Best Books on Building a Business From Scratch.
There's a specific kind of advice that only makes sense once you've actually built something out of nothing — no funding, no team, no playbook, just an idea and the decision to start. These five books come from founders and operators who did exactly that, covering the mindset, systems, and hard lessons of building a business from zero.
1. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Nike founder Phil Knight's memoir traces the company from a $50 loan and a car trunk full of imported running shoes to a global brand, and doesn't sand down how close it came to collapsing more than once along the way — cash flow crises, near-bankruptcy, and years of grinding uncertainty before anything looked like success. One of the most honest founder memoirs ever written about what building something from scratch actually feels like, day to day, rather than how it looks in hindsight.
2. The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco
DeMarco's central argument is that most popular financial advice (save slowly, invest in index funds, wait decades) is a "slow lane" that works but takes a lifetime — and that building a scalable business from scratch is the more realistic fast lane to real wealth, if you're willing to take on the risk and effort it requires. Blunt, occasionally abrasive, but a useful corrective for readers who think building a business from nothing requires either a trust fund or pure luck.
3. Company of One by Paul Jarvis
A direct challenge to the assumption that "build a business from scratch" has to mean "build a business that grows as big as possible." Jarvis makes the case for deliberately staying small — a company of one, or just a few people — prioritizing autonomy, sustainability, and profit over headcount and scale. Especially useful for readers starting a business around a specific skill or service rather than aiming for a venture-backed empire.
4. Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
A short, sharp book by the founder of CD Baby, who built the company from a hobby project helping musician friends sell CDs online into a business he eventually sold for $22 million — all without ever taking outside funding or writing a formal business plan. Told in brief, almost aphoristic chapters, it's one of the fastest reads on this list and one of the most quietly radical, arguing that customer service and doing right by people matters more than most growth tactics.
5. Built to Sell by John Warrillow
Written as a business fable rather than a straight how-to, this book follows an agency owner learning to build systems and processes that let the business run — and eventually sell — without being entirely dependent on him personally. Especially useful once you're past the very first stage of building from scratch and starting to think about how to make what you've built sustainable rather than just busy.
Where to Find These Books in Kenya
All the titles above are in stock at Readers' Republik, with delivery across Nairobi and the rest of Kenya. Explore more in these collections:
Frequently Asked Questions.
Which of these books is the most inspirational, story-driven read? Shoe Dog — it's structured as a genuine memoir rather than a how-to guide, and reads almost like a thriller in parts as Nike repeatedly comes close to running out of money.
Which book is best if I want to keep my business small rather than scale it aggressively? Company of One is built specifically around that choice, making the case that small and sustainable can be just as legitimate a goal as rapid growth.
Is The Millionaire Fastlane realistic, or overly hyped? Its tone is intentionally provocative and some readers find it overconfident, but the core argument — that scalable business ownership can build wealth faster than traditional saving and investing — is a genuinely useful reframe, even if the specific path looks different for every reader.
Which book is shortest and fastest to read? Anything You Want — it's written in very short chapters and can realistically be finished in a single sitting.
I've already started my business. Is any of these still useful? Built to Sell is specifically aimed at business owners past the initial start-up phase who are trying to build systems that don't depend entirely on them.