ADVERTISEMENT

Libraries Of Leaders: The Books That Inspired Indian Startup Founders

What founders of MobiKwik, ClearTax, and Crownit are reading.

Inside the Valencia branch of the Santa Clarita Public Library in California (Photographer : Patrick T. Fallon / Bloomberg) 
Inside the Valencia branch of the Santa Clarita Public Library in California (Photographer : Patrick T. Fallon / Bloomberg) 

When asked how he learnt to build rockets, Tesla Motors and SpaceX founder Elon Musk reportedly said, “I read books”.

Surely, there is no secret recipe for professional success, but can reading lists of entrepreneurs give us an insight on what inspires and motivates them? On this week’s edition of Libraries of Leaders, we asked the founders of three successful Indian startups about the books that find prized spots on their bookshelves. Bipin Preet Singh of MobiKwik, Archit Gupta of ClearTax and Sameer Grover of Crownit shared their recommendations.

Bipin Preet Singh

(Source: MobiKwik)
(Source: MobiKwik)

Bipin Preet Singh co-founded mobile payment wallet MobiKwik in 2009. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi. MobiKwik started as a mobile recharge app and has since diversified into an e-wallet which allows users to make online payments for utilities, travel bookings and more. Here are some of his recommendations.

1. The Man-Eaters Of Kumaon by Jim Corbett

A thrilling narrative of the author’s real life experiences of hunting man-eating tigers in the foothills of the Himalayas in the early twentieth century, the book also dwells at length on Corbett’s immense respect for the big cats. The author went on to become one of India’s earliest conservationists and worked extensively to protect the range and habitat of several species

2. The Moon And Sixpence by William Somerset Maugham

It’s a unique descriptive narrative detailing the life of a middle-aged London stockbroker who leaves his job and family and travels to Tahiti to become a painter. Singh said that the book left a strong impression on him as a teenager.

I think this novel turned me into a rebel even though it would be a few years before I would quit my comfortable job and start MobiKwik.
Bipin Preet Singh, Co-founder, MobiKwik

Archit Gupta

(Source: ClearTax)
(Source: ClearTax)

Archit Gupta is the founder of one of India’s leading e-tax filing company ClearTax. It was named one of India's top four leading startups at the Tech In Asia conference 2016. PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel and Max Levchin are among the investors in the startup.

1. High Output Management by Andy Grove

The book, authored by the former Intel chairman and chief executive officer, comes highly recommended by Gupta who shares it with his colleagues at ClearTax. The book has specific and practical exercises which managers could implement, and this Gupta said differentiates it from the other run-of-the-mill stuff.

2. Zero To One by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

Thiel is the co-founder of PayPal and one of the early investors in Facebook. The book discusses how to build, manage a brand, and grow a successful startup .

Peter, no matter what his politics, has written one of the best books for startup strategy on how to think about a defensible business and a deterministic vision of the future.
Archit Gupta, Founder, ClearTax

Sameer Grover

(Source: Crownit)
(Source: Crownit)

Sameer Grover is the founder of discount and cashback app Crownit. The name of the app is inspired by the practice of collecting cola crowns in exchange for free merchandise. Sameer holds a Bachelor’s degree in engineering and has worked with startups such Apollo Health Street, MphRx, and Knowlarity.

Reading books helps me see the clear mirror without my bias and also helps me learn about the world out there – especially other cultures. Each book contributes to me... so it is hard to choose one from the other.
Sameer Grover, Founder, Crownit

1. The Age of Context by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel

The book revolves around how social media in conjunction with sensors and location-based technology, and mobile data synergise and allow our personal devices to anticipate our every need. The era in which this is increasingly happening has been dubbed the age of context.

Crownit was born from this book. This book taught me now (the startup was founded in 2014) was the time that a product like Crownit was possible, and not before that.
Sameer Grover, Founder, Crownit

2. Thinking, Fast And Slow by Daniel Kahneman

The book takes a look at the two ways in which decisions are made in the mind; a fast instinctive, intuitive method and a slower more reasoned logic-driven process. The book explains which process works best in what situation.

The Common Thread

For the first time on this series, we had all three contributors name a common book.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

The book is an insightful and anecdotal look by one of Silicon Valley’s most successful startup investors into the challenges faced by startups, how to navigate them, and thrive in the face of adversity.