Founders at Work
Founders at Work by Jessica Livingstonby Jessica Livingston
Shares rank 18 of 24 business books by recommenders
People recommend it as a collection of founder interviews on how startups were built, though the quality of each interview varies.
People recommend it as a collection of founder interviews on how startups were built, though the quality of each interview varies.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Insightful founder interviews
“I liked the book personally, but the interviews will be hit or miss depending on the participant.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Why I Left iNaturalist” “an incredible founder who was interviewed in that book, Steve Perlman”
Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “How Universities Should Prepare Founders” Essential reading for startups
“Woz was a a major figure in one of YC's essential texts.”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “There's only one Woz, but we can all learn from him”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Uneven interview quality
“I liked the book personally, but the interviews will be hit or miss depending on the participant.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Why I Left iNaturalist” Slow, tedious to read
“I recall the Founders-book being a bit of a slog -- I only read it once”
Comment from 13 Jul 2026 in “Zig Creator Calls Spade a Spade, Anthropic Blows Smoke”
Other business books people recommend
The four most recommended other business books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Gervais Principleby Venkatesh Rao | 32 | 6 | 84% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Lean Startupby Eric Ries | 32 | 6 | 84% | 5 | 10 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Incorruptibleby Eric Ries | 23 | 11 | 68% | 4 | — | Approved |
| The Goalby Eliyahu Goldratt | 21 | 3 | 88% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Founders at Workby Jessica LivingstonThis page | 3 | 1 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“an incredible founder who was interviewed in that book, Steve Perlman”
“I recall the Founders-book being a bit of a slog -- I only read it once”
“Woz was a a major figure in one of YC's essential texts.”
“I liked the book personally, but the interviews will be hit or miss depending on the participant.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.