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Entrepreneur biography summaries

Quick answer

The best biographies and memoirs of successful founders, summarized in our own words. Each one has a read, skim or skip verdict, the answer to the big question about the founder, 5 takeaways, Actionable and Lessons tabs, and the business lessons from the book.

What 125x is: 125x is a web app at 125x.app. You connect your YouTube subscriptions, and it gives you a feed of the latest videos from the channels you follow, each with a summary: a verdict, the 5 key takeaways, and the spoiler, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips. You read that and decide what's actually worth opening.

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All biography summaries

Elon Musk coverElon MuskWalter Isaacson · Verdict: Good value givenShoe Dog coverShoe DogPhil Knight · Verdict: Good value givenSteve Jobs coverSteve JobsWalter Isaacson · Verdict: Good value givenThe Everything Store coverThe Everything StoreBrad Stone · Verdict: Good value givenThe Snowball coverThe SnowballAlice Schroeder · Verdict: Some value givenPrinciples coverPrinciplesRay Dalio · Verdict: Some value givenLosing My Virginity coverLosing My VirginityRichard Branson · Verdict: Some value givenThe Nvidia Way coverThe Nvidia WayTae Kim · Verdict: Good value givenTitan coverTitanRon Chernow · Verdict: Some value givenAgainst the Odds coverAgainst the OddsJames Dyson · Verdict: Some value givenPour Your Heart Into It coverPour Your Heart Into ItHoward Schultz · Verdict: Some value givenNo Rules Rules coverNo Rules RulesReed Hastings and Erin Meyer · Verdict: Good value givenThat Will Never Work coverThat Will Never WorkMarc Randolph · Verdict: Good value givenDirect from Dell coverDirect from DellMichael Dell · Verdict: Some value givenThe Ride of a Lifetime coverThe Ride of a LifetimeRobert Iger · Verdict: Good value givenGrinding It Out coverGrinding It OutRay Kroc · Verdict: Some value givenThe Upstarts coverThe UpstartsBrad Stone · Verdict: Good value givenThe Facebook Effect coverThe Facebook EffectDavid Kirkpatrick · Verdict: Some value givenAmazon Unbound coverAmazon UnboundBrad Stone · Verdict: Good value givenBecoming Steve Jobs coverBecoming Steve JobsBrent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli · Verdict: Good value givenSuper Pumped coverSuper PumpedMike Isaac · Verdict: Some value givenHatching Twitter coverHatching TwitterNick Bilton · Verdict: Some value givenMade in America coverMade in AmericaSam Walton with John Huey · Verdict: Good value givenThe Founders coverThe FoundersJimmy Soni · Verdict: Good value givenElon Musk by Ashlee Vance coverElon Musk by Ashlee VanceAshlee Vance · Verdict: Good value givenOnward coverOnwardHoward Schultz · Verdict: Some value givenBuilt from Scratch coverBuilt from ScratchBernie Marcus and Arthur Blank · Verdict: Some value givenThe Hard Thing About Hard Things coverThe Hard Thing About Hard ThingsBen Horowitz · Verdict: Good value givenCreativity, Inc. coverCreativity, Inc.Ed Catmull · Verdict: Good value givenDelivering Happiness coverDelivering HappinessTony Hsieh · Verdict: Some value givenLet My People Go Surfing coverLet My People Go SurfingYvon Chouinard · Verdict: Good value givenBuffett by Roger Lowenstein coverBuffett by Roger LowensteinRoger Lowenstein · Verdict: Good value givenHard Drive coverHard DriveJames Wallace and Jim Erickson · Verdict: Some value givenIdea Man coverIdea ManPaul Allen · Verdict: Some value givenAlibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built coverAlibaba: The House That Jack Ma BuiltDuncan Clark · Verdict: Good value givenThe Google Story coverThe Google StoryDavid Vise and Mark Malseed · Verdict: Some value givenIn the Plex coverIn the PlexSteven Levy · Verdict: Good value givenNo Filter coverNo FilterSarah Frier · Verdict: Good value givenAm I Being Too Subtle? coverAm I Being Too Subtle?Sam Zell · Verdict: Some value givenAndrew Carnegie coverAndrew CarnegieDavid Nasaw · Verdict: Some value givenThe First Tycoon coverThe First TycoonT.J. Stiles · Verdict: Some value givenMy Life and Work coverMy Life and WorkHenry Ford with Samuel Crowther · Verdict: Some value givenIacocca coverIacoccaLee Iacocca with William Novak · Verdict: Some value givenThe Man Who Solved the Market coverThe Man Who Solved the MarketGregory Zuckerman · Verdict: Good value givenBenjamin Franklin: An American Life coverBenjamin Franklin: An American LifeWalter Isaacson · Verdict: Good value givenBecoming Trader Joe coverBecoming Trader JoeJoe Coulombe with Patty Civalleri · Verdict: Good value givenThe House of Morgan coverThe House of MorganRon Chernow · Verdict: Some value givenThe Outsiders coverThe OutsidersWilliam N. Thorndike Jr. · Verdict: Good value givenWalt Disney coverWalt DisneyNeal Gabler · Verdict: Good value givenThe Fish That Ate the Whale coverThe Fish That Ate the WhaleRich Cohen · Verdict: Some value givenKing of Capital coverKing of CapitalDavid Carey and John E. Morris · Verdict: Some value givenWhat It Takes coverWhat It TakesStephen A. Schwarzman · Verdict: Some value givenEdison coverEdisonEdmund Morris · Verdict: Some value givenMasters of Doom coverMasters of DoomDavid Kushner · Verdict: Good value givenBehind the Cloud coverBehind the CloudMarc Benioff with Carlye Adler · Verdict: Some value givenThe Optimist