Books Recommended by Andreas Zhou
Read the interview: Andreas Zhou
7 books recommended by Andreas Zhou
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
Thiel's philosophy of "competition is for losers" rings very true. It's a book that will make you stop and think about what kind of business you're building and what kind of impact you're having before you start.
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
by Ashlee Vance
A good lesson on risk, determination and relentlessness. Inspirational and somewhat polarising story.
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It
So around 10 years ago I stumbled into starting a small digital design agency with John Goleby who I met at school. We both dropped out to pursue this business which quickly became all consuming. I think at around the 2-3 year mark we were… Read the full quote
So around 10 years ago I stumbled into starting a small digital design agency with John Goleby who I met at school. We both dropped out to pursue this business which quickly became all consuming. I think at around the 2-3 year mark we were dealing with all the typical small business problems like growth and staff when I came across this book. Reading it for the first time many of the points brought up by Michael Gerber hit so close to home I was left wondering if somehow he'd written the book just for me. It completely changed the way I thought about my own role in the business, and how to set up the business in a way that could grow sustainably.
The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime
by MJ DeMarco
Great read to help get you into the mindset of building a scalable business to create wealth quickly vs following the stereotypical career path.
How Google Works
by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg
After reading How Google Works I just became fascinated with Google culture and I hope to understand a bit more about what unique things they're doing right that we aren't.
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
My elementary school teacher gave me a copy of this book as a present and I think I read it at least 20 times. I was fascinated by the 'survival' theme and Paulsen tells the story in such a visceral way he really transports you… Read the full quote
My elementary school teacher gave me a copy of this book as a present and I think I read it at least 20 times. I was fascinated by the 'survival' theme and Paulsen tells the story in such a visceral way he really transports you to the location and you feel every bit of cold, fear and hunger that the main character does.
Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality
by Scott Belsky
I still use some of the methods this book teaches around productivity. It also teaches some very important lessons around how to break out of 'analysis paralysis' and actually execute on ideas.