2020 Summer Reading List
Turn the Page on Quarantine
While so many are ready to write off 2020, we say make it productive and read a book. We dedicated one of our previous (May) Envision issues to AI, seeing how it becomes a part of our lives more and more, and couldn’t help but wonder if the books are ready for the AI overhaul. Here is the short ”Twinkle Twinkle” science fiction story written with the help of AI. Please let us know what you think!
We are turning the page to a few recommendations from our portfolio company founders. They suggested a variety of books, ranging from some wonderful choices for understanding society from someone else’s perspective to novels and Sci-Fi. Many founders like to read about startups and how to make them successful. It's easy for us to endorse that book list!
Please enjoy it as much as we did in putting it together. Let us know what you like to read by sending an email to MCasady@VestigoVentures.com.
—Mark & Dave
Envisions Interview
Summer Updates
w/ Jeddy Ngarah and Chris Parkinson, Summer Analysts at Vestigo Ventures
Summer Reading Recommendations
The benefits of reading are endless. As a means of filling up your creative gas tank and providing a mental break, there is none better. We asked our founders, an amazing group of leaders, to provide some reading recommendations for our July Envisions issue. As you will see, there is a lot to explore. Some books will enlighten you. Some will entertain you. Some will transport you to other worlds or make you try new hobbies, like cooking.
Giri Addanki, Founder/CEO @ Acorn Finance
Business Recommendations:
- Measure What Matters by John E. Doerr
- Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
- Zero to One by Peter Thiel
Tommy Nicholas, Co-Founder/CEO @ Alloy
Fiction Recommendations:
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King
Nonfiction Recommendations:
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
- Can We Cool it?
Laura Spiekerman, Co-Founder @ Alloy
Fiction Recommendations:
- Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
David Potter, Co-Founder/CEO @ Curu
Business Recommendations:
- How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success by Napoleon Hill
- Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- The Challenger Sale by Brent Adamson & Matthew Dixon
- The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker
- The One Thing by Gary Keller
Fiction Recommendations:
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Nonfiction Recommendations:
- The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
- The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Zack Smith, CEO/Founder @ Jobble
Business Recommendations:
- Getting Real by Basecamp
Nonfiction Recommendations:
- The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant
Craig Welch, Founder/CEO @ Kingfield Corporation
Food and Drink Recommendations:
- Biker Billy Cooks with Fire: Robust Recipes from America's Most Outrageous Television Chef by Bill Hufnagel
- My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories by DavidLebovitz
- Paul Bocuse: The Complete Recipes by Paul Bocuse
- Virgil's Barbecue Road Trip Cookbook: The Best Barbecue From Around the Country Without Ever Leaving Your Backyard by Neal Corman, Chris Peterson
Michael Benedek, President/CFO/Co-Founder @ LifeYield
Business Recommendations:
- Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
Nonfiction Recommendations:
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Lindsay Holden, Co-Founder/CEO @ Long Game
Fiction Recommendations:
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
- Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Nonfiction Recommendations:
- Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
- The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
- The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
Romy Parzick, CEO @ Vault
Nonfiction Recommendations:
- A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
- Patriarchy Stress Disorder: The Invisible Inner Barrier to Women's Happiness and Fulfillment by Valerie Rein, PhD
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- Untamed by Glennon Doyle
- Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker, PhD
Christie Horvath, Co-Founder/CEO @ Wagmo, Inc.
Business Recommendations:
Fiction Recommendations:
- 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
- Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
- Severance by Ling Ma
Alison Foxworth, Co-Founder/COO @ Wagmo, Inc.
Fiction Recommendations:
- A Burning by Megha Majumdar
- Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
- The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
- The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candace Millard
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Pat Larsen, Co-Founder/CEO @ ZenLedger
Business Recommendations:
- Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor by Tren Griffin
- Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, Alan Eagle
- Loonshots by Safi Bahcall
- Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke
- What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz
Fiction Recommendations:
- Good Omens by Terry Pratchett
- The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Nonfiction Recommendations:
- The Art of Power by Thich Nhat Hanh.
- Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
We hope you enjoy it!
—The Vestigo Team
Portfolio Updates
Alloy and Idology Partner
Another great partnership for Alloy to provide multi-layered identity verification and fraud prevention services!
Posted by Alloy on Jun 9, 2020
Vault Adds Scott David As Its First Executive Chairman
Vaultannounced the appointment of Scott B. David as Chairman of its Board of Directors.
Vault
Vestmark Wins Silver Stevie Award
Vestmark won the Silver Stevie® Award for Most Innovative Tech Company of the Year!
Christie Horvath Interview
Check out Christie Horvath's interview to see what inspired her to create Wagmo and her advice to other entrepreneurs.
Carlyn Runnels
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