Episode · The Tim Ferriss Show · 2025-12-17
Books mentioned on #840: Bill Gurley — Investing in The AI Era, 10 Days in China, and Important Life Lessons from Bob Dylan, Jerry Seinfeld, MrBeast, and More
Bill Gurley (@bgurley) is a general partner at Benchmark, a leading venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. His new book is Runnin’ Down a Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Greenlights
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey is a candid, bestselling memoir that compiles decades of personal journals, life lessons, and unconventional philosophies into a reflection on chasing success and meaning.
Discussed“I started listening to Green Lights. There's a story in it from when he was like 20.”
Where to get it
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Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital
Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital is an economic history and finance book that explores the recurring cycles of technological surges and market bubbles driven by financial capital.
Discussed“My my partner Peter reminded me of a book that we had seen a a while ago by Carlaua Perez. It has this very benign title, Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital.”
Where to get it
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Breakneck
Breakneck by Dan Wang is a non-fiction book that explores China's industrial strategy, state planning, and engineering-driven approach to engineering the future.
Discussed“I was aided by the fact that Dan Wong shared his book Breakneck with me right before I left and I read it while I was there, which was interesting.”
Where to get it
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GRIT The Power of PASSION and PERSEVERANCE
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth is a prominent psychology book that explores how long-term goals are achieved through steady dedication rather than raw talent alone.
Discussed“I had the opportunity to talk to Angela Duckworth when I was working on this and her book Grit talks about two components, passion and perseverance.”
Where to get it
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The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth is a prominent psychology book that explores how long-term goals are achieved through steady dedication rather than raw talent alone.
Discussed“I had the opportunity to talk to Angela Duckworth when I was working on this and her book Grit talks about two components, passion and perseverance.”
Where to get it
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Moneyball
Michael Lewis's Moneyball is a sports non-fiction book chronicling how the Oakland Athletics baseball team used advanced statistical analysis to assemble a competitive roster on a budget.
Discussed“he reads a book called Moneyball which we all know of the Michael Lewis book about the Oakland A's in almost what seems like an instant decided I really need to be in sports analytics and I mentioned that a lot of the stories we found have this intentionality so that book just like the Seinfeld the last laugh did”
Where to get it
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Competitive Strategy
Competitive Strategy by Michael E.
Recommended“For people who are not going to get an NBA, would you still suggest everyone read the first three chapters of Michael Porter's competitive strategy techniques for analyzing industries and competitive? Unquestionably, anyone that's going to do anything in business should read that book.”
Where to get it
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From Strength to Strength
From Strength to Strength by Arthur C.
Recommended“Because you had two successful careers as not just a podcast or influencer, but as an angel investor, I would I would encourage you to read Arthur Brook's book, Strength to Strength. I did. I did. It was already it was great.”
Where to get it
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The Rational Optimist
The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley is a book exploring the long-term history of human progress, innovation, and the power of shared ideas.
Discussed“And this gets back to Ridley's book, The Rational Optimist, but he talks about prosperity comes when ideas have sex. And just the sharing of information in my mind should be free”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“So, as part of researching my new book, Running Down a Dream, my coowriter and I, we spent six years just diving through stories because I had done this speech at the University of Texas and we wanted to enhance it, you know, when we went to the printed form.”