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Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

 

Reading List

Entrepreneurship

  • "Entrepreneuring: The Ten Commandments" (4th Ed), Steven C. Brandt. This book can be downloaded, free of charge.
  • "Beyond Entrepreneurship," James C. Collins, William C. Lazier: New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1992.
    Discussion of the roles of leadership, vision, and creativity in growing, entrepreneurial ventures.
  • "Glorious Accidents," Michael J. Glauser: Utah. Shadow Mountain, 1998.
    How everyday Americans create thriving companies.
  • "New Business Ventures and the Entrepreneur," Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts, and H. Irving Grousbeck: Boston: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1989.
    Textbook that traces the entrepreneurial process from the initial idea through business operations to harvest and includes case studies.
  • "Soloing," Harriet Rubin: New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc., 1999.
    Discussing the ups and downs of going solo in business.
  • "The Book of Entrepreneurs' Wisdom," edited by Peter Krass: New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999.
    Classic writings by legendary entrepreneurs such as; Lillian Vernon, Phil Knight, and Dave Thomas.
  • "The Entrepreneurial Mindset," by Rita McGrath and Ian MacMillan: Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000.
    Strategies for continuously creating opportunity in an age of uncertainty.
  • "The 10-Second Internet Manager," by Mark Breier: New York: Crown Business, 2000. Survive, thrive, and drive your company in the information age.
  • "Moral Intelligence: Enhancing Business Performance and Leadership Success" by Doug Lennick & Fred Kiel.
    Demonstrates that maintaining the highest ethical standards is not only the 'right' thing to do, but produces the best companies and the best results.
  • "Engineering Your Start-Up: A Guide for the High-Tech Entrepreneur" by James A. Swanson and Michael L. Baird, 2003.
    Gives you all the basic information needed to make your idea a business reality. James Swanson is a GSB Alum.

Silicon Valley

  • "Understanding Silicon Valley: The Anatomy of an Entrepreneurial Region," edited by Martin Kenney, Stanford University Press, 2000.
  • "Regional Advantage," Annalee Saxenian. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996.
    Analysis of the factors contributing to the success of Silicon Valley and Route 128.
  • "The Silicon Valley Way," Elton B. Sherwin, Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1998.
    Provides background on the growth of Silicon Valley and a concise business planning approach.
  • "In the Company of Giants," Rama Dev Jager, Rafael Ortiz. New York: McGraw Hill, 1997.
    Conversations with 16 leaders of the digital world, written by two graduates of the Stanford GSB.
  • "The Silicon Boys and Their Valley of Dreams," David A. Kaplan, New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1999.
    A look at some of the most powerful people in Silicon Valley: Bill Gates, Jim Clark, Andy Grove, to name a few.
  • "The Monk and the Riddle," Randy Komisar, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000.
    The education of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.

Start-Up Stories

  • "Upstart Start-Ups!," Ron Lieber. New York: Broadway Press, 1998.
    Learnings from 34 young entrepreneurs, including 1993 Stanford GSB graduates, Steve Pollock and Gary Alpert, founders of Wet Feet Press.
  • "Growing a Business," Paul Hawken. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987.
    A classic story of building a business.
  • "Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure," Jerry Kaplan. New York: Penguin Books, 1994.
    A behind-the-scenes look at a company's creation and eventual demise.

The Internet

  • "aol.com," Kara Swisher. New York. Random House, 1998.
    How Steve Case beat Bill Gates, nailed the netheads, and made millions in the war for the Web.
  • "Webonomics," Evan I. Schwartz, New York: Broadway Books, 1997
    Strategies for capitalizing on potential of the Internet.

Financing

  • "Blown to Bits," Philip Evans and Thomas S. Worsted, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2000.
    How the new economics of information transforms strategy.
  • "Done Deals," edited by Udayan Gupta. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press, 2000.
    Venture capitalists tell their stories.
  • "Where to Go When the Bank Says No," David R. Evanson. Princeton: Bloomberg Press, 1998.
    Practical advice on how to get small business financing.
  • "Finding Your Wings," Gerald A. Benjamin, Joel Margulis. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.
    Guide to finding private investors to fund a start-up. See also "Angel Capital" by the same authors.

Reference Guides

  • "The Home Business Bible," David R. Eyler. New York: John R. Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994.
    An encyclopedia of information for the home-based entrepreneur.
  • "The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law," Constance E. Bagley, Craig E. Dauchy. West Educational Publishing Company, 1998.
    This guide walks the entrepreneur through all the legal steps required to start a business.
  • "Guts & Borrowed Money," Tom S. Gillis. Austin: Bard Press, 1997
    Nuts and bolts guide to starting your own business.
  • "Business Start-up Kit," California Chamber of Commerce. Lafayette, Productivity Products, Inc., 1997.
    Everything you need to comply with government requirements throughout the year, whether you are a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation. The series also includes labor law, OSHA, and business planning kits.

Social Entrepreneurship

  • "Revolution of the Heart," Bill Shore. New York: Riverhead Books, 1995.
    The story of Share Our Strength, a self-sustaining nonprofit organization.
  • "New Social Entrepreneurs: The Success, Challenge and Lessons of Non-Profit Enterprise Creation," Jed Emerson and Fay Twersky. San Francisco: The Roberts Foundation, 1996.
    Experiences of the Roberts Foundation in nonprofit enterprise development.