Recommended by
- Peter Thiel: "Ben Horowitz has written the first true guide for protecting a startup from self-sabotage." source ↗
- Marc Andreessen — Recommended as a founder's book source ↗
Summary
Ben Horowitz's candid account of the unglamorous realities of running a startup — the layoffs, the firings, the near-bankruptcy, and the emotional toll of leadership. It is the rare CEO book that does not pretend there are easy answers, and instead arms founders with the mindset to survive the hard parts.
For founders
This is the honest counterpart to the inspirational founder narrative. Horowitz walks through the decisions no business school teaches — firing a friend, selling a company at a loss, managing your own psychology when the company is losing. Essential for founders in the hard, unglamorous middle.
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