What I learned from reading The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz.
There's no recipe for complicated, dynamic situations [0:01]
Meeting Marc Andreessen [8:30]
The co-founder relationship between Marc and Ben [11:00]
How they came up with the idea for Loudcloud (Opsware) / A business is just an idea that will make someone's life better. —Richard Branson [13:45]
Ben finds value by asking the question: What would I do if we went bankrupt? [21:05]
Sell the wrong product to find the right one [22:30]
Saving a $20 million a year customer by buying a $10 million company [23:16]
Do not play the odds [27:27]
Discount praise. Focus on what can be fixed [28:32]
Why training is so important (compounding effect) [31:20]
Difference between large company executives and founders [32:00]
Why it is a good idea to collect good ideas [34:00]
Determination is more important than intelligence [35:30]
Your culture should be unique / Using shock to create behavioral change [38:24]
There is no founder school [40:30]
Perseverance is more important than intelligence [41:01]
Copy from great founders [46:50]
“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
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