Ankur Warikoo is an Indian entrepreneur, angel investor, and bestselling author known for his work at the intersection of business and self-improvement. He co-founded Nearbuy.com and previously led Groupon India, before pivoting into digital education with a YouTube channel and newsletter followed by millions. His books — Do Epic Shit, Get Epic Shit Done, and Make Epic Money — are consistent bestsellers in India.
42 Books Recommended by Ankur Warikoo
Rework
It was 2009 when Vivek Pahwa gifted me REWORK... The book changed me. Threw open a different way of looking at the world. Came to define 'resist the obvious' for me as a life lesson. It remains my most gifted book till date.
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
Better Under Pressure
2016: I had just laid off 80 of my colleagues for no mistake of theirs. And this book came to my rescue. CEOs must master three essential attributes: realistic optimism, subservience to purpose, and finding order in chaos.
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Entrepreneurship was made cool by the media. And then came this book. I believe that within that quote lies the most important lesson in entrepreneurship: Embrace the struggle. Life is struggle.
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
High Growth Handbook
IMO there isn't a better guide to understanding startups, than this book. Possibly the best step-by-step guide on how to think of growth in a startup. Learnt a lot from it.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2019 ↗
Trillion Dollar Coach
I have come to believe that everyone in life requires a coach. THE TRILLION DOLLAR COACH taught me how. An absolute must for leaders. AWESOME book! Not what happened and who's to blame, but what are we going to do about it?
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2019 ↗
Radical Candor
A must-read for every manager. Taught me how often I was fundamentally wrong in my own management approach and execution.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2018 ↗
Shoe Dog
If there is only 1 autobiography that I would recommend, it would have to be this. The single easiest way to find out how you feel about someone: say goodbye.
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
Linchpin
A true linchpin is someone who becomes indispensable to any organization through emotional labor and art. Vital for understanding indispensable organizational value.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
No Rules Rules
Essential for understanding modern, high-leverage corporate culture and the removal of bureaucratic friction through talent density and candor.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
Deep Work
We have lost our ability to focus deeply. This book provides four simple rules to cultivate this vital skill again and eliminate distraction for high-value output.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
Bad Blood
MAN! What a story. What a thriller. Couldn't believe any of it even as I read it, knowing it to be true. Great pick if you want the joy of a fiction, in a non-fiction book.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2019 ↗
Netflixed
Oh man! What a joy and rush to read this one. Hard to imagine the near-death experiences Netflix went through and how it just didn't give up.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2019 ↗
Meaningful Work
Enjoyed this quite a lot. Very different take and made a lot of sense when I read it.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2019 ↗
The Psychology of Money
AWESOME! Dealing with money is about behavior, not just math. Wealth is what you don't see. Spending money to show people how much money you have is the fastest way to have less money.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
One of my most frequently recommended books. A definitive guide to living a meaningful life, establishing wealth as a learnable skill based on leverage and specific knowledge.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2017 ↗
Skin in the Game
What Nassim Nicholas Taleb did was explain the meaning and importance of risk like nothing else ever had. Absolutely stunning book — a game changer. What matters isn't what a person has or doesn't have; it is what he or she is afraid of losing.
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
Never Split the Difference
One of the most powerful books I have read on negotiation. Have used a lot of the tactics in real life, even beyond negotiation circumstances, and it's helped tremendously.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2019 ↗
Alchemy
I first heard of Rory Sutherland on a podcast. Loved his ideology. His view of the world is so dramatically different from mine... thoroughly enjoyed it.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2019 ↗
Nudge
A power book that fundamentally altered my understanding of how to make large-scale changes happen through small, architectural adjustments in choice rather than force.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2018 ↗
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Essential for understanding the dual systems of the brain and how cognitive biases implicitly dictate human rationality and decision-making.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
Being Wrong
Such a wonderful book about being wrong and everything around it.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2019 ↗
Freakonomics
Essential for exploring the hidden, often perverse incentives that drive economic and social behaviors beneath the surface.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
The Art of Thinking Clearly
(Almost) Book of the year for me – because I picked this up when I needed something like this the most. Brilliant book on what drives our minds and thus our decisions.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
Man’s Search for Meaning
This was long time due and was one of the most recommended books from my readers. Truly enjoyed it. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2019 ↗
A Guide to the Good Life
Getting to know about Stoicism has helped me immensely in life. One of the best books for me, of 2017. Matched with my introduction to meditation, I am certain this book will be a game changer for me. The easiest way for us to gain happiness is to learn how to want the things we already have.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2017 ↗
Sapiens
As someone who loves to ask questions, this book opened my mind to a whole new set of them. Money is the most universal and most efficient system of mutual trust ever devised.
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
The Direct Truth
I started following Kapil Gupta and his thoughts moved me. So I picked up his book. I was shocked at how little I knew what's inside my head. Why do I get angry when I am insulted? Because you entertain the verity of the insult.
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Fucking brilliant! Loved it so so much. Mark Manson is a brilliant writer and I am so glad he wrote this book.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
Essentialism
If you are fed up with the overindulgence of everything in life, this book is a must read. Loved several aspects about it – things that I don't do well in life. Now I know.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
Also recommended by: Sam Ovens
The Fountainhead
The only fiction I have ever read (and will perhaps ever read) was the only fiction I would ever need to read. This is a priceless book. To say 'I love you' one must know first how to say the 'I'.
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
Grit
I felt like I would want my life to be such a story. The book title may as well have been Grit: The Story of Warikoo. Loved this one. Angela Duckworth is magic. Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening.
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
Atomic Habits
From one of my favorite writers online, James Clear. A powerful book. Also my most recommended book for this year.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2019 ↗
Mindset
Mind-blowing. Explained the architecture of the mind in ways few people have successfully articulated — the dichotomy between fixed and growth mindsets.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2018 ↗
Tools of Titans
Gave me multiple autobiographies in one. THE book of the year. Cannot recommend this enough. Great book, great gift, great book to re-read. If you let your learning lead to action, you become wealthy.
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
The Courage to Be Disliked
A profound exploration of Adlerian psychology, focusing on releasing the self from the trauma of the past and the expectations of others.
Recommended on: My Top 10 List for 2016 ↗
Chariots of the Gods
Back as a kid obsessed with X-Files, this book added fuel to my imagination. I remain a student of aliens. The positive thing about the skeptic is that he considers everything possible!
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
Genghis Khan's reputation precedes him. This book looks at him objectively – and is a great read especially if you care about world history.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
As a Man Thinketh
Explores the absolute power of individual thoughts in shaping one's life outcomes and cultivating a positive, character-driven mindset.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
Autobiography of a Yogi
Recommended for its deep spiritual insights, bridging Eastern mysticism with the practical demands of seeking universal truths.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
Superforecasting
A vital text for understanding how to accurately predict outcomes in complex, uncertain environments — a core part of his early reading on rational decision-making.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
Love Sonnets of Ghalib
Nothing calms me down than reading Ghalib. It shocks me to read how much Ghalib understood human emotions.
Recommended on: 20 Books That Helped Me More Than College ↗
Kashmir: History, Politics, Representation
Bonus: My Kashmir roots somehow took shape this year. Read more about it than I ever have. Starting to care. And this book helped a lot.
Recommended on: Annual Reading List ↗
