Evolution Book Shelf

Evolution recently hired Mike Martof as an associate, he grew up in the Youngstown, Ohio area, and went through ROTC while attending Miami University. After school, Mike joined the U.S. Navy, and subsequently an analyst training program at an investment bank in Cleveland. Mike...

One of my favorite books I’ve read over the last few years is Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. The book hit home for many reasons: It partially explains Trump Mania. It provides flashbacks to growing up in my hometown of Alliance, Ohio. It highlights...

In 2014, I was lucky enough to attend an event in Boulder, CO, hosted by Brad Feld, Martin Babinec and Keith Alper with about 30 other seasoned entrepreneurs. At the event, I was introduced to Startup Communities, a book by Brad Feld.  During the...

Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio comes as a recommendation from our past summer associate, whom I have mentioned before. He introduced me to the phenomenal concept of “speed listening” two summers ago, and life has not been the same since! Although he...

Scaling Up Excellence by Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao has been on my reading list for some time now, but it took a recent conversation with one of our leaders, Sergio Pessoa, President of Lewellyn Technologies, LLC, to bump it to the top of...

Another recommended read for the year: Give and Take by Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist. I was so captivated by Grant’s theories that I was actually disappointed when the book ended. Give and Take interestingly highlights three types of people: takers, matchers and givers. ...

It was over 10 years ago that, for the first time, I read The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham. The book made such an impression that I traveled to Springfield, Missouri, to spend a few days with Mr. Stack...

Two books in a row that I’m putting on my “re-read” list! Last month, it was Good People by Anthony Tjan. This month the title is Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss & Tahl Raz....

In February of this year, one of my favorite ambassadors and writers for small businesses, Bo Burlingham, wrote an article for Forbes featuring Cue Ball, a venture firm built around human capital (a firm that over the past year four or five people have...

Occasionally, I have the good fortune to speak to young people about entrepreneurship, opening the idea of self-employment as a career alternative. For the last few years, Denea Jackson (Evolution’s office manager) has facilitated the opportunity to present this message to the fourth-grade class...