Below are the resources I’ve found most valuable and interesting.
Books
Business and Tech
- Anything from these books top VCs recommend. I have used this as a reading list and it hasn’t disappointed.
- Secrets of Sand Hill Road is a great overview of venture capital
- Super Pumped, about the drama behind Uber, is excellent reading and a great history of Silicon Valley post iPhone
- Bad Blood is a thrilling page-turner in the way that the best detective novels are but is a true story. A fascinating cautionary tale about Theranos
Health and Self Improvement
- Why We Sleep will make you think about how to optimize your sleep to benefit your life
- The Power of Habit and Atomic Habits are the best resources I’ve found for building good habits, which I think of as a precursor to accomplishing anything else
- The Inner Game of Tennis is an incredible book about the psychology of high performance and was way ahead of its time. It applies to any sort of endeavor, athletic and otherwise
Websites / Blogs
I don’t actually read blogs much, but there are a few that I find abnormally insightful or helpful:
- http://eugenewei.com always impresses me with his insight and clarity, has an interesting perspective as an early employee at Amazon, among other things
- http://avc.com is the only newsletter I read daily and is great, from one of the best VCs ever
- Avoid Boring People is my favorite monthly newsletter and one of the few things on the internet I read that I feel makes me smarter
Learning Data Analysis
- R for Data Science is the best resource I’ve found for getting started in R
- http://tidytextmining.com will get you started doing text analysis really fast. It’s a great resource.
Podcasts
I always recommend The Twenty Minute VC as the best resource for people interested in tech. For long form interviews, Invest like the Best is great if you’re interested in finance.
Videos
If you’re negotiating a job offer, this lecture from HBS professor Deepak Malhotra is a must-watch.
I’ll add to this list as I come across other helpful resources. If you’re interested in more specific topics that I write about (learning R, for example), reach out to me directly at [joe at this website] or on twitter.
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