Entrepreneur Version of ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’
A recommended read for current & aspiring founders.
‘The Hard Thing About Hard Things’ by Ben Horowitz feels like the business version of ‘Man’s Search For Meaning’.
His multiple business journeys were accompanied by the scariest nightmares that one can only see in drama:
-He thought he was living an okay life, until his father told him “Flower is cheaper than divorce”, then started grinding with Netscape.
-Netscape almost got crushed by Microsoft before achieving success because Microsoft offers a free version of their product that is 5x faster, and has all the features they have.
-Then co-founded Loudcloud with Andreessen Horowitz, who had to go public on March 9, 2001, one of the worst times to go IPO as a tech company. (When he was on a road trip to raise funds, the CEO of Yahoo got fired and his family got admitted to a hospital)
-Pivot from Loudcloud (a public company) to Opsware (one software business unit within Loudcloud) because they risk going bankrupt doing what they do.
-He executed 3 major layoffs in Loudcloud & Opsware, his company survived all the detrimental side-effect of massive layoff, started building again, and were later sold to Hewlett-Packard for 1.6 billion in cash.
He survived them all, wrote down his feelings and struggles, and shared his thoughts and solid pieces of advice that one could do when there is no good option to choose from. The best part is he didn’t try to sugarcoat any part of his experience.
Like what Viktor E. Frankl did, he doesn’t advocate for anybody to look for pain and struggle, but life sure going to throw some of them your way, It’s better if you learn how to cope with them, survive them, and outgrow them, so you could achieve greatness. A recommended read for current & aspiring founders.
