FT Business Book of the Year

Best business books

All the books longlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

For a down-to-earth view of start-up life, The Hard Thing About Hard Things makes the perfect antidote. Ben Horowitz gives a warts-and-all view of what it’s really like to be in charge of a business weeks away from running out of cash, threatened by the loss of its biggest customer or outflanked by a competitor with a better product. — Read the complete FT review

Synopsis

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.