I was an executive running a pretty substantial group before becoming CEO, and I had no idea what it was like. When… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Startup CEOs should not play the odds. When you are building a company, you must believe there is an answer and you… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
In life, you don't have a level of confrontation and the nonsense you run into when you're a CEO. CEOs aren't born. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
When I was a CEO, the books on management that I read weren't very much help after the first few months on… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
The most important thing you can learn as CEO- one of the hardest things to do is, you have to discipline yourself… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Wartime CEO is too busy fighting the enemy to read management books written by consultants who have never managed a fruit stand. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
When I was CEO, and I'd listen to music, a lot of people listen to music and you get inspiration from it.… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
In my experience as CEO, I found that the most important decisions tested my courage far more than my intelligence. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
As a startup CEO, I slept like a baby. I woke up every 2 hours and cried. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Nobody knows how to be a CEO. It's something you have to learn. It's a very lonely job. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Look - this is the terror of being a founder & CEO. It is all your fault. Every decision, every person you… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
I described the CEO job as knowing what to do and getting the company to do what you want. Designing a proper… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
A CEO needs great intelligence and great courage. And I always found my courage was tested more. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Every time you make the hard, correct decision you become a bit more courageous, and every time you make the easy, wrong… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
The thing that's confusing for investors is that founders don't know how to be CEO. I didn't know how to do the… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
There is no silver bullet. There are always options and the options have consequences. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Groupon looked like a very high valuation, but any investment in a great company at any stage is almost always a good investment. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
By far the most difficult skill I learned as a C.E.O. was the ability to manage my own psychology. Organizational design, process design, metrics,… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
“The hard thing is when those “great people” develop a sense of entitlement and start demanding unreasonable things. The hard thing isn’t setting up… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
“As painful as it might be, I knew that we had to get into the broader market in order to understand it well enough… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
“On my grandfather’s tombstone, you will find his favorite Marx quote: “Life is struggle.” I believe that within that quote lies the most important… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
“Bill Campbell: "It's not about the money." Ben Horowitz: "What's it about, Bill?" Bill: "It's about the FUCKING money.” — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
When the value of the company clearly has fallen below what its assets are worth, having a shareholder who says, 'Let's get a better… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
One person is never as stupid as a group of people. That's why they have lynch mobs, not lynch individuals. — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
“out the right product is the innovator’s job, not the customer’s job.” — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
As companies move to web-based computing they get a lot more servers, which are difficult to manage and control. All kinds of problems can… — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
Breakthrough ideas usually come from guys who look like they're hallucinating — Ben Horowitz Copy Share Image
