficient in everything we do.
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
by Sheryl Sandberg
Book from COO of Facebook, that urges women to take risks and passionately seek new challenges to get ahead in the corporate world. As the book is set in Silicon Valley, it pairs quite nicely with Brotopia and Lab Rats.
Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys’ Club of Silicon Valley
by Emily Chang
Bloomberg technology journalist Emily Chang, reveals how for women, Silicon Valley is not a utopia, but sexist, discriminatory and misogynistic Brotopia. A place where VCs say they “won’t lower their standards to hire women” and the leaders on the top are mainly white males advocating for
Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It
by Scott Kupor
This book is about one thing: how to read the mind of an investor. Of course, it touches on subjects such as IPOs, startup boards, and term sheets but mostly from the perspective of venture capitalists.
Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It
by Mike Monteiro
Everything around you was designed by someone, and even the most harmful things, such as guns, are working precisely the way they were designed. You will learn why diverse teams matter, and why design is more than just building nice looking things, it is a political act.
Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist
by Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson
Even more thorough look at how venture capital works than Secrets of Sandhill road, and how it is structured to seek growth and growing profits. One should not even talk to investors before reading this book.
Originally published at https://www.lahteenlahti.com.
