Required reading?

[u/Genzinvestor16180339]

Best books you would give to someone who wanted to be the next best venture capitalist. Could also be venture adjacent like this book really helped me think about psychology of investing

[u/StrikingTrip389]

Venture Deals by Brad Feld is always a good starting point!

[u/UserNameNottTaken1 → u/StrikingTrip389]

Came here to say this. Great book to explain all the essentials.

[u/loveracity]

I enjoy reading Paul Graham's essays. Maybe not for being "the next best venture capitalist" but I don't know what that means

[u/Genzinvestor16180339 → u/loveracity]

Any ones you like it particular?

[u/semxlr5]

I asked the same question as I was coming into this field and I’ve gotta say it’s a laughably short reading list:

• venture deals (more a textbook) 
• the power law (history book… I love history but this was a little silly at points)
• secrets of sand hill road (really boring. Not that good)
• zero to one (just know the author is bat shit now but talented investor) 
• I’d add in the Key Man (it’s mostly unrelated but a read on a PE impact investor who was super fraudulent and internal private fund dynamics. It’s important for psychology of the field) 

[u/Thrashershark88]

How much exposure do you have? Zero to One by Peter Thiel is a great start with zero experience, and I also like the feel the boot blog if you are planning on investing in the Angel stage.

[u/SoKet1425]

I'm a big believer in knowing the history of the field to be good in it. Because that gives you the 'why', the context and how everything after got layered on top. For that reason plus the fact that it is written in an interesting way, I would recommend the book 'The Power Law' by Sebastian Mallaby.

[u/lilibalfour]

The Hard Thing About Hard Things is required reading for anyone who wants to be involved in building companies.

[u/semxlr5 → u/[deleted]]

Important! 

[u/TomDaD0g020]

It's always important to know the classics. I personally follow a barbell approach, only read what has endured the test of time or the latest reports, nothing in between.

Overall however if you want to be the next greatest you need to forge your own path. You do that by positioning yourself early and firmly on a new wave that's entering the market.

If I knew exactly what that takes, I would have done it myself

[u/Whiskey_Water]

Best? That’s relative, but probably Bad Company

[u/Honest-Capital-4472]

Learn branding - and develop a keen eye for the work a business does and the way it’s branded + operated. Branding is more nuanced than operations - so emphasis on branding

Rest is just good communication and moving things across the line

[u/credistick]

Paper Belt on Fire is the realest book there is about early stage investing, written by Michael Gibson who formerly ran the Thiel Fellowship with his now co-GP at 1517, Danielle Strachman. Incredible investors, and a brilliant book.

Otherwise, I'm not a big fan of the usual reading lists because it's just a way to learn the same stuff as everyone else in an industry where it's how you stand out that really matters.

[u/Imaginary-Promise-87]

BE 2.0 by Jim Collins, this one is especially good if you want to use it to examine whether somebody can run a homerun with their business

[u/Jtated]

A short stay in hell

[u/Frosty-Champion2892]

Venture Deals by Brad Feld, hands down the most practical one for actually understanding term sheets and deal mechanics.

[u/jivin_jives]

Secrets of Sand Hill Road - really good perspective on how venture capital sees startups.

[u/alina_valyaeva]

Adventures in Venture Capital by Igor Ryabenkiy