The STATION F community shares its summer book recommendations

You don’t know what to read this Summer? Neither do we :) So we asked for some recommendations from members of STATION F’s community. Check out their reading tips below:

The $150M Secret by Guillaume Moubeche

Guillaume Moubeche is the CEO and co-founder of Lemlist, a former STATION F start-up, part of Future 40 in 2019. In this book, he tells how he successfully bootstrapped with $1.000 to a $150M company. The $150M Secret will help you to successfully launch a business, while learning about Guillaume’s secret strategies and the mistakes he did to help you avoid them.

Recommended by Roxanne Varza, Director of STATION F

Ask Iwata by Satoru Iwata

Satoru Iwata was the CEO of Nintendo. Drawn from the “Iwata Asks” series of interviews, this book offers to its readers insight into the leadership, development and design philosophies of Satoru Iwata. It is also a great occasion to follow the itinerary of a programmer to manager and CEO of a worldwide company.

Recommended by Marwan Elfitesse, Head of Startups Programs & Business Services at STATION F

This is How They Tell Me the World Ends by Nicole Perlroth

Here’s another New York Times Bestseller and also Winner of the 2021 Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends, written in the prose of a spy thriller, lifts the curtain on the cyberweapons market. This will learn you how security works!

Recommended by Tony Fadell and the Future Shape team.

Hamburgers in Paradise by Louise O. Fresco

Louise O. Fresco is president of Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands, and a member of the Council of Advisors for the World Food Prize. Hamburgers in paradise explains the story behind every meal you eat. In this book, the author explores our past, present and future relationships with food.

Recommended by Tony Fadell and Future Shape.

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

Looking to build a strong company culture? You have to read this! Tony Hsieh is the former CEO of Zappos, the online shoe retailer. In Delivering Happiness, he explains how he managed to create a unique company culture, helping his employees to grow both personally and professionally while making his customers happy.

Recommended by Raphaël Vullierme, co-founder of Luko.

Healthy Business by Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve

Also about company culture, Healthy Business is full of insights from Jean-Charles Samulian-Werve,co-founder of the French unicorn Alan. In this book, he describes how he built Alan’s company culture based on the well-being of his employees, without sacrificing company’s growth.

Recommended by Lucas Di Franco, co-founder of OneFlash (Future 40 2021 Company)

Monetizing Innovation by Georg Tacke and Madhavan Ramanujam

When you start a company, you often think about pricing and monetization too late when it can be part of your product reflection. In this book, the authors distill special tips to make monetizing innovation part of your company’s DNA. With relevant examples, they show how some successful companies have used principles that they outline here.

Recommended by Alexis Fogel, founder of Dashlane & Stonly (Future 40 2019 Company)

How to Be a Founder by Alice Bentinck and Matt Clifford

Alice Bentinck and Matt Clifford, co-founders of Entrepreneur First, published How to Be a Founder: How Entrepreneurs can Identify, Fund and Launch their Best Ideas, to guide anyone considering founding a company. This book gives the reader all the answers he need from stepping into his entrepreneurship journey to raising funds and working with VCs and angel investors. 

Recommended by Coralie Chaufour, Partner & General Manager - France at Entrepreneur First

Zero to One by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters

Peter Thiel doesn’t need to be introduced (and neither does this book, quite honestly!), but as a reminder, he is the co-founder of Paypal and a famous investor. In his book Zero to One, he analyzes many companies from their beginning until they reach their PMF (product market fit). A really useful read for early-stage startups.

Recommended by Pierre-Antoine Roy, Head of Innovation Projects at Cegid

The 25th Hour by Guillaume Declair, Bao Dinh, Jérôme Dumont

The 25th Hour is co-authored by Guillaume Declair, co-founder of Loom, a STATION F company and former member of the Founders Program. This book provides its readers with easily actionable tips to boost productivity.

Recommended by Pierre-Antoine Roy, Head of Innovation Projects at Cegid, and Lucas Di Franco, co-founder of OneFlash (Future 40 2021 Company)

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

You often hear about success stories but rarely about the difficulties and issues that entrepreneurs face during their journey. In his book, Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, gives his advice on managing the toughest problems you meet as a startup founder. He illustrates his business lessons with lyrics from his favorite rap songs.

Recommended by Lionel Mora, co-founder of Neoplants (STATION F Top 30 in 2020)

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Here is one of the best-selling books of all time. The advice given by Dale Carnegie in this book will lead you to success, helping you to turn any situation of your life to something that works for you. A must-read, for sure.

Recommended by Antoine Leprêtre, Director of Incubateur HEC Paris

Femmes dirigeantes - Comment elles ont osé by Marie-Virginie Klein

This book compiles intimate testimonies from women executives, talking about their journey as women and leaders. Femmes dirigeantes - Comment elles ont osé offers many advices to gain self-confidence.

Recommended by Justine Soudier, Director of EDHEC Entrepreneurs

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss with Tahl Raz

Chris Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the difficult world of negotiation, revealing nine key principles that helped the author succeed. A very useful book for entrepreneurs who don’t have a sales background.

Recommended by Philippine Soulères, co-founder of Le Papondu (Future 40 2020 company)

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

In this book, Mark Manson tells us to stop trying to be positive all the time. According to him, the difficulties you’ll meet will give meaning to your life. By facing them, you’ll find confidence and courage you need.

Recommended by Grace Mehrabe, co-founder of Outmind (Future 40 2020 company)

Extra recommendation: Build by Tony Fadell

Must read alert! Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making is a New York Times Bestseller. Engineer and designer (iPod, iPhone, Nest) to investor (Future Shape), to mentor, and now author… Regarding his background, Tony Fadell’s advice are priceless. Now, everybody can benefit from them in this book which is a kind of “mentor in a box”. Learn how things work with Build by Tony Fadell.

Recommended by Marwan Elfitesse, Head of Startups Programs & Business Services at STATION F, Jean de La Rochebrochard, Managing Partner at Kima Ventures, and… Tony Fadell himself, and the team at Future Shape!