#102

Mentioned in 153 episodes

The hard thing about hard things

building a business when there are no easy answers

Book • 2014

In this book, Ben Horowitz shares his personal and often humbling experiences in the tech industry to offer essential advice and practical wisdom.

He addresses various hard decisions and challenges that business leaders face, such as firing friends, managing company culture, handling layoffs, and making tough strategic decisions.

Horowitz emphasizes the importance of honesty, resilience, and adaptability in leadership, drawing from his experiences with companies like Loudcloud and Andreessen Horowitz.

Mentioned by

Lenny Rachitsky

Dmitry Zlokazov

Christian Idiodi

Lenny Ritschitsky

Mentioned in 153 episodes

Referenced by

Mike Krieger

when recalling hard times at Instagram.

Anthropic’s CPO on what comes next | Mike Krieger (co-founder of Instagram)

Mentioned by

Lenny Rachitsky

as one of

Ben Horowitz

's books that is about the struggle and pain of being a CEO.

$46B of hard truths from Ben Horowitz: Why founders fail and why you need to run toward fear (a16z co-founder)

Mentioned by

Bill Gurley

as a book on startups.

#651: Legendary Investor Bill Gurley on Investing Rules, Finding Outliers, Insights from Jeff Bezos and Howard Marks, Must-Read Books, Creating True Competitive Advantages, Open-Source Strategies, Adapting Mental Models to New Realities, and More

Mentioned by

Shaan Puri

when discussing valuable skills for business success.

I got rejected from YC (4x)…. now my side hustle is worth $1.16B

Mentioned by

Garrett Lord

as one of the classics books, and noted that Ben Horowitz will be on the podcast.

Inside the expert network training every frontier AI model | Garrett Lord (Handshake CEO)

Mentioned by

David Senra

in the context of a similar experience to one described in the book.

#233 Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin (PayPal)

Mentioned by

Lenny Ritschitsky

as one of

Ben Horowitz

’s New York Times bestselling books.

Ben Horowitz: Why Hesitation is a CEO’s Worst Enemy

Recommended by

Dmitry Zlokazov

as a guide for product managers on building systematic and scalable solutions.

How Revolut trains world-class product managers: The “local CEO” model, raw intellect over experience, and a cultural obsession with building wow products | Dmitry Zlokazov (Head of Product)

Recommended by

Anneka Gupta

as a great book about mindset and approaching hard things.

Becoming more strategic, navigating difficult colleagues, harnessing founder mode, and more | Anneka Gupta (Chief Product Officer at Rubrik)

Mentioned in passing as the source of the saying, "Market always trumps team."

How to Build a Successful Company in an Era of Disruption

Recommended by

Sachin Kansal

to teach resilience, highlighting the hard and lonely aspects of corporate and product leadership.

Why Uber’s CPO delivers food on weekends | Sachin Kansal

Mentioned by

Erik Torenberg

when introducing

Ben Horowitz

, the author of the book.

Ben Horowitz: Why Open Source AI Will Determine America's Future

Mentioned by

Ali Ghodsi

as the best business book he's read, influencing Databricks' approach to difficult situations.

Ben Horowitz and Ali Ghodsi: How to Run a Billion-Dollar Business

Recommended by

Luis von Ahn

as a helpful book.

#607: Luis von Ahn, Co-Founder and CEO of Duolingo — How to Be (Truly) Mission-Driven, Monetization Experiments, 10x Growth, Org Chart Iterations for Impacting Metrics, The Intricate Path to an IPO, Best Hiring Practices, Catching Exam Cheaters, The Allure of Toto Toilets, The Future of Duolingo, and How to Stand Out in Your Career

Mentioned by

Jorge Conde

as a valuable resource for founders and CEOs facing challenges.

Wartime vs Peacetime: Ben Horowitz on Leadership

Mentioned by

David Senra

while discussing an exchange between Mark Andreessen and Ben Horowitz about the emotional rollercoaster of startups.

#50 Marc Andreessen's Blog Archive

Mentioned by

Christian Idiodi

as a book describing the mindset and culture of good product work.

The essence of product management | Christian Idiodi (SVPG)

Mentioned by

Drew Houston

in relation to the product CEO paradox.

Behind the founder: Drew Houston (Dropbox)

Mentioned by

Erik Torenberg

as relevant to the conversation about managing a firm and extrapolating lessons as a founder.

Ben Horowitz on Investing in AI: AI Bubbles, Economic Impact, and VC Acceleration

Mentioned by

Andrew Feldman

as one of the few things that capture the essence of entrepreneurship.

20VC: Cerebras CEO on Why Raise $1BN and Delay the IPO | NVIDIA Showing Signs They Are Worried About Growth | Concentration of Value in Mag7: Will the AI Train Come to a Halt | Can the US Supply the Energy for AI with Andrew Feldman

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