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The Founder Book Club: books climate founders recommend

From Patagonia’s origin story to Tolstoy and a climate novel set in the decades ahead: the books that shaped the founders and investors we’ve interviewed, and why they pass them on.

Every founder and investor we interview recommends one book. Here are the recommendations so far, by founders, for founders. Browse them on the shelf at the Founder Book Club.

📚 Safia Qureshi

Founder, CLUBZERØ

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
The Lean Startup
Eric Ries
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries & Jack Trout
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
Al Ries & Jack Trout

📚 Killian Stokes

Co-founder, Moyee Coffee

Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan & Dharmesh Shah
Inbound Marketing
Brian Halligan & Dharmesh Shah
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Man’s Search for Meaning
Viktor Frankl
The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
The Magic of Thinking Big
David Schwartz
Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard
Let My People Go Surfing
Yvon Chouinard

📚 Ash Stott

Co-founder, Rhizo PTX

Originals by Adam Grant
Originals
Adam Grant

📚 Cory Sanderson

Co-founder & CEO, Sustaera

Backable by Suneel Gupta
Backable
Suneel Gupta
For founders
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Ministry for the Future
Kim Stanley Robinson
For climate fiction
Cheaper, Faster, Better by Tom Steyer
Cheaper, Faster, Better
Tom Steyer
For climate action

📚 Karim Tarraf

Co-founder, Hawa Dawa

“People are the most critical resource for a startup. This book teaches you a lot about yourself, but also what to look for in talent.”

The Rare Find by George Anders
The Rare Find
George Anders

📚 Abijit Aji

VP of Treasury & Financing, Gradiant

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Ben Horowitz
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
The 48 Laws of Power
Robert Greene
If power is what you’re studying
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
If you want something more philosophical
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman
For systems thinking
Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Antifragile
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
For systems thinking
Creating Climate Wealth by Jigar Shah
Creating Climate Wealth
Jigar Shah

📚 Jean-Christophe Lambert

Co-founder, Ascendance Flight Technologies

“They weren’t afraid to discuss and change plans to get to their goal, they interacted a lot with local people. So in a sense, it was about diversity on the team.”

Annapurna by Maurice Herzog
Annapurna
Maurice Herzog

📚 Perry McCarthy

Ex-F1 racer and the original Stig

Flat Out, Flat Broke by Perry McCarthy
Flat Out, Flat Broke
Perry McCarthy
His own story

📚 Sarah Nolet

Co-founder, Tenacious Ventures

“About an anti-GMO activist who became very pro-GMO.”

The Limits to Growth by Donella Meadows et al.
The Limits to Growth
Donella Meadows et al.
Call of the Reed Warbler by Charles Massy
Call of the Reed Warbler
Charles Massy
Seeds of Science by Mark Lynas
Seeds of Science
Mark Lynas

📚 Bryan Eagle

Founder, Glanris

“As I read through that book, it just hit me: ‘Wow, this industry absolutely has to change.’”

Let There Be Water by Seth M. Siegel
Let There Be Water
Seth M. Siegel

📚 Danijel Visevic

Co-founder, World Fund

Rethinking Our World by Maja Göpel
Rethinking Our World
Maja Göpel

📚 Irina Fedorenko

Serial entrepreneur

“The Russian classics give an understanding of human nature that’s still universally valid.”

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy

📚 Olympia Yarger

Founder, Goterra

“Sometimes I just need something well-written and funny.”

Tribe by Sebastian Junger
Tribe
Sebastian Junger
Watermelon by Marian Keyes
Watermelon
Marian Keyes
Anything by Marian Keyes
Grown Ups by Marian Keyes
Grown Ups
Marian Keyes
Anything by Marian Keyes

Got a book that changed how you build? Tell us in your Green Techpreneur interview and it could join the shelf.


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