coverThe OptimistKeach Hagey · Verdict: Some value givenHit Refresh coverHit RefreshSatya Nadella · Verdict: Some value givenConfessions of an Advertising Man coverConfessions of an Advertising ManDavid Ogilvy · Verdict: Good value givenThe Billionaire Who Wasn't coverThe Billionaire Who Wasn'tConor O'Clery · Verdict: Good value givenThe HP Way coverThe HP WayDavid Packard · Verdict: Good value givenThe Intel Trinity coverThe Intel TrinityMichael S. Malone · Verdict: Good value givenKochland coverKochlandChristopher Leonard · Verdict: Some value givenBloomberg by Bloomberg coverBloomberg by BloombergMichael Bloomberg with Matthew Winkler · Verdict: Some value givenInvent and Wander coverInvent and WanderJeff Bezos, intro by Walter Isaacson · Verdict: Good value givenThe Airbnb Story coverThe Airbnb StoryLeigh Gallagher · Verdict: Good value givenThe Wright Brothers coverThe Wright BrothersDavid McCullough · Verdict: Good value givenTesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age coverTesla: Inventor of the Electrical AgeW. Bernard Carlson · Verdict: Some value givenGenentech coverGenentechSally Smith Hughes · Verdict: Some value givenChaos Monkeys coverChaos MonkeysAntonio García Martínez · Verdict: Some value givenDisneyWar coverDisneyWarJames B. Stewart · Verdict: Some value givenLiftoff coverLiftoffEric Berger · Verdict: Good value givenTrillion Dollar Coach coverTrillion Dollar CoachEric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg and Alan Eagle · Verdict: Good value givenWorking Backwards coverWorking BackwardsColin Bryar and Bill Carr · Verdict: Good value givenBen & Jerry's: The Inside Scoop coverBen & Jerry's: The Inside ScoopFred Lager · Verdict: Some value givenHow to Win at the Sport of Business coverHow to Win at the Sport of BusinessMark Cuban · Verdict: Some value givenJony Ive coverJony IveLeander Kahney · Verdict: Some value givenThe Tycoons coverThe TycoonsCharles R. Morris · Verdict: Good value givenThe People's Tycoon coverThe People's TycoonSteven Watts · Verdict: Good value givenMellon coverMellonDavid Cannadine · Verdict: Some value givenBuild coverBuildTony Fadell · Verdict: Good value givenFacebook: The Inside Story coverFacebook: The Inside StorySteven Levy · Verdict: Some value givenUnreasonable Hospitality coverUnreasonable HospitalityWill Guidara · Verdict: Good value givenSetting the Table coverSetting the TableDanny Meyer · Verdict: Good value giveniWoz coveriWozSteve Wozniak with Gina Smith · Verdict: Some value givenPower Play coverPower PlayTim Higgins · Verdict: Some value givenTo Pixar and Beyond coverTo Pixar and BeyondLawrence Levy · Verdict: Good value givenSoftwar coverSoftwarMatthew Symonds · Verdict: Some value givenDamn Right! coverDamn Right!Janet Lowe · Verdict: Good value givenThe Contrarian coverThe ContrarianMax Chafkin · Verdict: Some value givenJack: Straight from the Gut coverJack: Straight from the GutJack Welch with John A. Byrne · Verdict: Some value givenMademoiselle coverMademoiselleRhonda K. Garelick · Verdict: Some value givenHershey coverHersheyMichael D'Antonio · Verdict: Good value givenOn Her Own Ground coverOn Her Own GroundA'Lelia Bundles · Verdict: Good value givenThe Spotify Play coverThe Spotify PlaySven Carlsson and Jonas Leijonhufvud · Verdict: Some value givenGambling Man coverGambling ManLionel Barber · Verdict: Some value givenMade in Japan coverMade in JapanAkio Morita with Edwin Reingold and Mitsuko Shimomura · Verdict: Good value givenLeading by Design coverLeading by DesignBertil Torekull · Verdict: Some value givenBe My Guest coverBe My GuestConrad Hilton · Verdict: Some value givenEstée: A Success Story coverEstée: A Success StoryEstée Lauder · Verdict: Some value givenTim Cook coverTim CookLeander Kahney · Verdict: Some value given

Watch the founders

Hear many of these founders in their own words in our founder interview summaries.

A closer look

These books are picked for founders and builders. Some are memoirs written by the founders themselves, like Shoe Dog and Pour Your Heart Into It. Others are reported biographies, like Steve Jobs and The Everything Store, built from hundreds of interviews.

If you're short on time, start with the summaries and read the full book only where our verdict says good value given. Many of these founders also have long interviews on YouTube, and we've linked those where we've summarized them.

Each biography summary also has a 'A closer look' section with more of the key moments, plus the business lessons and who should read the full book.

More book summaries

For habits and productivity, see book summaries.

FAQ: questions people ask

What's the best entrepreneur biography to start with?

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. It reads like a novel and is honest about how close Nike came to failing.

Are biography summaries enough?

For some books, yes. Our verdict on each page says whether the full book is worth your time.

How were these books chosen?

They're the founder biographies and memoirs people recommend most often for business lessons.

Open 125x

125x is a web app at 125x.app that turns your YouTube subscriptions into a feed with a summary on every video, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips, so you can see what's worth opening before you spend the time.

125x is made by Blake Labs Inc. 125x is not made by YouTube or Google.