# Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston

3 Hacker News commenters recommended Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a collection of founder interviews on how startups were built, though the quality of each interview varies.

## Why people recommend it

- Insightful founder interviews (2 comments): "I liked the book personally, but the interviews will be hit or miss depending on the participant." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46550083)) "an incredible founder who was interviewed in that book, Steve Perlman" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49428589))
- Essential reading for startups (1 comments): "Woz was a a major figure in one of YC's essential texts." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46793236))

## What people warn about

- Uneven interview quality (1 comments): "I liked the book personally, but the interviews will be hit or miss depending on the participant." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46550083))
- Slow, tedious to read (1 comments): "I recall the Founders-book being a bit of a slog -- I only read it once" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48895466))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Gervais Principle by Venkatesh Rao](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gervais-principle.md): 32 recommend
- [The Lean Startup by Eric Ries](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lean-startup.md): 32 recommend
- [Incorruptible by Eric Ries](https://hackerapproved.com/p/incorruptible.md): 23 recommend
- [The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/goal.md): 21 recommend
- [Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss](https://hackerapproved.com/p/never-split-the-difference.md): 13 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/148422034X?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781484220344) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston", https://hackerapproved.com/p/founders-at-work/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).