Question 1

True or false: Horowitz's book 'The Hard Thing About Hard Things' focuses on easy frameworks for success.

Accepted Answer

False. The book actually emphasizes the difficulty of running a startup, offering no easy formulas.

Question 2

True or false: Horowitz dropped out of college to start his first tech company.

Accepted Answer

False. He completed a BA in Computer Science from Columbia and an MS from UCLA before entering the tech industry.

Question 3

True or false: Ben Horowitz was an executive at Google, overseeing Android development.

Accepted Answer

False. He never worked at Google; his executive roles were at Netscape, AOL, and his own startups.

Question 4

True or false: Ben Horowitz co-founded the cloud computing company Salesforce before starting Andreessen Horowitz.

Accepted Answer

False. He co-founded Opsware (formerly Loudcloud), not Salesforce. Salesforce was founded by Marc Benioff.

Question 5

True or false: Ben Horowitz was an early employee at Netscape, working as a product manager.

Accepted Answer

True. He joined Netscape in 1995 as a product manager, gaining key experience before founding his own companies.

Question 6

True or false: Horowitz's father was a famous economist who influenced his business thinking.

Accepted Answer

True. His father, David Horowitz, was a noted economist and author, which shaped Ben's analytical approach to business.

Question 7

True or false: Horowitz wrote a famous rap song called 'The Struggle' to motivate his startup employees.

Accepted Answer

True. He performed a rap titled 'The Struggle' at a company party to rally his team during tough times at Loudcloud.

Question 8

True or false: Ben Horowitz named his venture firm Andreessen Horowitz alphabetically to avoid partner ego battles.

Accepted Answer

True. He and Marc Andreessen chose the name based on alphabetical order to prevent any debate over whose name came first.

Ben Horowitz Trivia Questions