Ben Horowitz - "Your ONLY job is Right Product, Right Time"

You people are doing everything but your job. You're writing these requirements.

job. You're writing these requirements.

You're pitching customers. This and

that. You're doing all this stuff. It's

a lot of work. But your job is right product, right time. And if you don't give me the right product at the right time, I don't give a [ __ ] what you do.

That was the whole idea.

>> That's Ben Horowitz. Before co-founding

A16Z, Ben was a founder and CEO himself.

His best-selling book, The Hard Thing About Hard Things, tells the story of how he led enterprise software company Opsswware from a stock price under a dollar to an eventual $1.6 billion

acquisition by HP. In this fireside chat, Ben discusses the real challenges founders face when scaling companies and explains why a company's story is

actually its strategy.

>> Another challenge that we talk about here at Speedrun um often is sort of building teams. um many of the folks who are bringing on their first employees, their first sort of set of hires,

>> co-ounders.

>> What what do you find has worked best in teams uh trying to attract top talent early on when they don't have as much of a brand or a track record just yet?

>> Well, if you don't have a brand, all you have is a story, right? So, and this like look this is something that I think

founders often neglect over time uh is the so the story of the company um is

also the strategy of the company.

Nobody's got like some strategy in their back pocket that's like entirely secret uh and then they've got a story that's

different. So like that's the one thing

different. So like that's the one thing and the truth about strategy is it's kind of a thing that it's not like a meeting that you have and you go out with your team and you go like what's

our strategy? Okay everybody give me

our strategy? Okay everybody give me your input and then we assemble this uh strategy by committee. What really is happening is you have the initial idea.

um you're learning about the market, you're learning about the customers, you're learning about the technology, you're learning about each other, and in your mind, you're kind of adjusting that

strategy a little bit at a time uh every day. But then a quarter later, it's

day. But then a quarter later, it's actually pretty different than what you started with. And so, it's really

started with. And so, it's really important that you keep upgrading your story, the articulation of your story.

Uh, and look, I I I would definitely recommend like it be in written form and it uh kind of be something that you can share with everybody in the company, but

everybody you're recruiting, everybody you're trying to raise money from. Um,

like all your constituents, every customer, like what the hell is the story of this thing? And the problem that I think founders have is it doesn't feel like work. Like what are you doing

today? I'm working on my story. That

today? I'm working on my story. That

doesn't sound like work. Why don't you have like OpenClaw write that for you, [ __ ] But sorry for the language. I used to be a

CEO. Um,

CEO. Um, so because it doesn't feel like work, people don't do it, but it it's probably one of the most important parts of the job is to have that thing really. And

even like like today at the firm, John will tell you like I write the story um you know every once in a while, not all the time, but it's very helpful to for

for people to just go. It's helpful for me to go like this is what we're trying to do here.

>> And and just double clicking on that because I feel like that's so important.

What does that look like tactically when you say writing down story? Is it being active in social media? Is it like a culture doc? Is it Yeah. What is what is

culture doc? Is it Yeah. What is what is >> No, no. I think the culture is kind of separate from the story of the the the company story of the the company. It's

like why do we exist? Like why should this be a company? Why should you join this company? Why should you invest in

this company? Why should you invest in this company? Why should you work at

this company? Why should you work at this company? Like you have to answer

this company? Like you have to answer that question, the why. So the story is answering the why. Like you have KPIs and OKRs or all that kind of stuff.

That's what you know and it's but but the what is kind of a vague interpretation of the why. The why is the depth. Like if you know the why, I

the depth. Like if you know the why, I don't even have to tell you the what because you know what to do. That's a

strategy. I know what my job is. I'm

going to go like run after that. You you

know like it depends on how you know what medium you are best at articulating yourself in. But uh I think that

yourself in. But uh I think that you I would say like writing it out long form helps a lot because it it forces you to be the most disciplined

on it. Um, but you just have to be able

on it. Um, but you just have to be able you have to have like a running articulation of like the why.

>> Do you feel like in a uh in in an AI world where now like the nature of talent and teams is changing very rapidly?

>> Um do you feel like founders should be trying to look for particular traits or skills in the um employees that they're hiring? um like like what

hiring? um like like what what would you look for it that's different than um talent from you know pre ideas it is if >> so so I think it's a little hard to know

I mean it depends on the position it depends on the company um and all those things but I I I do think two things that at least in Silicon

Valley have probably been underrated over time are gonna increase in importance anyway which are creativity

and relationship like ability to um create maintain relationships. I think

those are things that are hard to get out of at least today's AI in a very good way. Um so if you don't have

good way. Um so if you don't have instincts around those things, it's I I don't know that all the AI in the world can help you. Whereas kind of like

the grind them out tasks >> AI is already really good at. So you

know those are things like you know do you have original ideas? Um

can you you know look can can you like establish and maintain like very high quality high fidelity relationships with people >> um off the rip? Like I think people

don't think about that enough in my business like I I would say people don't value that highly enough. One big

advantage I think that we have at the firm is like we really look for that uh on the relationship side but you know many firms just ignore that whole thing

like it's not a thing it's a thing >> but in the creativity side um there's an element of taste there as well right sort of like do do you have good taste in decision making and the people that

you hire and so on so forth yeah >> but just like idea you know I find what's like very valuable is just like people of new ideas um like what to go

pursue. So well I give you an example.

pursue. So well I give you an example.

So, you know, we we had kind of a legendary marketing organization that we had built. Um, but it was uh all built,

had built. Um, but it was uh all built, you know, we built in 2009, so it was very oriented towards traditional media.

Um, and then it was very hard to get breakthrough ideas about how to use new media. Um and then you know as we

media. Um and then you know as we brought in people who were very very creative on that front all of a sudden we were able to do that super

effectively. Uh but it's it's difficult

effectively. Uh but it's it's difficult like it's not not everybody has like a ton of >> ideas around a new thing like that's that that's actually not that common.

>> You wrote a uh a classic essay number of years ago called good product manager bad product manager.

>> Yeah. It was like the first thing I wrote I think. Um, it was actually one of the it was required reading for me when I started being a PM. Um,

>> and you didn't work for me. I don't know who required that.

>> I literally wrote it for seven people.

>> Yeah, >> that was the audience. The people, seven people, product managers that work for me. I was so [ __ ] mad at them because

me. I was so [ __ ] mad at them because I was like, you people are doing everything but your job. You

know, you're you're you're writing these requirements. You're running around, you

requirements. You're running around, you know, pitching customers, this and that.

You're doing all this stuff. It's a lot of work.

>> Yeah.

>> But your job is right product, right time. Like, and if you don't give me the

time. Like, and if you don't give me the right product at the right time, I don't give a [ __ ] what you do. Like like I need you to do that. And so that that was why good product manager, Brad. That

was the whole idea. It wasn't anything.

It was just like that simple like this is the job, not that is all all these things that you're running around doing are not the job. This is the job. like

they're like a BB's in a beer can. They

were bouncing doing this. I'm doing that today and that and that and that and I was like, well, like am I going to get the product I want? I

don't know. I'm just going to get a bunch of [ __ ] random features that you everybody told you you should put it in.

>> What do you think holds true about sort of those principles in today's age where it feels like the AI landscape is shifting so quickly? Does it even make sense to have a PM? Um, like what what

is the product leader's job today? um in

this landscape you feel >> right product right time what else is it landscape this is you sound like my

[ __ ] product manager it's like whoa now the landscape is different I won't write a PRD I'll write a prompt okay great is it going to get you the right product right time if not it

doesn't matter like that's the only thing that's the only thing that that job is and look there's a lot that goes into it you've got to define the product correctly you've got to market it correctly. You've got like people have

correctly. You've got like people have to understand that you have the right product somehow. It's got to get out

product somehow. It's got to get out there. The engineers like have to be

there. The engineers like have to be able to build the thing. Like there's a lot that goes into it, but that's what it is.

>> Yeah.

>> And like however you have and if you can't do that then you know Opus 4.6 can do like all those tasks no problem. It almost feels like

the key decision point today is what problem to focus on at all in the beginning and then a lot of the actual tactical steps to your point Opus can do

a fantastic job of the PR and wrangling agents and so on so forth and so >> yeah I I mean it's a very very hard problem if you can do it you can found a

company you can create something you know it's a very difficult thing to get to a right product right time you have to understand a lot about the world you have to understand a a lot about the

technological landscape. You've got to

technological landscape. You've got to understand a lot about the technology uh that you have. Um and I'm not saying

it's easy, but I'm saying that's what it's always been. And look, the problem

a product is kind of the technology, right? Like what's technologically

right? Like what's technologically possible? It's, you know, if you've

possible? It's, you know, if you've already got one in market, it's like what do the customers of that want? It's

what does the market want? You know,

what is the competition doing? There's a

lot of things that go into like is this a product that's going to work? Uh,

and I I think you need somebody who's responsible, accountable to all of that.

uh now you know maybe you've got like a product architect who's already good enough to do that or or these kinds of things. So like I don't think the title

things. So like I don't think the title matters but that thing matters.

>> Yes. What are the opportunities out there that you would be most excited to potentially build and >> well that's why I'm not like a founder now like you're asking

I'm like running a venture capital firm.

Um like there there's so many I I'd say like one of the most interesting areas are the areas that we have shortages in.

Like we funded a company which I never thought we would fund that's doing a new transformer. Not like a model but like a

transformer. Not like a model but like a literally a power transformer because there's like a massive shortage in power transformers. Um it's like a big problem

transformers. Um it's like a big problem if you're trying to build a new power plant. uh which we need a lot of and

plant. uh which we need a lot of and you know it's a very interesting idea how to do them like much easier more efficiently and so forth. So I think you

know like we've got electricity shortage chip shortage token shortage um going to have cooling shortage. So like there's and there's all kinds of levers that you

can pull to alleviate some of those shortages and and those will be valuable. So yeah, if there's unlimited

valuable. So yeah, if there's unlimited demand for tokens, which there seems to be, like what are the supply side issues, I think is is pretty

interesting. And then um

interesting. And then um you know there's just all kinds of like problems of humanity that have been around for a long long time like cancer

um and things like that which are now kind of solvable. So so I think there's there's really interesting opportunities but so as a founder this is what you shouldn't do. You shouldn't like just

shouldn't do. You shouldn't like just pop random ideas off of your head. You

you have to actually go in try and do something hard and then figure out where like there is no solution in the world uh and then go solve that.

