Ben Horowitz. Questions and answers, the most interesting of communication with users

Ben Horowitz, without a doubt, is one of the most respected and successful venture capital investors in Silicon Valley. He is known for being both straightforward and kind - an unusual cocktail of sincerity and decency. Wherever he goes, entrepreneurs flock to him like bees on honey, hoping to find a few minutes to advertise their company or talk about his best-selling NYT book The Hard Thing About Hard Things, which changed the concept of a startup.

Full chat you can see here.

What could you advise to the founders, with which the majority of investors or founders would not agree or even consider it insane?

There are no creators of successful companies that are not ridiculed throughout the life course. If public opinion is important to you, you should not become an entrepreneur. This does not mean that you should not listen to opinions, but you must make decisions on your own.
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If public opinion is important to you, you should not become an entrepreneur.

Who was your mentor in life and work?

At this stage in my life, I would rather call them friends, not mentors. Bill Campbell and Andy Grove are the two people with whom I learned a lot. Andy's life is one big lesson on how I should live my life. Bill’s ability to listen to people is so amazing that I learn something new from him every time we see each other. There are also other people in other areas. For example, us. We have the ability to see the world from a completely different point of view. We can listen to the same song, but he will notice 30 things in it that I don’t notice.

What are the 20% of the techniques, installations, skills, etc., which will bring new entrepreneurs 80% (or most) of the success?

The main thing to which all your energy should be directed is the conformity of the product to the market. Start with a product that people get used to very quickly, or which you can definitely sell more than once. In a sense, everything else - culture, management, etc. - is secondary. Do not be distracted from your goal.

Start with a product that people get used to very quickly, or which you can definitely sell more than once.

Last year you released The Hard Thing About Hard Things. If you released it today, what lesson would you add (or change) in the book?

Probably, I would describe more war stories. I did not know how much people would like it, but they definitely liked it. The most amazing thing about this book is that I wrote it for a very limited audience, but it turned out that everyone liked it - from teachers to priests. This shocked me.

Some say that there is now a new economic bubble, especially in the Valley. What do you think of it? Are we moving the same way as in 2001?

As CEO in 2001, I do not think that we are at all close to what it was then. The value of stocks increased in some technical sectors only in private markets, but it fairly quickly adjusted itself. For example, corporate software began to be revalued in the private market, but after several companies entered the open market with a lower share price than in their last private tours, private markets also adjusted the values. I do not think that we are facing a great crisis, as in 2001. In 2001, the Nasdaq lost 80% of the cost. I bet with anyone who believes in this bubble that Nasdaq will not lose its 80% in the next 5 years.

I do not think that we are facing a great crisis, as in 2001.

The current state of open markets has frightened a large number of people, and they are already talking about unicorn and decacorn startups that have been affected. How do you think, how much will such a recession affect companies in the early stages of development, and will it affect them at all?

I believe that investing in the early stages, if it is done competently, has little to do with open markets. The average time for venture capital to enter the market is more than eight years, which means that by this time open markets will change dramatically. On the other hand, many amateur investors can stop their activities if the markets collapse, and in this case it will definitely be more difficult to obtain financing. In addition, if you are a venture capitalist and pay the price of an economic bubble, even at an early stage, it will be quite difficult to get out of such a state (both you and the company) if the climate changes drastically.

Which unicorn startups you think are best suited to withstand the storm [of a potential economic bubble] and why?

Airbnb, because it's a great company with a great culture and a great network effect. Brian Cesky is well done.

What do you think is the best way to get into the venture capital circles as a young professional?

Open your company or take part in a startup and feel the process of creating a company. Otherwise, it is almost impossible to learn.

At what stage should CEOs step away from the role of “product owner” and start doing the rest of the business?

I recently wrote an article titled “Why Founders Fail” (Why founders lose out). I do not think it is worth moving away from the product, but as soon as you enter the market, you should pay a lot of attention to the rest of the company.

Predicting financial performance is difficult when the numbers are purely hypothetical. Can you suggest any optimal method for creating a forecast of financial indicators that attract investments?

If you are an industrial enterprise, then Salesforce math is probably the best way. In other words, sum up the quota of productive employees of your company. If you are a commercial company, financial performance is usually derived from other indicators. If I were you, I would just be sincere about how you see it.

If you had to start your career all over again, where would you start today?

I think I would become a biohacker. Computational biology is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I would like to work in this area.

Do you think entrepreneurs are born or become?

To become an entrepreneur, a person must want to be completely vulnerable and think only about himself. I think you can learn this, but I'm not sure.

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