Starting a new business is hard, and building a SaaS company is even harder. If you are launching a software business, the right books can guide and inspire you along the way. This list of the best books for SaaS founders is meant to help you put together a genuinely useful reading list.
From proven B2B business practices to firsthand accounts from successful SaaS founders, here is a list of some of the best SaaS books — including a few titles frequently recommended among B2B SaaS books — that every SaaS entrepreneur should read:
1.From Impossible to Inevitable by Aaron Ross and Jason Lemkin
This book is a true gem not only for aspiring SaaS founders but also for seasoned entrepreneurs. It documents the stories of successful companies and shows how growing the size of your business can be achieved by following their example.
The authors provide a ready-to-use blueprint for hyper-growth based on techniques employed by some of the fastest-growing SaaS companies. Aaron Ross is also known for his work on predictable, repeatable sales processes, which is why this title is often mentioned among the best books for SaaS sales as well as SaaS growth. If you are interested in turning your startup into a unicorn, this book is a must-read.
2. Lean B2B: Build Products Businesses Want by Étienne Garbugli
This book was written specifically for B2B entrepreneurs and clearly explains the major differences between B2B and B2C product-market validation, which is one reason it regularly appears on lists of the best B2B SaaS books.
It documents more than 20 case studies which will help you assess market opportunities, create a minimum viable product, and avoid common mistakes made by first-time entrepreneurs. A large majority of readers rate this book highly on Amazon, which is one more reason to add it to your reading list.
3. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
Ben Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs and co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, shares his hard-earned wisdom about founding and growing a business. He speaks honestly about the difficulties and challenges that confront business leaders. The book is based on the author's blog and remains a foundational read for any SaaS founder navigating the realities of scaling a company.
4. Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company and Revolutionized an Industry by Marc Benioff and Carlye Adler
If you want to build a great SaaS company and lead it through exponential growth, this is the right book to start with and follow step by step. Marc Benioff, founder and CEO of Salesforce, tells the story of starting his company from a rented apartment and leading it to become one of the world's fastest-growing software companies.
Behind the Cloud is also a valuable case study for anyone researching the best books on SaaS marketing and go-to-market strategy, since Benioff walks through many of the marketing and sales decisions that fueled Salesforce's growth. It remains an inspirational and practical guide to achieving success in business and in life, filled with tips you can implement right away.
5. Mavericks at Work by William C. Taylor, Polly G. LaBarre
Former editors of Fast Company magazine put together amazing stories of high-profile business innovators. As the authors emphasize, this book reflects more than a decade's worth of learning, thinking, and writing about the best way to do business, profiling companies and CEOs that represent the best of business thinking.
If you are determined to become a leader in your industry, this book will provide examples of prominent leadership and decisive decision-making.
6. The Industries of the Future by Alec Ross
Alec Ross, a leading expert on innovation, wrote an excellent book about changes that are set to reshape entire industries in the years ahead. He examines the fields most likely to shape our economic future, including robotics and artificial intelligence, cybercrime and cybersecurity, the commercialization of genomics, the next steps for big data, and the impact of digital technology on money and markets.
If you are brainstorming new business ideas for a globalized, innovation-driven future, this book will not disappoint.
Closing Remarks
This list is a starting point, not the final word. Beyond these six titles, founders searching for the best books on SaaS metrics, the best books on SaaS marketing, or the best books on product-led growth should keep expanding their reading list as their business grows and its needs change.
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