Hall of Masters

People who built a real business alone or with a tiny team, without investors. Small bets, simple products, steady income.

• AAndrew WilkinsonCo-founder of Tiny; bootstrapped MetaLab, then bought and held small internet businesses653 records
• Noah KaganFounder of AppSumo, author of Million Dollar Weekend1,255 records
• Derek SiversFounder of CD Baby, author of Anything You Want2,523 records
• PPieter LevelsSolo maker of Nomad List, Remote OK and Photo AI379 records
• Jason FriedCo-founder and CEO of 37signals (Basecamp); co-author of Rework790 records
• David Heinemeier HanssonCreator of Ruby on Rails, co-owner of 37signals944 records
• Patrick McKenzieSoftware entrepreneur known as patio11; writer of Kalzumeus and Bits about Money937 records
• JJustin WelshSolo creator who built a one-person business on LinkedIn; writer of The Saturday Solopreneur1,152 records
• AArvid KahlBootstrapped founder, author of Zero to Sold and The Embedded Entrepreneur1,218 records
• Rob WallingFounder of Drip, TinySeed and MicroConf; host of Startups for the Rest of Us4,700 records

Investors who explain where to put money and time, how to judge risk, and when to wait. Useful for deciding what your business should bet on.

• Warren BuffettLongtime leader of Berkshire Hathaway who practiced long-term compounding by investing within his circle of competence in businesses with durable economic moats and margins of safety.1,409 records
• Ray DalioFounder of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, who established a culture of radical truth and radical transparency over four decades.136 records
• Howard MarksCo-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, a value investor who shares contrarian wisdom on market cycles and risk management through his highly regarded memos.80 records
• Marc AndreessenCo-creator of the Mosaic browser, co-founder of Netscape and Andreessen Horowitz941 records
• Bill GurleyGeneral partner at Benchmark; early investor in Uber; blog Above the Crowd916 records
• Jim O'ShaughnessyQuantitative investor, author of What Works on Wall Street, founder of O'Shaughnessy Ventures2,844 records
• Sam ZellReal-estate investor, founder of Equity Group Investments20 records
• Jim SimonsMathematician, founder of Renaissance Technologies114 records
• Benjamin GrahamFather of value investing, author of The Intelligent Investor51 records
• PPeter LynchManager of the Fidelity Magellan Fund from 1977 to 1990; author of One Up on Wall Street21 records
• George SorosHedge fund investor and philanthropist; theory of reflexivity921 records
• LLi LuFounder of Himalaya Capital; value investor trusted by Charlie Munger13 records
• Fred WilsonCo-founder of Union Square Ventures; daily blogger at AVC1,102 records
• Chris DixonGeneral partner at Andreessen Horowitz; founder turned investor1,416 records
• Elad GilInvestor and operator; author of High Growth Handbook1,037 records
• Li Ka-shingHong Kong entrepreneur; founder of Cheung Kong and CK Hutchison23 records

How business owners think about earning, keeping and using money. Habits and principles, not stock tips.

• Naval RavikantCo-founder of AngelList and investor who articulated how specific knowledge, accountability, and permissionless leverage through code and media build wealth and autonomy.805 records
• MMorgan HouselPartner at Collaborative Fund, author of The Psychology of Money103 records
• Scott GallowayNYU marketing professor, serial founder, author of The Four340 records
• Napoleon HillAuthor of Think and Grow Rich (1937)55 records
• Benjamin FranklinPrinter, inventor and American Founding Father; author of his Autobiography891 records
• John BogleFounder of Vanguard and creator of the first index fund for individual investors102 records
• Adam SmithScottish economist and moral philosopher; The Wealth of Nations743 records

Thinkers who give you tools for hard choices: where to compete, what to ignore, how to decide under uncertainty.

