Podcast · 35 min

Ben Horowitz on What Makes a Great Founder

Ben Horowitz · a16z Podcast Free Intermediate

Horowitz breaks down the traits he looks for in a founder and why conviction and vision matter more than polish. He is candid about where first-time founders lose confidence and defer to the wrong hires. A grounded look at what 'why you' means once the company is actually running.

  • Vision and conviction outweigh a smooth presentation
  • First-time founders often defer authority they should keep
  • Great founders are judged on traits, not resumes
Open on a16z.com ↗

The question it answers

  1. How much does 'why you?' actually matter to investors and to success?

Read with it

  1. The definitive essay on where good ideas come from: notice problems you personally have, don't force it. Use it as the lens for... paulgraham.com Essay · ~20 min read How to Get Startup Ideas Paul Graham
  2. The essay that put 'product-market fit' into the startup vocabulary. Read it for the gut-level description of what PMF feels... pmarchive.com Essay · ~15 min read The Only Thing That Matters Marc Andreessen
  3. Video · ~25 min How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas Jared Friedman
  4. Thiel makes the counterintuitive case that dominating a tiny market first is a feature, not a bug: every lasting monopoly... Penguin Random House India Book · ~224 pages Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future Peter Thiel with Blake Masters
  5. Currier's whole argument is that founder-market fit is more than the one line on a resume that says 'domain expert'. He breaks... NFX Article · ~12 min read The 4 Signs of Founder-Market Fit James Currier
  6. Video · About 26 minutes How to Succeed with a Startup Sam Altman (Y Combinator)
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →