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Ben Horowitz: Why hesitation kills more startups than bets

How the psychological muscle to pick between two horrible options separates CEOs; Horowitz on hesitation, the abyss, and a near-bankruptcy IPO.

Ben HorowitzguestLenny Rachitskyhost
Sep 11, 20251h 37mWatch on YouTube ↗

CHAPTERS

  1. 0:00 – 4:09

    Introduction to Ben Horowitz

  2. 4:09 – 10:15

    Important leadership lessons from Shaka Senghor

  3. 10:15 – 19:35

    Running toward fear and why hesitation kills companies

  4. 19:35 – 22:36

    Who shouldn’t start a company

  5. 22:36 – 24:54

    The Databricks story: thinking bigger

  6. 24:54 – 28:06

    Managerial leverage and CEO psychology

  7. 28:06 – 31:20

    When founders should be replaced as CEOs

  8. 31:20 – 37:57

    Normalizing failure for CEOs

  9. 37:57 – 42:31

    Counterintuitive lessons about building companies

  10. 42:31 – 48:21

    “Good Product Manager/Bad Product Manager”

  11. 48:21 – 51:16

    Product managers as leaders

  12. 51:16 – 56:23

    Why a16z invested in Adam Neumann after WeWork

  13. 56:23 – 1:02:43

    Is AI in a bubble?

  14. 1:02:43 – 1:12:51

    The biggest opportunities in AI

  15. 1:12:51 – 1:18:53

    Why U.S. leadership in AI matters

  16. 1:18:53 – 1:23:18

    The Paid in Full Foundation for hip-hop pioneers

  17. 1:23:18 – 1:37:59

    Lightning round: book recommendations, products, and life mottos

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