• Peter ThielCo-founder of PayPal and Palantir and technology investor who emphasizes contrarian thinking and building monopolies in small niche markets rather than competing.372 records
• Charlie MungerVice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway who championed a latticework of multidisciplinary mental models and inversion thinking to avoid costly judgment errors.283 records
• Nassim Nicholas TalebAuthor of The Black Swan and Antifragile; former options trader203 records
• Robert GreeneAuthor of The 48 Laws of Power and Mastery749 records
• Niccolò MachiavelliFlorentine diplomat, author of The Prince1,049 records
• Miyamoto MusashiJapanese swordsman, author of The Book of Five Rings81 records
• SShane ParrishFounder of Farnam Street, host of The Knowledge Project985 records
• Thomas SowellEconomist and author of Basic Economics68 records
• Daniel KahnemanNobel laureate psychologist, author of Thinking, Fast and Slow122 records
• Sun TzuChinese general, traditional author of The Art of War565 records
• Clayton ChristensenHarvard professor; theory of disruptive innovation; The Innovator's Dilemma28 records
• Michael PorterHarvard professor of strategy; five forces and competitive advantage27 records
• Ben ThompsonWriter of Stratechery; aggregation theory161 records
• Annie DukeFormer professional poker player; author of Thinking in Bets70 records
• DDonella MeadowsSystems thinker, lead author of The Limits to Growth28 records
• Carl von ClausewitzPrussian general, author of On War597 records
• Baltasar GraciánSpanish Jesuit, author of The Art of Worldly Wisdom33 records

Makers of products people love. What to build, what to cut, and how to keep quality high while moving fast.

• Steve JobsCo-founder of Apple and leader at Pixar who redefined personal computing and mobile products through extreme simplicity, focus, and the intersection of technology and liberal arts.343 records
• James DysonInventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, founder of Dyson35 records
• Jony IveFormer chief design officer of Apple; designer of the iMac, iPod and iPhone32 records
• Edwin LandInventor of instant photography, co-founder of Polaroid52 records
• Alan KayComputer scientist behind object-oriented programming and the modern graphical interface27 records
• Thomas EdisonInventor and founder of the first industrial research laboratory701 records
• Shigeru MiyamotoNintendo game designer; creator of Mario and Zelda152 records
• Eric RiesAuthor of The Lean Startup938 records
• Julie ZhuoFormer VP of design at Facebook; author of The Making of a Manager963 records
• MMarty CaganFounder of Silicon Valley Product Group; author of Inspired1,016 records
• Linus TorvaldsCreator of Linux and Git99 records
• John CarmackCo-founder of id Software; lead programmer of Doom and Quake81 records
• Joel SpolskyCo-founder of Fog Creek Software, Trello and Stack Overflow; blog Joel on Software556 records

How to be noticed and remembered: positioning, brand, advertising and words that sell.

• Rory SutherlandVice chairman of Ogilvy UK, author of Alchemy; behavioral science in marketing14 records
• AAndrew ChenGeneral partner at Andreessen Horowitz, author of The Cold Start Problem809 records
• David OgilvyFounder of Ogilvy and Mather, author of Confessions of an Advertising Man40 records
• Seth GodinAuthor of Purple Cow and This Is Marketing; daily blogger since 2002606 records
• RRussell BrunsonCo-founder of ClickFunnels, author of DotCom Secrets716 records
• WWes KaoCo-founder of Maven and the altMBA; writes on marketing and communication1,100 records
• AApril DunfordPositioning consultant, author of Obviously Awesome163 records
• Philip KotlerProfessor at Kellogg; author of Marketing Management23 records
• P. T. BarnumAmerican showman, author of The Art of Money Getting884 records

How to make an offer, talk about price, negotiate and earn a yes without tricks.

• Zig ZiglarSalesman, author and motivational speaker20 records
• Dale CarnegieAuthor of How to Win Friends and Influence People561 records
• Chris VossFormer FBI hostage negotiator; author of Never Split the Difference114 records

Writers, podcasters and creators who built an audience first. How to make things people want to share.

• Tim UrbanWriter of the long-form blog Wait But Why772 records
• Kevin KellyFounding executive editor of Wired, author of the essay 1,000 True Fans1,832 records
• MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson)YouTube creator with the most subscribers; founder of Feastables39 records
• Marshall McLuhanMedia theorist who coined 'the medium is the message'144 records
• DDavid PerellWriter and teacher of online writing; host of How I Write1,230 records
• Lex FridmanHost of the Lex Fridman Podcast; AI researcher237 records
• Tim FerrissAuthor of The 4-Hour Workweek; host of The Tim Ferriss Show156 records
• SSahil BloomWriter of The Curiosity Chronicle newsletter; investor993 records
• Oprah WinfreyTalk-show host and media entrepreneur; founder of Harpo195 records

How to hire, lead a team, set goals and run an organization that keeps working when you are not in the room.

• Satya NadellaCEO of Microsoft who successfully transformed the company around cloud and AI by deeply embedding a growth mindset into its organizational culture.619 records
• DDee HockFounder and first CEO of Visa86 records
• Dara KhosrowshahiCEO of Uber, former CEO of Expedia51 records
• Marshall GoldsmithExecutive coach, author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There13 records
• Tim CookCEO of Apple since 2011; operations and supply-chain expert26 records
• Andy GroveFormer CEO of Intel; author of High Output Management30 records
• Ed CatmullCo-founder of Pixar; author of Creativity, Inc.14 records
• Peter DruckerFounder of modern management thinking; author of The Effective Executive102 records
• Jim CollinsAuthor of Good to Great and Built to Last21 records
• W. Edwards DemingStatistician who shaped Japan's quality movement51 records
• Ben HorowitzCo-founder of Andreessen Horowitz; author of The Hard Thing About Hard Things157 records
• John WoodenUCLA basketball coach with ten national championships48 records
• Lee Kun-heeSecond chairman of Samsung; the 1993 New Management declaration15 records
• Satoru IwataProgrammer who became president of Nintendo; led the DS and Wii era87 records
• Indra NooyiFormer chairman and CEO of PepsiCo30 records
• Katharine GrahamPublisher of The Washington Post during the Pentagon Papers and Watergate24 records
• Lisa SuChair and CEO of AMD; led its turnaround18 records
• Sheryl SandbergFormer chief operating officer of Meta; author of Lean In31 records

Habits, focus, courage and getting back up after failure. For the days when the hardest problem is yourself.

• Greg McKeownAuthor of Essentialism and Effortless18 records
• Carl JungSwiss psychiatrist, founder of analytical psychology1,078 records
• Arnold SchwarzeneggerBodybuilder, actor and former governor of California100 records
• Ryan HolidayAuthor of The Obstacle Is the Way; former marketing director817 records
• Brené BrownResearcher on vulnerability, courage and leadership; author of Dare to Lead20 records
• Mark MansonBlogger and author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck31 records
• James StockdaleUS Navy vice admiral who survived more than seven years as a prisoner of war with Stoic philosophy27 records
• Jordan PetersonClinical psychologist, author of 12 Rules for Life399 records
• William JamesPsychologist and pragmatist philosopher who wrote on habit1,168 records
• Helen KellerDeafblind author and activist766 records
• Scott AdamsCreator of the Dilbert comic strip; author of How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big68 records
• Viktor FranklPsychiatrist and Holocaust survivor; author of Man's Search for Meaning37 records
• James ClearAuthor of Atomic Habits1,012 records
• CCal NewportComputer science professor, author of Deep Work811 records
• Carol DweckStanford psychologist, author of Mindset14 records
• Stephen CoveyAuthor of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People30 records

Old answers to lasting questions: what you control, what is enough, how to live and work well.

• Seneca the YoungerRoman Stoic philosopher and statesman; Letters to Lucilius1,047 records
• Marcus AureliusRoman emperor and Stoic; author of Meditations812 records
• Ralph Waldo EmersonEssayist and lecturer; author of Self-Reliance1,253 records
• Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian philosopher and speaker on freedom from conditioning244 records
• Friedrich NietzscheGerman philosopher of will, values and self-overcoming1,124 records
• Lao Tzu (Laozi)Ancient Chinese sage, traditional author of the Tao Te Ching179 records
• Leo TolstoyRussian novelist and moral thinker; author of War and Peace880 records
• AristotleGreek philosopher; ethics, rhetoric and logic952 records
• Jean-Paul SartreFrench existentialist philosopher and writer113 records
• C. S. LewisBritish writer and scholar; author of The Chronicles of Narnia189 records
• Henry David ThoreauAuthor of Walden and Civil Disobedience909 records
• Eric HofferLongshoreman philosopher, author of The True Believer113 records
• EpictetusStoic philosopher born a slave; the Discourses and the Enchiridion932 records
• Albert CamusFrench writer and philosopher; Nobel laureate124 records
• ConfuciusChinese teacher and philosopher; the Analects870 records
• Zhuangzi (Zhuang Zhou)Chinese Daoist philosopher362 records
• SocratesAthenian philosopher known through Plato's dialogues566 records
• Michel de MontaigneFrench writer who invented the essay1,105 records
• Gautama BuddhaFounder of Buddhism195 records

Scientists and inventors who show how to question assumptions, test ideas and reason from the ground up.

• Carl SaganAstronomer and science communicator; creator of Cosmos236 records
• Richard FeynmanNobel physicist and teacher; The Feynman Lectures on Physics261 records
• David DeutschPhysicist, pioneer of quantum computing, author of The Beginning of Infinity136 records
• Nikola TeslaInventor of the AC induction motor and polyphase power systems326 records
• Andrew HubermanStanford neuroscientist and host of the Huberman Lab podcast1,154 records
• Isaac NewtonPhysicist and mathematician; laws of motion and gravitation877 records
• Albert EinsteinPhysicist who developed the theory of relativity515 records
• Charles DarwinNaturalist; theory of evolution by natural selection1,031 records
• Marie CuriePhysicist and chemist; first person to win two Nobel Prizes437 records
• Claude ShannonFounder of information theory65 records
• RRichard HammingBell Labs mathematician; the talk You and Your Research75 records
• Grace HopperComputer pioneer and US Navy rear admiral; built one of the first compilers41 records

People building and explaining AI and other new technology. What is changing, what it means for a small business, and where the openings are.

• Sam AltmanFormer president of Y Combinator and CEO of OpenAI who emphasizes compounding personal growth, high conviction, and intense execution with small focused teams.1,250 records
• Balaji SrinivasanFormer CTO of Coinbase, author of The Network State961 records
• Dario AmodeiCo-founder and CEO of Anthropic535 records
• Andrej KarpathyAI researcher, founding member of OpenAI, former director of AI at Tesla705 records
• Aravind SrinivasCo-founder and CEO of Perplexity AI109 records
• Demis HassabisCo-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind; 2024 Nobel laureate in Chemistry174 records
• Fei-Fei LiStanford professor; creator of ImageNet89 records

Writers, artists, athletes and makers who reached the top of their craft. Practice, taste and doing the work every day.

• Ernest HemingwayNovelist and Nobel laureate known for spare, direct prose249 records
• William ShakespeareEnglish playwright and poet97 records
• Johann Wolfgang von GoetheGerman poet, novelist and polymath; author of Faust945 records
• George Bernard ShawIrish playwright, critic and Nobel laureate784 records
• Michael JordanSix-time NBA champion; the athlete behind the Jordan Brand81 records
• Maya AngelouAmerican poet and memoirist141 records
• Vincent van GoghDutch painter; his letters record a working artist's life215 records
• Jerry SeinfeldComedian and co-creator of the sitcom Seinfeld241 records
• Mark TwainAmerican writer and humorist1,104 records
• Oscar WildeIrish playwright and wit1,054 records
• Fyodor DostoevskyRussian novelist; author of Crime and Punishment408 records
• Rick RubinRecord producer, co-founder of Def Jam, author of The Creative Act252 records
• Leonardo da VinciRenaissance painter, engineer and notebook keeper873 records
• Stephen KingNovelist, author of On Writing195 records
• Bruce LeeMartial artist, actor and founder of Jeet Kune Do131 records
• Steven PressfieldNovelist, author of The War of Art858 records
• Twyla TharpChoreographer, author of The Creative Habit104 records

Statesmen, commanders and explorers who had to decide when everything was at stake. Leadership under pressure.

• Winston ChurchillBritish prime minister during World War II; writer and Nobel laureate1,054 records
• Franklin D. RooseveltUS president who led through the Great Depression and World War II945 records
• Genghis KhanFounder of the Mongol Empire64 records
• Eleanor RooseveltUS First Lady, diplomat and human-rights advocate151 records
• Theodore Roosevelt26th US president; author of The Strenuous Life1,147 records
• Ernest ShackletonAntarctic explorer who brought every man of the Endurance expedition home799 records
• Abraham Lincoln16th US president; led the Union through the Civil War990 records
• Napoleon BonaparteFrench general and emperor919 records
• Lee Kuan YewFounding prime minister of Singapore151 records
• Yi Sun-sinJoseon admiral undefeated in the Imjin War; author of the war diary Nanjung Ilgi49 records
• Sejong the GreatJoseon king who created Hangul and promoted science52 records
• Mahatma GandhiLeader of India's nonviolent independence movement1,081 records
• Margaret ThatcherPrime minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990252 records