Reading list · 12 books
Fred Wilson's reading list
Co-founder of Union Square Ventures (Twitter, Etsy, Tumblr, Coinbase) and author of the long-running AVC blog, one of the most-read VC blogs ever. His reading recommendations are woven through 15+ years of daily posts.
-
01
Neal Stephenson
Wilson cites it as guiding USV's investment philosophy and view of the future; a recurring touchstone on AVC.
-
02
Niccolò Machiavelli
He says "a lot of what we invest in and how we look at the future comes from that book," recommending it for entrepreneurs.
-
03
Ayn Rand
Listed on his original "Books for Entrepreneurs" post as a formative read.
-
Read these with Superbook
Chat with any book on this list — ask questions, get answers tuned to you.
-
04
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Michael Chabon
A favorite novel he put at the top of his entrepreneurs reading list.
-
05
Tracy Kidder
He praises it for capturing "the passion of engineers who are driven to ship a revolutionary product."
-
06
Sun Tzu
He conceded it "has to get onto my list" of essential entrepreneur reading.
-
07
Hermann Hesse
He wrote "I loved that book when I read it in college," recommending it in an AVC discussion.
-
09
Randy Komisar
A recommended entrepreneurship read surfaced in his AVC book discussions.
-
10
Gabriel García Márquez
He called it "another amazing book" in his reading recommendations.
-
11
Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days
Jessica Livingston
Recommended for entrepreneurs in his AVC book threads.
-
12
William Mougayar
He praised it (and wrote its foreword) for making blockchain "accessible for the non-technical."
More on Fred Wilson's picks
Wilson has written explicit "Books for Entrepreneurs" posts on AVC and frequently reviews books in his "Books" category, often crediting fiction and philosophy as much as business titles. He famously says USV's worldview draws on sci-fi and classics; his recommendations surface in dedicated AVC posts and his engagement in the comments. Picks range from Ayn Rand and Machiavelli to Neal Stephenson.
