The 10 Best Books on Venture Capital (VC) to Level-Up Your Career
If you're trying to get into venture capital, or are an entrepreneur building a business, this list of books is for you. Find the highest quality VC resources and develop your knowledge efficiently.
Posted March 12, 2024
Table of Contents
Venture capital is an area of business that many people seem to want to get into, but few know how or even where to start. If you’re trying to break into VC, or are already in the field but are looking to learn more, you’ve come to the right place. Here is a list of the top 10 books for venture capital, with reviews and a summary of each.
1. Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
- By: Tony Fadell (2022)
- 4.7/5 (1,006 ratings)
- Best For: Everyone who wants to grow in the workplace
Tony Faddell is a Silicon Valley engineer and designer who oversaw the development of the early iPod and iPhones at Apple and founded Nest Labs, which has since been acquired by Google for other $3 billion. Build is a “mentor in a box,” with work advice for everyone from the entry-level grad to the CEO. Each chapter deals with one problem and his problem-solving approach builds on centuries of human nature and management philosophies.
2. Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist
- By: Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson (2019)
- 4.7/5 (784 ratings)
- Best For: Those who want to know more about VC in general or who are starting a business
Jason and Brad started a firm called the Foundry Group that provides venture capital investments to early-stage IT companies. As such, they’ve been directly involved in hundreds of financings. This book attempts to peel back the curtains of VC’s inner workings in an easily digestible way. It is conversational in tone and the authors are articulate while remaining authoritative.
3. Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It
- By: Scott Kupor
- 4.7/5 (606 ratings)
- Best For: Those not currently in the VC field who are interested in how firms interact with startups and make internal decisions
Kupor was a managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, one of the biggest and most powerful venture capital firms in the world. This book is his attempt to explain how VCs invest capital, including how they decide how much to invest, who they choose to invest in, and how entrepreneurs can get the best deal possible. He provides an outline of the startup lifecycle; helps you understand the relationship between the startup, firm, and LP; and, provides a mock term sheet with sections devoted to an explanation of each part.
4. Power Law: Venture Capitalist and the Making of the New Future
- By: Sebastian Mallaby
- 4.6/5 (347 ratings)
- Best For: Those interested in the history of venture capital and how it has become the institution it is today
Power Law goes further than explaining how VC works and provides an insight into how venture capital came to be and its ever-evolving role in the United States’ ecosystem. It spends a lot of time looking at individual venture capitalists and their rise to power, including Jim Swartz and Arthur Patterson, the founders of Accel, and Doug Leone and Michael Moritz, who took over from the founder of Sequoia Capital Don Valentine. Lastly, the book reviews the growth of venture capital in China.
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5. Mastering the VC Game: A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms
- By: Jeffrey Bussgang
- 4.5/5 (293 ratings)
- Best For: Current/aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking to get VC funding
Bussgang was an entrepreneur before he turned to VC and became a General Partner at Flybridge Capital Partners. He is now a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School as well. Uniquely, he has sat on both sides of the venture capital table: as an entrepreneur in need of funding, and as a representative of a firm. He gives advice to current and aspiring entrepreneurs that draws from personal experience, including insights into the expertise offered by different VC firms.
6. #BreakIntoVC: How to Break Into Venture Capital and Think Like an Investor
- By: Bradley Miles
- 4.5/5 (241 ratings)
- Best For: Those trying to get a job in venture capital
Miles has founded companies and worked in venture capital and private equity, and thus understands the landscape well. He has lectured on VC at Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Wharton, Columbia, and other universities. #BreakIntoVC gives readers an overview of the venture capital industry and key metrics and then goes on to explain how to understand different markets, value tech companies, land a job at a firm, succeed in calls with investors, and pitch business ideas. It also includes five case studies that provide example paths into venture capital.
7. The Business of Venture Capital: The Art of Raising a Fund, Structuring Investments, Portfolio Management, and Exits (3rd Edition)
- By: Mahendra Ramsinghani
- 4.7/5 (103 ratings)
- Best For: Entrepreneurs and people trying to get into venture capital
This comprehensive book dives into the mechanics of venture capital as a business. It tells readers how VC works on a day-to-day basis from every perspective, including investors, entrepreneurs, and LPs. For those entering the field, it will provide a good introduction to what makes the firm tick. For those seeking venture capital funds, it will give a better understanding of what motivates the people on the other side of the table.
8. Venture Capital Deal Terms: A Guide to Negotiating and Structuring Venture Capital Transactions
- By: Harm F. De Vries, Menno J. Van Loon, and Sjoero Mol
- 4.5/5 (84 ratings)
- Best For: Anyone who plans to be involved in a VC deal
Vries et al. dig into what a venture capitalist deal actually entails. What are the motivations of both parties and what does each want? What are the different ways that the deal could change? How is due diligence performed? How will the options impact both the start-up and the VC investors?
After reviewing the different stages of financing, Venture Capital Deal Terms uses a case study of a Series A fundraising round to look at the different clauses in a transaction. It then provides advice for entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors so that all parties can make an informed decision that’s best for them.
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9. The Entrepreneurial Bible to Venture Capital: Inside Secrets from the Leaders in the Startup Game
- By: Andrew Romans
- 4.5/5 (92 ratings)
- Best For: Entrepreneurs
This book guides entrepreneurs through every step of financing, from raising VC funding, to building value, strategizing a profitable exit, and changing tactics. In it, over 40 venture capitalists provide their insight. It covers less history and more practical advice for aspiring founders who want to raise money for a high return on value.
10. Venture Capital Strategy: How to Think Like a Venture Capitalist
- By: Patrick Vernon
- 4.5/5 (47 ratings)
- Best For: Aspiring venture capitalists
Vernon’s book provides tactical insight into the field of venture capital. It begins with a short history before looking at what has made successful VCs successful, how VC is different from other funding sources, the key terms on any term sheet, and how to think like a venture capitalist. Vernon taught at the UNC Kenan-Flagler School of Business for over 15 years and brings academic know-how while keeping his lexicon straightforward and understandable.
Bonus – What a Unicorn Knows: How Leading Entrepreneurs Use Lean Principles to Drive Sustainable Growth
By: Matthew E. May and Pablo Dominguez
Though not about venture capital in particular, What a Unicorn Knows provides an insight into what makes some start-ups successful where others fail. For those wanting to break into the field, it will elucidate the key factors to pay close attention to and break down a VC investment. For entrepreneurs, learn how to scale your business and deliver maximum growth through minimum means. This book will be available in February 2023.
Additional Resources
Venture capital is a highly competitive field because of the relatively few jobs available, high compensation levels, and attractive exit opportunities. To better understand the industry and major players, read the following articles:
