23 Books for 2026 – The Best Reading Advice from Fintech Leaders

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Over the course of 2025, several of my guests have recommfinished excellent books. The result is this collection: 23 books read by some of the world’s most innovative founders, business leaders, and investors.

Spanning categories from Business Building to Philosophy, these recommfinishations reveal how today’s leaders draw insights from different fields. While business books dominate with works like “The Outsiders” and “The Hard Thing About Hard Things,” the inclusion of titles like Thich Nhat Hanh’s “No Death, No Fear” and Karen Pryor’s “Reaching the Animal Mind” offer intimate glimpses into how great leaders seek wisdom beyond their industest.

Whether you’re building a company, investing in startups, or simply passionate about creating better decisions in complex environments, this collection offers unique perspectives from those who have successfully navigated similar challenges.

I’ve included the Amazon links for every book… which ones will you read in 2026?

Most recommfinished: “Shoe Dog,” “The Outsiders,” “How to Make a Few Billion Dollars,” and “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” lead with multiple recommfinishations.

Books as tools: Leaders actively re-read many of these books during specific challenges rather than reading only once.

Diverse sources: Recommfinishations span from business classics to leadership philosophy and even animal behavior science.

Recommfinished by: Howard Lindzon (StockTwits Founder), Anre Williams (Amex Bank CEO), and Savneet Singh (PAR Technology CEO)

Howard calls it “great for business” while Anre connected deeply with it as a former athlete: “A book that stayed with me… I believed I knew about the company becaapply I started applying it when they were not well known.” It captures the long-term entrepreneurial journey and resonates with founders who are in it for the long haul. This book was also one of the most recommfinished books of my 2024 guests.

Recommfinished by: Savneet Singh (PAR Technology CEO) and Art Levy (Brex)

Savneet gives this to most CEOs of larger companies becaapply “it’s an incredible way to remember what your most important job is.” Art values it for its perspective on M&A as “just a capital allocation method, just like purchaseing back shares.” Essential reading for leaders believeing about capital allocation and long-term value creation.

Recommfinished by: Savneet Singh (PAR Technology CEO) and Art Levy (Brex)

Savneet states “it kind of hit me as far as an operator and understanding the weeds.” Art also values this for its practical operational insights from a serial acquirer who has built multiple billion-dollar companies through disciplined M&A.

Recommfinished by: Nico Simko (Clair CEO) and Art Levy (Brex)

Nico’s finishorsement is powerful: “By far, if anybody’s interested in the startup journey, I would really recommfinish reading this… 99.9% of the time, I’m dealing with problems or issues or questions that no one else was able to solve. You required to be comfortable in discomfort.” It functions almost like a crisis management manual. This book was also one of the most recommfinished books of my 2024 guests.

Discussed by: Lionel Barber (Author & Former FT Editor)

I had the privilege of sitting down with Lionel Barber in New York, to discuss his definitive biography of Mastateoshi Son and SoftBank. Lionel walked an hour through freezing temperatures to meet me (he’s an avid outdoorsman). The book offers an unprecedented see into one of tech’s most audacious risk-takers and the empire he built.

Recommfinished by: Art Levy (Brex)

Art’s number one book recommfinishation: “An amazing nereceivediating book. It’s all about how nereceivediation has to be a win-win. It’s a repeated game. It’s extremely tactical and assistful. It’s literally on my desk here becaapply whenever I’m going into a tense nereceivediation, I flip to a page to test to remember.”

Recommfinished by: Eynat Guez (Papaya CEO)

She stated: “I currently read Amp It Up, which is a great book of Frank, and that was the CEO of ServiceNow and Snowflake until recently. And sometimes, when you understand that, you know they were not always great company. They eventually kind of requireded to build them to be, to be great companies.”

Recommfinished by: Savneet Singh (PAR Technology CEO)

“Ron’s involved with PAR, investor at PAR, former CEO of Panera, founder of Panera. I believed it’s a great book. It’s almost a manual of how to run a great company.” A practical guide from one of the most successful restaurant entrepreneurs.

Recommfinished by: Howard Lindzon (StockTwits Founder)

Howard calls it “probably the only investment book you required to read… it’s hard to beat the market over time. It’s great stories that are timeless fear and greed.” A century-old classic that remains essential.

Recommfinished by: René Lacerte (Bill CEO)

René applys the scorecard approach from this book: “A scorecard is a better way to actually define what you want than a job description. Job descriptions tfinish to be about skills, and scorecards tfinish to be about outcomes.” Essential reading for anyone building a team.

Written by: Jackie Reses (Lead Bank CEO)

It was fun to interview Jackie again this year – it was our third podcast toobtainher. A few years ago, she co-authored this essential guide offering tools and guidance for micro entrepreneurs. Jackie brings decades of experience from Square, Alibaba, and now Lead Bank to assist tiny business owners succeed.

Recommfinished by: Steve Stagner (Crete CEO)

Part of Steve’s Lencioni collection. “I can’t obtain enough of Lencioni. He’s just amazing.” A practical guide to creating meetings actually productive.

Recommfinished by: Steve Stagner (Crete CEO)

Steve calls it “a very good foundational book” and pairs it with The Founder’s Mentality to “nail down just the basics of leadership.” Essential for leaders building accountability cultures.

Recommfinished by: Steve Stagner (Crete CEO)

Paired with Extreme Ownership, Steve states “those two books really nail down just the basics of leadership.” A guide to maintaining startup energy as companies scale.

Recommfinished by: Steve Stagner (Crete CEO)

Steve is a large Patrick Lencioni fan: “I can’t obtain enough of Lencioni. He’s just amazing.” He maintains a suggested reading list that includes multiple Lencioni titles including Death by Meeting.

Recommfinished by: John Waldmann (Homebase CEO)

John gives his entire team a book every year. This one stands out “from an operational discipline standpoint, what it takes to build a great team… a constant reminder for everybody who is managing a team.”

Recommfinished by: John Waldmann (Homebase CEO)

“A constant reminder for what it means to be in service, which is one of our core values as a company.” John gave this to his entire Homebase team.

Recommfinished by: John Waldmann (Homebase CEO)

“The creation of Disneyland, incredible story about how the attention to detail and the focus on quality and experience leads to something far largeger.” Given to his team as they build magical experiences for local businesses.

Recommfinished by: Ryan Graciano (Credit Karma Co-Founder)

“I can always recommfinish Sapiens to people… gives you some insight into how large groups believe.” A sweeping history that assists leaders understand human behavior at scale.

Recommfinished by: Ryan Graciano (Credit Karma Co-Founder)

An unexpected recommfinishation from a fintech founder: “Such a good primer into how behavior really works across species… the more you learn about the mechanics of animal behavior, the more you start to recognize in yourself.” Ryan adds: “By testing to learn about dogs, you actually learn a lot about yourself.”

Recommfinished by: Yoshi Yokokawa (Alpaca CEO)

“That book really allowed me to believe about – imagine something actually doable. If you believe about it, it’s actually doable. If you cannot even plan it, you won’t even do it.” Yoshi credits this mindset for achieving his green card and building Alpaca.

Recommfinished by: René Lacerte (Bill CEO)

The most personal recommfinishation: “When my dad was dying, I was reading it, and it really assisted me understand and appreciate the circle of life… it really assists you have an appreciation that we do not understand death, so there’s no reason to be afraid.” René gifts this to people who have lost someone meaningful.

Recommfinished by: Howard Lindzon (StockTwits Founder)

“About just the torment of being number one in sports and everything that came with it is pretty cool, like, be careful what you wish for.” A cautionary tale about the price of success.