Sofya Polyakov

Sofya Polyakov is the CEO and co-founder of Noun Project, the world’s most diverse and comprehensive resource for icons and art quality photos. She is a serial entrepreneur with over a decade of experience, with a focus on socially-driven projects. Sofya is also the founder of Kindred Collective, a global dinner series that brings together extraordinary women leaders committed to creating positive social change.

If you could recommend 3 books to anyone, what would they be?

The Measure of Our Success, A Letter to My Children and Yours by Marian Wright Edelman

I recommend this book to anyone striving to be a decent, kind, and moral human being trying to leave the world a little better than they found it. It provides honest lessons we should all aspire to follow, simple at their core yet seemingly more difficult to follow with life’s ebbs and flows.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

This book is full of meaning for both young and old. By letting you see the world from a different perspective - in this case - a child’s, it puts on full display some of the absurdity that we, adults, have built into this world. It also shows the deep importance of taking care of the things we cherish.

For Small Creatures Such as We by Sasha Sagan

As someone who did not grow up with religion or a lot of traditions, I loved learning about how different cultures mark the passage of time, whether that’s seasons, birth, coming of age, marriage, or passing. It’s a deeply spiritual yet scientific book that makes you realize how small we are in the universe in the best possible way.

What are you reading now?

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

I’m reading “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss with my kids. If only everyone in the world would have read this book as a child, maybe we’d see more action taken to prevent climate change!