>> If you have an idea and you're working on it and you've been working on it for some time and it doesn't look like it's working, how do you know when the right

time is to pivot or to continue to to keep going? Like are there signals that

keep going? Like are there signals that you look for from the market? Is there

sort of um like how do you think through that?

>> You know, that's very specific, very very specific question. Pivots

typically, you know, as somebody who's done a pivot, pivots typically, you know, don't work particularly if you get to a certain scale. So, um doing a

light pivot like I did, I I think is very difficult. And so, you better have

very difficult. And so, you better have no choice. Um because any choice is

no choice. Um because any choice is better than that choice, I would say.

I think that look if something changes like you made some set of assumptions when you started some set of those are always wrong.

>> Um so you're always a little bit pivoting like nobody goes oh I'm going to do this and then they go build it and it's exactly as they laid out like that that never happens that way. So you're

going to change the idea as you go. Uh

but you're kind of like okay what did I think in the beginning? What did I learn? What's the delta? Does that mean

learn? What's the delta? Does that mean this whole thing is unviable or I have to make some adjustments like that?

That's always a question that you're asking yourself. But I don't think

asking yourself. But I don't think there's any kind of like miracle idea that you have that goes, okay, time to pivot. Like I've checked these 17 boxes

pivot. Like I've checked these 17 boxes and now I'm [ __ ] so I'm going that way. Like that that's not really the way

way. Like that that's not really the way it works in in reality.

>> Well, Chris Dixon has talked about the idea of navigating the idea maze, right?

It's like you're sort of trying every potential.

>> Yeah. Everybody is going through the idea. There are no ideas. there's only

idea. There are no ideas. there's only

the idea maze. Um, and you know, you're going to run into a wall in the market.

You're going to run into a wall with competition. You're going to run into a

competition. You're going to run into a wall with the underlying technology.

You're gonna >> and you're going to have to keep moving.

>> A major thing that comes up for discussion all the time is defensibility today. Um, that if you're building an AI

today. Um, that if you're building an AI application, it feels like it can get copycatted very easily these days. And

>> I think defensibility just in general is is very tricky when things are moving so fast. How how should the founders think

fast. How how should the founders think about defensibility? Like what is the

about defensibility? Like what is the sort of unit of competition these days?

Is it momentum? Is it speed? Is it the team? Is it culture? It feels like

team? Is it culture? It feels like there's a Yeah. How should they think about that?

>> I mean, I still think look there are still hard technical problems to solve and so like it's a hard technical problem that's for example like a model for a humanoid

robot is like a pretty hard technical problem still um despite everything. So

like that's one thing look you know possession of the customer is still very very valuable and look an easy example

of that is chat GPT like how much model differentiation does open AAI have at this point you know maybe they have negative differentiation in some areas

uh but they've got the most consumers and that still matters and that kind of can get them to the next square >> and the brand. Yeah. And the brand. Um,

so those those things I I think as long as the customers are humans, um, that that's still quite a big thing.

>> What advice or um things would you suggest everyone think about as they go into their first set of fundraisers to sort of um help help them be successful?

Yeah, I mean I I I really think the knowing like being able to articulate really why you're building this company

in a way that convinces even you that you should join rejoin your company um is really the thing. So you want to if you can convince yourself like completely like this is the greatest

freaking idea in the world then that that that's the most compelling thing I think that the the mistake people make in fundraising is they go well what does Ben want to hear and you does he want to

see a graph like this or does he want to um you know know this about market size or whatever that that's very hard to figure out and you usually get it wrong

um but you can know like how would I convince myself to join this company is is really or invest in this company and

like let me make that argument uh is I I I think that always works the best because that's also the thing that you're not going to get talked out of in a pitch. That's the worst thing that can

a pitch. That's the worst thing that can happen to you is you get talked out of your idea. It's like why why the hell

your idea. It's like why why the hell aren't you doing this? Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Well, don't do that.

>> It's as much about finding the right partner for you, right? like someone who actually understands the vision and is going to go along.

>> Yeah. I mean, I think that right, you want people invested who really want to invest in what you're doing, not what they want to hear.

>> Yeah.

>> It's just like a It's kind of like a bad way to start a relationship, too, right?

Like, I'm going to pretend to be this other person, and then you're going to like me, but then we're going to get together and you're going to find out the real me.

um that tends not to work out either.

>> And with that, let's give a big hand for Ben.

>> Okay. Thank you everyone.

>> Thank you, Ben.