Lots of entrepreneurs reach out to me because they want to raise funds , and I am

happy to interview them. When they pitch, they spend a lot of time talking about
their market; their product; why they think they will succeed; and why I should
fund them.

While all these are important, the one question I ask all of them is, " Which book
are you reading right now?"

Many entrepreneurs are surprised by this query. What does this have to do with
their ability to found a successful company? Why should this influence my decision
to fund them ?

A surprisingly common ( and disappointing ) answer is, "Oh, I have been too busy to
read a book for a long time."

I think this is a red flag, because I believe every entrepreneur needs to be a

learning machine - you have to be flexible, agile and nimble, so you can respond to
changing circumstances . The only way to do this is to be curious and humble , and
be willing keep an open mind so you can absorb wisdom.

Reading is the best way to be able to learn a lot. You can learn from history;
biographies; and first person accounts of successful founders . You need to keep on
top of what is happening - not just in your domain , but in other industries, and
in other parts of the world as well. As a CEO you will need to learn a lot of stuff
on the job - how to manage employees; how to write a business plan; how to
negotiate with vendors; how to sell to customers ; and how to find the emotional
resilience to deal with the daily ups and downs of a startup. These are the bread
and butter problems which will confront you daily, and unless you read, how are you
ever going to be able to do all of this?

As the CEO , you are the chief everything officer , and you need to learn this
stuff, even if you don't need it right now. The most cost effective way of doing
this is by being an avid reader. Reading provides the best ROI on learning - and it
sets up a positive virtuous cycle. The more you read, the faster you will learn,
and the sharper your mental models will become.

Books are inexpensive, and thanks to amazon, everyone has access to pretty much any
book . I love the fact that they make learning so democratic, and think of them as
being a great equaliser. You don't need to attend IIT or MIT if you want to read a
textbook - you can absorb the information it offers on your own ! A well-written
book can form the core of your knowledgebase , and you can then build on this using
supplementary materials such as podcasts, videos and online courses.

Yes, there are exceptions to this rule. I know successful founders like Branson
have a reading disability , but they have been able to use other strategies to
compensate for this shortcoming. If you don't have a disability, then what's your
excuse for not being a voracious reader ?

My final question is - Which book would you recommend I read so I can understand
more about your field ? This way, I get to learn a lot too !