Over the last year of indie hacking and speaking to founders, there is a common theme for those that are successful; they all read books. So at the end of every episode of my podcast, Indie Bites, I ask my guests what book they would recommend. I thought it would be handy to compile all of these recommendations into a site for people to reference if they are looking for inspiration.
A curated list of the best books for indie hackers and entrepreneurs. Created by James McKinven, the host of the Indie Bites podcast.
Books
Title
Author
Description
Category
Format Owned / Read
Link
Rating
Status
Matthew Dicks
Never underestimate the power of storytelling across many aspects of life. Stories can help in advertising, to your branding through to doing your sales outreach. This book does into more depth. Recommended by Danny Miranda.
Tony Hsieh
Tony Hsieh was a founder and CEO that many people looked up to while building Zappos, so this book is bound to be good.
Bob Burg
Recommended to me by Brian Jensen, who has felt the ideas in this book has been the key to his businesses success. It talks about the benefits of giving value.
David Allen
Productivity framework recommended to me a few times, but most recently from Michael at Weekend Club as a way to give a little structure to my weekly planning.
Derek Sivers
Been recommended Derek Sivers a few times, most recently featured in Ali Abdaal's productive bucket list video.
Steven Pressfield
I liked the title and it was featured in Daniel Titchener's video about destructive habits.
Hamilton Helmer
Also recommended by Sabba on the IB pod. Better for those that have some revenue and want to learn about business strategy.
Business
To Read
Gabriel Weinberg
Recommended by Sabba on the IB pod. Good for if you're starting out with your business and want to grow.
Business
To Read
Scott Lilienfeld
Recommended by Anne-Laure Le Cunff on the IB pod. Shattering widespread misconceptions about human behaviour.
Psychology
To Read
Nathan Barry
Recommended by Helen Ryles on the IB Pod. "Become an expert, build a following, gain financial independence". I'd say worth a read as I like what NB has done with Convert Kit.
Business
Indie Hacking
To Read
Victor Frankl
Recommended by Harry Dry on the IB pod. A 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War II
Other
To Read
Robert Cialdini
Recommended by Charlie on the IB pod. All about persuasion and understanding the human mind.
Business
Psychology
To Read
Pieter Levels
Famous Indie Hacker and founder of Nomad List talks about building a profitable bootstrapped business. V interested in this one.
Business
Indie Hacking
To Read
Nir Eyal
How to build habit forming products, recommended on the IB pod by Courtland Allen.
Business
Psychology
To Read
Peter Thiel
One for Silicon Valley folks, could have some good learnings about building VC businesses.
Business
To Read
John Warrillow
Comes to mind from Arvid Kahl interview on the IH podcast. All about how you build your business to sell, funnily enough.
Business
To Read
Arvid Kahl
For Bootstrappers, as Arvid built his business to 55k MRR before selling. There is a free handbook to go alongside, so might be worth reading that first.
Business
Indie Hacking
To Read
David Allen
Another that is recommended regularly, mainly in IH circles. Would like to read to apply framework to my own productivity.
Business
Productivity
To Read
Simon Sinek
Leadership book that I've heard bounce around quite often. Again, not hugely interested in reading.
Business
Leadership
To Read
Daniel Kahneman
Get this book recommended to be all the time. Very important for System1 work but comes up in business building more than I expected.
Psychology
To Read
Eric Ries
Famous book about building an MVP. Not that interested in reading.
Business
To Read
Ben Horowitz
Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup.
Business
To Read
Matthew Walker
Watched a bunch of Matt Walker videos learning about napping. Looking forward to reading this before bed to understand the importance of sleep.
Personal Development
Physical
Purchased
Jason Fried & DHH
Book to be taken with a pinch of salt, repeating a lot of what DHH & JF usually chat about. Still agree with a lot of what they day.
Business
Psychology
Audiobook
⭐⭐
Read
Nick Bilton
Third autobiographical business-building story I've listened to. Super interesting to understand the dynamic between Ev Williams and Jack Dorsey.
Business Story
Audiobook
⭐⭐
Read
Nathan Latka
Entertaining story from your favourite hustler, Nathan Latka. A bunch of good ways to make money. Eye opening.
Business
Audiobook
⭐⭐
Read
Richard Shotton
Fascinating learning about the 25 behavioural biases that influences what we buy.
Business
Psychology
Audiobook
⭐⭐
Read
John Carreyrou
Gripping story of how Theranos got away with a bunch of shit. Batshit crazy founder, Elizabeth Holmes.
Business Story
Audiobook
⭐⭐⭐
Read
Phil Knight
Story of how Nike was build from Phil Knight. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Business Story
Audiobook
⭐⭐⭐
Read
James Clear
The best book about changing your habits and improving your life.
Personal Development
Physical
Audiobook
⭐⭐⭐
Read
Paul Jarvis
The book that changed my perspective on business. You don't need to grow a huge, multi-million dollar business to be successful.
Business
Indie Hacking
Audiobook
⭐⭐⭐
Read
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