Decoded logoDecoded
Startups, Careers & Building Something That Matters

EXPLORE

Startup & Career Reading List

A curated path through entrepreneurship, decision-making, money, and careers, from accessible starts to serious challenges.

Type
Reading list
Difficulty
All levels
Length
Curated list

Start wherever your comfort is. Each recommendation is a real, well-known book; pick one from 'Start here' before climbing into the harder shelves. Difficulty is a rough guide, not a rule, and none of these is investment advice.

START HERE

Accessible starting points for students.

  • Zero to One

    BEGINNER

    Peter Thiel with Blake Masters

    A short, provocative take on what it means to build something genuinely new rather than copy what exists. A good first lens on startups.

  • The Psychology of Money

    BEGINNER

    Morgan Housel

    Readable essays on how people actually behave around money, risk, and luck. A gentle, honest entry to the ideas in Money 101.

  • Range

    BEGINNER

    David Epstein

    The case for exploring broadly before specialising. Pairs directly with the idea that careers are lattices, not ladders.

GO DEEPER

Entrepreneurship, decision-making, economics, and investing.

  • The Lean Startup

    INTERMEDIATE

    Eric Ries

    The standard reference on MVPs, experiments, and validated learning. It formalises much of Startup 101.

  • Thinking, Fast and Slow

    INTERMEDIATE

    Daniel Kahneman

    How the mind makes decisions, and where it reliably goes wrong. Essential for thinking clearly under uncertainty.

  • So Good They Can't Ignore You

    INTERMEDIATE

    Cal Newport

    An argument for building rare, valuable skills, career capital, over chasing passion or prestige. Directly relevant to career choices.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

More advanced books on business, markets, technology, and career strategy.

  • The Innovator's Dilemma

    ADVANCED

    Clayton Christensen

    A rigorous account of why successful companies get disrupted. A serious framework for thinking about technology markets.

  • The Intelligent Investor

    ADVANCED

    Benjamin Graham

    A classic on the difference between investing and speculation, and on managing risk. Dense, but foundational.

  • Fooled by Randomness

    ADVANCED

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    A sharp look at the role of luck and survivorship bias in markets and success. A useful antidote to tidy founder stories.

All Episode 2 resourcesListen to the episode →