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Bill Gurley

Venture investor and former design engineer

An investor whose Benchmark work included Uber, OpenTable, and Zillow, after design engineering at Compaq. His documented reading selections span complexity science and company building.

Investing Technology

4Books recommended

Books Bill Gurley recommends

4 books, each linked to the source where Bill Gurley recommended it.

Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission when you buy through some links. Recommendations are included because of the source, not because of the retailer. Details

Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos

by M. Mitchell Waldrop

2 sources

Bill Gurley names Complexity as his favorite book in his Masters in Business interview.

Recommended · Wording not verified Source: The Big Picture / Masters in Business

Evidence details

Transcript: Bill Gurley

Conservative summary of Gurley’s own reading selection; no exact quotation asserted.

This text documents what the source says, but it is not verified as a word-for-word quote.

The Big Picture / Masters in Business · 2021-03-21 · accessed 2026-10-01

Article · Direct interview favorite-book selection

Explicit favorite-book selection in Gurley’s own answer. March 21 is transcript publication; not inferred from current reading or the host’s recommendations.

Bill Gurley identifies Complexity as the book he has gifted most often.

Recommended · Wording not verified Source: The Tim Ferriss Show

Evidence details

The Tim Ferriss Show: Bill Gurley (#651), transcript

Conservative summary of Gurley’s own reading selection; no exact quotation asserted.

This text documents what the source says, but it is not verified as a word-for-word quote.

The Tim Ferriss Show · 2023-01-25 · accessed 2026-10-01

Article · Direct interview reading selection

Gurley’s own answer to the frequently gifted books question; a distinct 2023 interview, not a republication of the 2021 interview.

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

by David Epstein · 2019

Bill Gurley selects Range in his answer about frequently gifted books.

Recommended · Wording not verified Source: The Tim Ferriss Show

Evidence details

The Tim Ferriss Show: Bill Gurley (#651), transcript

Conservative summary of Gurley’s own reading selection; no exact quotation asserted.

This text documents what the source says, but it is not verified as a word-for-word quote.

The Tim Ferriss Show · 2023-01-25 · accessed 2026-10-01

Article · Direct interview reading selection

Positive selection in the three-book gifted-books answer; no claim that Range is his most frequently gifted book.

Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making

by Tony Fadell · 2022

Bill Gurley recommends reading Tony Fadell’s Build.

Recommended · Wording not verified Source: The Tim Ferriss Show

Evidence details

The Tim Ferriss Show: Bill Gurley (#651), transcript

Conservative summary of Gurley’s own reading selection; no exact quotation asserted.

This text documents what the source says, but it is not verified as a word-for-word quote.

The Tim Ferriss Show · 2023-01-25 · accessed 2026-10-01

Article · Direct interview recommendation

Explicit reader instruction from Gurley, distinct from the host’s endorsement.

Shoe Dog

by Phil Knight · 2016

Bill Gurley recommends Shoe Dog in a discussion of company-building books.

Recommended · Wording not verified Source: The Tim Ferriss Show

Evidence details

The Tim Ferriss Show: Bill Gurley (#651), transcript

Conservative summary of Gurley’s own reading selection; no exact quotation asserted.

This text documents what the source says, but it is not verified as a word-for-word quote.

The Tim Ferriss Show · 2023-01-25 · accessed 2026-10-01

Article · Direct interview recommendation

Positive reader-facing selection by Gurley in response to an investor/entrepreneur resources question; not the host’s subsequent endorsement of Open.

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