We’ve given you our favorite books for startup founders, but we didn’t want to leave out the investors! Here are seven of our favorite reads for investors, especially those making the transition to private equity:
Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money and Having Fun Investing in Startups is by David Rose, founder of Gust. It currently has 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon. Says Howard Morgan, Founding Partner at First Round Capital, “I recommend this book to anyone even thinking about making or receiving angel investments.”
Startup Wealth: How the Best Angel Investors Make Money in Startups has garnered an impressive 4.8 stars. Author Josh Maher, himself an angel investor, provides an inside look at 23 of the country’s most successful investors. “Required reading whatever side of the investing fence you’re on!” says Gerry Langeler, Managing Director of OVP Venture Partners.
Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist is one of our favorite resources for founders and investors alike, as it takes on all the key issues of fundraising. Written by VC gurus Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, it’s another 4.8-star read. Fred Wilson, Managing Partner of Union Square Ventures, said, “This book is long overdue and badly needed.” Be sure you look for the second edition.
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future is another great book for both founders and investors. Written by noted entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, it addresses the task of creating a truly innovative business, and it has 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon. The Economist review says, “Crisply written, rational and practical, Zero to One should be read not just by aspiring entrepreneurs but by anyone seeking a thoughtful alternative to the current pervasive gloom about the prospects for the world.”
King of Capital: The Remarkable Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone is an Amazon Bestseller that provides, as Fortune describes it, a “broad history of private equity, with Blackstone as the touchstone.” Author David Carey in a senior writer for The Deal, a news service and magazine covering private equity and mergers and acquisitions. Co-author John E. Morris, formerly of The Deal, is an editor with Dow Jones Investment Banker.
The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything by Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Jason Kelly gives a look behind the curtain of the global private equity industry. “At a time when people are wondering what this industry is all about, this is an easy read and a thorough explanation of an important industry and its global presence in our lives,” says Paul Schaye, Managing Director of Chestnut Hill Partners.
The Masters of Private Equity and Venture Capital: Management Lessons from the Pioneers of Private Investing is by Robert Finkel, Founder and President of Prism Capital, and David Greising, a Reuters journalist. It provides interviews with ten leading private equity investors who freely share what they’ve learned through the process of developing a private equity portfolio.
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