Ben Horowitz
American entrepreneur and venture capitalist; co-founder and CEO of Loudcloud/Opsware, co-founder of the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in 2009, and author of The Hard Thing About Hard Things (2014).
Ben Horowitz did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
What they believe
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The struggle of running a company is not failure, but it causes failure, always if you are weak
The Struggle is not failure, but it causes failure. Especially if you are weak. Always if you are weak.
a16z.comSaid 15 Jun 2012This on korrents
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Facing an existential threat may be the scariest thing in business, and many will do anything to avoid it
There may be nothing scarier in business than facing an existential threat. So scary that many in the organization will do anything to avoid it.
a16z.comSaid 13 Nov 2011This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 8 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
The struggle of running a company is not failure, but it causes failure, always if you are weak
The Struggle is not failure, but it causes failure. Especially if you are weak. Always if you are weak.
The Struggle (a16z) Said 15 Jun 2012
Greatness comes from the struggle
The Struggle is where greatness comes from.
The Struggle (a16z) Said 15 Jun 2012
A CEO grading themselves a failure for their mistakes does not help; every CEO makes thousands of mistakes
Everybody makes mistakes. Every CEO makes thousands of mistakes. Evaluating yourself and giving yourself an “F” doesn’t help.
The Struggle (a16z) Said 15 Jun 2012
Show 5 more
Facing an existential threat may be the scariest thing in business, and many will do anything to avoid it
There may be nothing scarier in business than facing an existential threat. So scary that many in the organization will do anything to avoid it.
Lead Bullets (a16z) Said 13 Nov 2011
Every company eventually must fight for its life instead of running from the battle
There comes a time in every company’s life where it must fight for its life. If you find yourself running when you should be fighting, you need to ask yourself: “If our company isn’t good enough to win, then do we need to exist at all?”
Lead Bullets (a16z) Said 13 Nov 2011
Peacetime and wartime require radically different management styles
My greatest management discovery through that transition was that peacetime and wartime require radically different management styles.
Peacetime CEO/Wartime CEO (a16z) Said 14 Apr 2011
A CEO can master both peacetime and wartime leadership, but it is hard
I believe that the answer is yes, but it’s hard. Mastering both wartime and peacetime skill sets means understanding the many rules of management and knowing when to follow them and when to violate them.
Peacetime CEO/Wartime CEO (a16z) Said 14 Apr 2011
Management books tend to describe peacetime methods because consultants study companies in times of peace
Be aware that management books tend to be written by management consultants who study successful companies during their times of peace. As a result, the resulting books describe the methods of peacetime CEOs.
Peacetime CEO/Wartime CEO (a16z) Said 14 Apr 2011
What is a korrent?
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Where they publish
Blog a16z.com Posts on a16z.com
Essays on management, startups and technology policy, including his old blog posts now hosted by a16z.
Link verified 3 Oct 2026.
x.com @bhorowitz @bhorowitz
LinkedIn LinkedIn LinkedIn profile
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