Ben Horowitz

Ben Horowitz

Founding Partner, Andreessen Horowitz and Author, The Hard Thing About Hard Things

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Ben Horowitz is a cofounder and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and a New York Times best-selling author. Previously, he was cofounder and CEO of Opsware (formerly Loudcloud), acquired by Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion in 2007. He has held executive roles at HP, AOL, and Netscape, where he led major product divisions.

Sometimes called the “CEO Whisperer," Horowitz has helped a16z invest in companies like Facebook, Instagram, Airbnb, and Oculus. He has been featured in The Washington Post and on the cover of Fortune.

Horowitz holds a BA from Columbia University and an MS in computer science from UCLA. He serves on the boards of Anyscale, Databricks, Okta, and others. He founded the a16z Cultural Leadership Fund to connect cultural leaders with tech and expand opportunities for young African Americans in the industry.

A group of armored men, some gesturing and talking with an air of positivity, gather around a seated figure wearing a laurel wreath and colorful robes; other figures and draped fabric appear in the background. CEO masterclass: 3 ways to burst the “positivity delusion”
Andreessen Horowitz cofounder Ben Horowitz thought that “blowing sunshine” was the right way to handle pressure — here’s how he corrected his mistake.
A person in shorts and a cap balances on a tightrope with "LEADERSHIP MATERIAL" written in large white text over the image against a clear blue sky and mountain backdrop.
7 min
Ben Horowitz: Quit being a coward and do the hard thing
"You need to run towards the pain and darkness and not away from it. I think the best leaders always run towards the darkness. They always run towards a problem."