Books
I write the way I speak: plainly, and with something useful to take away. I have written three books, one in English and two in Tamil. They come from different parts of my work, but they share one idea. Technology only matters when people can understand it and use it well, and that includes the people who build companies with it.
Books run in the family. My grandfather founded LIFCO Publishers in 1929, long known for its English–Tamil dictionaries.
Three books, one thread
The order follows the idea (use, then build, then lead), not the publication dates.
STEP 1 · USE
How do I use technology well?
Nutpam · 2023 · Tamil
STEP 2 · BUILD
How do technology products get built?
Seyaligalin Kathai · 2026 · Tamil
STEP 3 · LEAD
How do the people who build them grow into CEOs?
The Founder Catalyst · 2025 · English
The books
ENGLISH · 2025
The Founder Catalyst
A practical field guide to the founder-to-CEO journey: 35 short chapters on strategy, people, execution and AI.
For founders whose company has outgrown the room it started in, and who need to become the CEO it now requires.
With stories from Microsoft, Tata, Nykaa, Airbnb and Ogilvy.
TAMIL · 2026
Seyaligalin Kathai (செயலிகளின் கதை)
The founding stories behind 52 mobile apps, from WhatsApp and Netflix to Zomato and DeepSeek.
52 short case studies in how products start and grow, for Tamil-reading founders and students.
TAMIL · 2023
Nutpam (நுட்பம்)
Phones and computers explained in plain Tamil, in 52 practical chapters.
My exercise in explaining technology so simply that people can act on it the same day.
3
books
2
languages
139
chapters across the three books
More writing
Most of my writing is shorter. I have blogged since 2004, and I write a weekly newsletter on what AI really means for leaders.
- Articles on AI, founders and leadership: practical lessons, case studies and how-tos from The Founder Catalyst blog
- The Founder Catalyst Digest: my LinkedIn newsletter. No hype, just what AI really means for leaders. Written on Sunday mornings, over filter coffee.
- The Founder Catalyst on YouTube: ideas, talks, and conversations for founders and business leaders navigating growth, strategy, and AI.
- venkatarangan.com, my personal blog in English and Tamil
Books for your event or cohort
If you are running a leadership offsite, a founder cohort or a college programme and would like copies of The Founder Catalyst for participants, or a conversation around the book, write to me.