The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Ratings63
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings63
Average rating4.2
Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup—practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn’t cover, based on his popular ben’s blog. While many people talk about how great it is to start a business, very few are honest about how difficult it is to run one. Ben Horowitz analyzes the problems that confront leaders every day, sharing the insights he’s gained developing, managing, selling, buying, investing in, and supervising technology companies. A lifelong rap fanatic, he amplifies business lessons with lyrics from his favorite songs, telling it straight about everything from firing friends to poaching competitors, cultivating and sustaining a CEO mentality to knowing the right time to cash in. Filled with his trademark humor and straight talk, The Hard Thing About Hard Things is invaluable for veteran entrepreneurs as well as those aspiring to their own new ventures, drawing from Horowitz's personal and often humbling experiences.
Reviews with the most likes.
One of the best business biographies I've read - up there with Andy Grove, Henry Ford and Sam Walton. And definitely the most honest and heartfelt. Brilliant.
I admit this book was not for me and was hyped to be something I should have anticipated. This is great if you're a big publicly-traded company. Or if you have dozens or hundreds of employees. Or if you're into the world of Silicon Valley tech startups.
I'm a service business of 3 in middle America. None of this relates to me in the least. Points for being detailed where other books bluster. But not ideal for truly small businesses.
First third is a totally fascinating story of how he got started with his business and how the tech world has progressed as a whole. The rest of it (advice, lessons learned) is must read material for CEOs or entrepreneurs managing people.
