James Yorston

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10 years in technology most recently as Director of Engineering, VC at Carta

I've got a background in a number of sectors including FinTech, E-Commerce and Academic Research.

LinkedIn, X, GitHub

💻 Open Source

📚 Reading List

Reading List

I find myself recommending the same books all the time.

As a result I’ve compiled a list of books that I think are the most impactful for surving startups.

Naturally, these are focussed on technology startups. But there is a good mixture of general business and career books in here too.

I hope you find them useful.

Books

Build - Tony Fadell

This book is excellent. Written by the person behind the iPod. It reads as a set of short guides on all different aspects of building a high perfomring startup.

The Lean Startup - Eric Ries

Mandatory reading if you work in a startup. This is the playbook on how to innovate and iterate quickly. Well discussed examples and lessons learned the hard way.

Getting to Yes - Roger Fisher, William Ury, Bruce Patton

I would have thought a book on negotiation would have been boring. Not this one. Getting to yes is a fantastic resource to improve your negotiation skills. This is required for all aspects of life, one of my most gifted books.

Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel - Thomas Wainwright

This is an excellent general economics book. This book explores how drug cartels have been so successful. How they operate as successful enterprises in their own right. It also discusses how legalising narcotics would likely lead to the downfall of the big global cartels. A great read with a unique take.