Top 10 Most Engaging Books for Entrepreneurs in 2024

Being an entrepreneur in the year 2022-23, you know owning a business requires a bit of vision and daily doses of inspiration and fresh perspectives to stay updated on the ever-changing world of modern business.

If you think you’ve exhausted the classics or you’re just a bit weary of the big industries’ dinosaurs and their best-selling books, we put together a list of the Top 10 Most Engaging books for Entrepreneurs in 2024:

Books For Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee
• Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins
• Start With Why by Simon Sinek
• Gratitude and Pasta by Chris Schembra
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne
• The Technology Trap: Capital, Labour, and Power in the Age of Automation by Carl Benedikt Frey
• Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups by Ali Tamaseb
• Rework by Jason Fried and David Hansson
• The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau

Let’s dive into the details of all these books for entrepreneurs

AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee

Premonition or just near-future reality? No one can deny that the future is already here, and AI will become a potent tool in the coming days, but how will it impact the world of business and the working class?

Besides grim premonitions about how the new world order will change how we view reality, Dr Lee throws in some potential solutions for the crisis and life lessons too!

Dramatic changes await us and probably much earlier than any of us predicted, so buckle up and explore the infinite possibilities that galloping AI developments will soon unravel through the eyes of Dr Lee!

Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins

Nothing says “I mean business” more than mental strength, self-discipline and working hard despite humble beginnings layered with trauma and abuse. Read about an inspirational man, David Goggins, who embarked on a journey of significant self-transformation from a depressed, overweight individual to the first and only man in history to complete the elite suite of Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training. All of that while also becoming a top endurance athlete.

He shares crucial views on pain, pushing through it, and how anyone can conquer their fear and tap into their incredible potential.

Start With Why by Simon Sinek

According to author Simon Sinek, if you’re a curious cat in the shape of an entrepreneur and always start meetings and conversations with the question ‘why?’ you are most certainly on the right path. 

The “Why?- attitude” is crucial in motivating employees and colleagues alike, regardless of the object of your business.

Understanding your business and purpose in your role as a leader, mentor, etc., will keep you focused on goals(not just KPIs) and the right path as a businessman/woman.

Gratitude and Pasta by Chris Schembra

If you’re hungry for more than just knowledge and craving a wholesome conversation, Chris Schembra’s book is for you! The founder of 7:47 showcases the art of making and keeping long-lasting relationships via intimate dining events, seasoned with a generous portion of gratitude and how that can positively impact working relationships.

Culinary jokes aside, the author also takes us on a journey along the lonely path of the modern-day entrepreneur/CEO and talks about networking, business connections and beyond.

If your dinner party-throwing skills can use some work that will benefit your business, dive right into this one!

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

In the 2011 published book by Economics Nobel Prize Winner Daniel Kahneman, he explains the two main forces that drive our minds in the form of two systems: thinking fast and… slow.

The former is emotional, intuitive, reckless and speedy. The latter – logical, paced and deliberative, and of these come with a set of biases and errors. 

Thinking fast and slow puts the reader in the position to make an impossible choice: trusting the gut feeling or the rationale. It showcases the situations where to use each of them to the fullest for optimal results in our private life or business.

Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne

Big on competition and strategy? Want to read the top required book that executives and MBA students have on their compulsory reading list? Blue Ocean Strategy will reveal its secrets and principles if you trade it for your time and probably what you love. Sometimes business can’t mix with what we’d love to do, the market is a cruel place, and you need to offer uncontested, unique products/services to thrive.But you can still make reality out of your passions. You just have to keep your feet on the ground at all times!

Keep calm and Strategize!

The Technology Trap: Capital, Labour, and Power in the Age of Automation by Carl Benedikt Frey

As entrepreneurs, we love to look to the future of labour, but we should also be knowledgeable of its past and history. The author of The Technology Trap takes us on a journey from the Industrial Revolution to the present day, where automation is replacing more and more human workers in their jobs.

Benefits that were once brought to labourers during the Industrial Revolution are now being taken away by the Computer Revolution. Still, there are other lessons to learn here.

Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups by Ali Tamaseb

This one is for the more data-driven entrepreneurs among us!

What does data of billion-pound startups and their more unlucky, failed counterparts reveal? Get fresh insights from interviews with investors and founders of the biggest companies today(Facebook, Airbnb, YouTube, LinkedIn, Lyft, PayPal, Coinbase) and explore the early days of others(ByteDance- now TikTok, WhatsApp, Dropbox, Discord).

Find out how company success correlates with entrepreneurial traits with this fantastic guide!

Rework by Jason Fried and David Hansson

Keeping things on the startup note, Rework is about Basecamp and Ruby on Rails founders and their personal experiences setting up their startups.

With a clear tone and a technique the opposite of traditional, these authors will surely change the way you work forever!

The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau

If you’re a newbie in the business world, The $100 Startup is a great choice! Unlike other books on business, this one is not apocalyptic, overly technical or… a downer!

Filled with encouragement from the author and complete with quirky ideas, the book reveals that most of the time, the simplest of ideas will make better business ventures, and sometimes… it doesn’t even require that much capital. 

So if you’re at the beginning of your entrepreneurship road, you should get your hands on this gem!