It’s not often — actually, it hasn’t happened before — that I enjoy a book so much that I finish reading it and then immediately read it again. But there’s a first time for everything and the book, The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, was well worth reading twice. I daresay I’ll read it again this summer.
The book is heavily focused on the career and experiences of Ben Horowitz in the startup world and as a CEO of a fast growing company with many twists and turns before an eventual successful exit. It’s packed full of anecdotes and tips derived from personal experience, which suits my style of learning. I’d much rather hear from someone’s personal experiences in business than to read a book by someone who has “studied” startups and businesses.
There’s also a different level of transparency that can be reached if the author is no longer working on the businesses that they are writing about. Approximately ten years has passed since Ben Horowitz exited his startup and he’s now a VC, which gives him the freedom to write in more depth about the struggles (and eventual success) that he experienced.
Why did I like it so much? Starting and running a business is hard-work. It’s one urgent thing after another. There are no easy answers and there is no roadmap to success… and I find that strangely motivating.