In My TBR Stack:

Straight Talk for Startups
by Randy Komisar and Jantoon Reigersman
Harper Business
Hardcover
(Available June 5th)

From the publisher's website:

Veteran venture capitalist Randy Komisar and finance executive Jantoon Reigersman share no-nonsense, counterintuitive guidelines to help anyone build a successful startup.

Over the course of their careers, Randy Komisar and Jantoon Reigersman continue to see startups crash and burn because they forget the timeless lessons of entrepreneurship.

But, as Komisar and Reigersman show, you can beat the odds if you quickly learn what insiders know about what it takes to build a healthy foundation for a thriving venture. In Straight Talk for Startupsthey walk budding entrepreneurs through 100 essential rules—from pitching your idea to selecting investors to managing your board to deciding how and when to achieve liquidity. Culled from their own decades of experience, as well as the experiences of their many successful colleagues and friends, the rules are organized under broad topics, from "Mastering the Fundamentals" and "Selecting the Right Investors," to "The Ideal Fundraise," "Building and Managing Effective Boards," and "Achieving Liquidity."

Vital rules you’ll find in Straight Talk for Startups include: 

• The best ideas originate from founders who are users
• Create two business plans: an execution plan and an aspirational plan
• Net income is an option, but cash flow is a fact
• Don’t accept money from strangers
• Personal wealth doesn’t equal good investing
• Small boards are better than big ones
• Add independent board members for expertise and objectivity
• Too many unanimous board decisions are a sign of trouble
• Choose an acquirer, don’t wait to be chosen
• Learn the rules by heart so you know when to break them

Filled with helpful real-life examples and specific, actionable advice, Straight Talk for Startups is the ideal handbook for anyone running, working for, or thinking about creating a startup, or just curious about what makes high-potential ventures tick.

In My TBR Stack:

The Intel Trinity: How Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove Built the World's Most Important Company
Michael S. Malone
Harper Business
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Based on unprecedented access to the corporation’s archives, The Intel Trinity is the first full history of Intel Corporation—the essential company of the digital age— told through the lives of the three most important figures in the company’s history: Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove.

Often hailed the “most important company in the world,” Intel remains, more than four decades after its inception, a defining company of the global digital economy. The legendary inventors of the microprocessor-the single most important product in the modern world-Intel today builds the tiny “engines” that power almost every intelligent electronic device on the planet.

But the true story of Intel is the human story of the trio of geniuses behind it. Michael S. Malone reveals how each brought different things to Intel, and at different times. Noyce, the most respected high tech figure of his generation, brought credibility (and money) to the company’s founding; Moore made Intel the world’s technological leader; and Grove, has relentlessly driven the company to ever-higher levels of success and competitiveness. Without any one of these figures, Intel would never have achieved its historic success; with them, Intel made possible the personal computer, Internet, telecommunications, and the personal electronics revolutions.

The Intel Trinity is not just the story of Intel’s legendary past; it also offers an analysis of the formidable challenges that lie ahead as the company struggles to maintain its dominance, its culture, and its legacy.

In My TBR Stack:

Do Cool Sh*t: Quit Your Day Job, Start Your Own Business, and Live Happily Ever After
by Miki Agrawal
Harper Business

Hardcover

From the publisher website:

In Do Cool Sh*t, serial social entrepreneur, angel investor, and all-around cool sh*t–doer Miki Agrawal shows how to start a successful company—from brainstorming to raising money to getting press without any connections—all while having a meaningful life! 

With zero experience and no capital, Miki Agrawal opened WILD, a farm-to-table pizzeria in New York City and Las Vegas, partnered up in a children's multimedia company called Super Sprowtz, and launched a patented high-tech underwear business called THINX. 
Miki has seen significant growth in her businesses. She pulls back the curtain of how you can live out loud, honor your hunches, and leave nothing on the table.

Whether you’re a student with big aspirations or an experienced professional looking for new opportunities, Do Cool Sh*t will open your eyes, make you laugh, and give you the confidence to quit your day job, start your own business, and live happily ever after.
Do Cool Sh*t features a foreword by Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos.

Book Description 

An inspiring, irreverent manifesto for those seeking to blaze their own path to entrepreneurship and find fulfillment and happiness through bold action and big ideas.

Have you ever wondered if it's possible to make a career out of something you love? Or how to march through life with a purpose and get the most out of every second? Miki Agrawal, entrepreneur, angel investor, and cool-sh*t-doer, has figured it out. Here Miki shares her own adventures in entrepreneurship and life, from learning to step out of her comfort zone in a foreign country to achieving her dream of playing soccer for the New York Magic to partnering with Tony Hsieh of Zappos.com to launch her dream business.

In Do Cool Sh*t, Miki shows you how to start your own business, fund it on a shoestring budget, convene the perfect group to brainstorm your business plan, test your product, get great (free) press coverage, and more—all while living a life you're proud of. 

Miki pulls back the curtain to reveal how you can live out loud, honor your hunches, and leave nothing on the table. She reminds you that it's cool to care and be excited about ideas and to be proactive; it's cool to mess up; it's cool to work your ass off on something that is meaningful to you; and it's cool to keep trying when the odds are stacked against you. Whether you're about to graduate from college and are wondering what the heck you want to do with your life, or you are in a dead-end job, dreaming about starting your own business, Do Cool Sh*t will make you open your eyes, laugh out loud, and shout, "I can do that!"

Links 

Author website

Author Twitter feed

DoCoolShit.org

Interview with Miki Agrawal on dailycandy.com

Review of Do Cool Shit on nyjournalofbooks.com