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Ash Maurya's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Ash Maurya recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Ash Maurya's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
"An excellent summary of what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur. Every person who wants to start the 'next big thing' should read "6 Secrets to Startup Success" before taking the leap forward." -- Guy Kawasaki, cofounder, Alltop.com, and author of "Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions" Over six million Americans start businesses every year. That's 11 startups a minute launched by passionate dreamers hoping to transform their lives for the better. But a huge gap exists between the skyrocketing levels of desire and what entrepreneurs actually achieve. The harsh... more
Recommended by Ash Maurya, and 1 others.

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2
Leverage the framework of visionaries to innovate, disrupt, and ultimately succeed as an entrepreneur The Lean Entrepreneur, Second Edition banishes the "Myth of the Visionary" and shows you how you can implement proven, actionable techniques to create products and disrupt existing markets on your way to entrepreneurial success. The follow-up to the New York Times bestseller, this great guide combines the concepts of customer insight, rapid experimentation, and actionable data from the Lean Startup methodology to allow individuals, teams, or even entire companies to solve... more
Recommended by Ash Maurya, Brant Cooper, and 2 others.

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4
Make your first million and earn a steady income with this updated, essential guide to real estate investing

The collapse in real estate prices from 2007 through 2012 was the most significant event in the real estate industry since the Great Depression. But today, with the real estate market rebounding, a new generation of investors is entering the field, eager to make their fortune.

Building Wealth One House at a Time, 2nd Edition provides you with a practical way to create wealth through an ethical approach of buying, financing, and managing property. Renowned real...
more
Recommended by Ash Maurya, and 3 others.

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5
We live in an age of unparalleled opportunity for innovation. We’re building more products than ever before, but most of them fail—not because we can’t complete what we set out to build, but because we waste time, money, and effort building the wrong product.

What we need is a systematic process for quickly vetting product ideas and raising our odds of success. That’s the promise of Running Lean.

In this inspiring book, Ash Maurya takes you through an exacting strategy for achieving a "product/market fit" for your fledgling venture, based on his own experience in...
more

Garrett MoonRunning Lean by Ash Maurya: Learn to build products the lean way! (Source)

Ola OlusogaFor business, I've read Influence by Robert Cialdini 3 times, and Traction by Gabriel Weinberg twice, so if number of times read indicates favor, then those are it. There are a whole bunch of others, like The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman, Confession of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy, The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, and Running Lean by Ash Maurya, that I've also enjoyed and recommend to... (Source)

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6

Talking to Humans

Success starts with understanding your customers

Ron ConwayExplains how to do the customer development interviews in a way that will get you the most accurate and actionable feedback. (Source)

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7

The War of Art

The Art of War meets "The Artist's Way" in this no-nonsense, profoundly inspiring guide to overcoming creative blocks of every kind. less

James AltucherWhen a writer or an entrepreneur, or a manager, or an employee, or a…whatever…sits down to get to work, he or she is often met by “the resistance”. The excuses that come up: I can’t do this. I am too old. I don’t have enough money. I’m scared. “The War of Art” is the guide to getting through that block. The comfort zone is papered up and cemented shut by our excuses. Learn to blast through that... (Source)

Seth GodinAlso hard to find on audio. I find Steve's voice to be fascinating, and even before I knew him, I was fascinated by listening to him speak his own work. The War of Art is one of those books, at least for me when I finally was exposed to it, I said, 'Why wasn't I informed? Why did it take this long for this book to land on my desk?'... You need to be clear with yourself about what you are afraid... (Source)

Brian KoppelmanTalks about resistance. (Source)

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8

The Goal

A Process of Ongoing Improvement

Written in a fast-paced thriller style, 'The Goal' contains a serious message for all managers in industry and explains the ideas which underline the Theory of Constraints developed by the author. less

Jeff BezosEncourages companies to identify the biggest constraints in their operations and then structure their organizations to get the most out of those constraints. (Source)

Kevin SystromAbout basically manufacturing and supply chain management. It sounds really boring, but I promise you it’s really good. (Source)

Chris GowardHere are some of the books that have been very impactful for me, or taught me a new way of thinking: [...] The Goal. (Source)

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9
A hands-on guide to the metrics that matter most to young tech startups.

In the early stages of a tech startup's life, it's hard to decipher the meaningful
metrics from the distractions. How do you know if your product is working? Is it
the number of new signups? Average amount of time spent on the site? Revenue,
even if you don't have a revenue model yet?

In Scaling Lean, serial entrepreneur and author of the startup cult classic
Running Lean Ash Maurya offers a tactical handbook for measuring and scaling a
tech startup with...
more
Recommended by Eris Ries, Ash Maurya, Dan Olsen, and 3 others.

Eris RiesFollow up to his book Running Lean, that shows how to successfully make the leap from startup to sustainable business. (Source)

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10

Lean Analytics

Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster

Whether you’re a startup founder trying to disrupt an industry or an intrapreneur trying to provoke change from within, your biggest challenge is creating a product people actually want. Lean Analytics steers you in the right direction.

This book shows you how to validate your initial idea, find the right customers, decide what to build, how to monetize your business, and how to spread the word. Packed with more than thirty case studies and insights from over a hundred business experts, Lean Analytics provides you with hard-won, real-world information no entrepreneur...
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Ola OlusogaLike Charlie Munger once said: “I’ve long believed that a certain system - which almost any intelligent person can learn - works way better than the systems most people use [to understand the world]. What you need is a latticework of mental models in your head. And, with that system, things gradually fit together in a way that enhances cognition. Just as multiple factors shape every system,... (Source)

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