DILA Venture Volumes - The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Ben Horowitz
Launching a business and running it can be great; however, Ben Horowitz is brutally honest about how hard it truly is. We have given every founder we have partnered with a copy, fully vested in the quest together to grow their business and the demanding journey to be an entrepreneur. The Hard Thing About Hard Things is a must-read for every founder and entrepreneur, for anyone looking for a book with amazing insights into the high risk, high reward journey of starting a business.
Ben Horowitz is one of the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, an exceptional and respected entrepreneur, and a Silicon Valley mogul. In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Horowitz delves into his own experience and story to offer advice on running and managing a company, taking a different angle from traditional business school agendas. He discusses knowing the right time to cash in your chips, the convoluted relationship between friendship and business, and fostering and maintaining a C-level and leader mindset.
Drawing from his diverse experiences, ranging from co-establishing Loudcloud, an early pioneer in cloud services, to creating the highly influential Andreessen Horowitz venture capital fund alongside tech luminary Marc Andreessen, his guidance is rich with personal tales. This narrative isn't a mere celebration of his own triumphs; rather, it delves into complex dilemmas he faced, such as the challenge of demoting or dismissing a friend, navigating the intricacies of titles and promotions, the ethics of recruiting from a friend's business, and maintaining personal stability when the entire organization depends on you. It also explores dealing with talented yet problematic employees, the high value-add that Andreessen Horowitz sees for founders in the CEO role, and the path to becoming one, as well as the intricate decision-making process involved in selling a company.
Ben Horowitz is not only a gifted entrepreneur and investor but also a skilled writer. The book is told with his trademark humor and lets his readers know straight how things really are. The Hard Thing About Hard Things is invaluable for veteran entrepreneurs as well as those seeking to start their own company, a must-read in the VC, tech, and start-up universe.