The Hard Thing About The Hard Things

Hey, everyone! I’m Yong（涌）—yep, the one with the three-dot water radical in my name if you know Chinese. Since late 2018, I’ve been grinding through five years of entrepreneurship, diving into robotics, cars, IoT, SaaS, and even an AI clothing project. Some ventures got sold, others got shelved. I founded OmniEdge in the U.S. and JIEQI Internet in China, leading teams from Australia, Canada, and Germany. It’s been exhausting but thrilling. Today, I wanna talk about a book that blew my mind—Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, a Silicon Valley legend. When I was deep in my startup grind, I grabbed the Chinese version of this book, but the translation bugged me, so I bought the English original on Kindle. This book doesn’t bullshit—it dives straight into the gut-wrenching challenges of entrepreneurship, and every line hits me right in the feels.

1. My Startup Journey and Why This Book Hits Home

These past years, I’ve tasted every kind of startup pain. In 2018, with JIEQI Internet, we hit technical roadblocks, market pressures, the pandemic, chip shortages, team crises—you name it, we didn’t make it through. Then in 2021, I started OmniEdge in the U.S., building an enterprise networking SaaS. Managing a cross-country team remotely while juggling tech, product, sales, and investors? Man, I felt so alone I wanted to bash my head against a wall. Reading Horowitz’s book felt like finding a battle buddy. He nearly went bust with Loudcloud but turned it into Opsware, selling it for $1.6 billion. His stories of late-night stress and anxiety mirrored my own grind. Reading it, I was like, “Damn, wish I’d found this sooner.”

1. What’s the Book About?

Hard Things About Hard Things doesn’t promise you’ll get rich quick. It’s about the brutal, hair-pulling battles of entrepreneurship. Stuff like:

Company’s out of cash—what now? Lay people off? Sell out? Or keep fighting? Gotta fire a key exec—who happens to be a high school buddy of 10 years. How do you even start that convo? Market’s a warzone—how do you hold your ground? Pressure’s so bad you can’t sleep—how do you keep from breaking? In January 2020, I flew to Germany with a small batch of products for JIEQI. Four days later, China locked down. Then I went to the U.S. to chase clients, not getting back until March. That year, chip shortages, team issues, and manufacturing headaches kept me up night after night, just sitting on the couch, staring at the TV like a zombie.

Horowitz shares his own war stories, like how he pivoted Loudcloud when it was on its last legs. He talks about the difference between a “wartime CEO” and a “peacetime CEO”—in a crisis, you gotta be ruthless, cut through the mess fast. I love that about him; sometimes entrepreneurship means being tough. He also breaks down how to build a company culture and talk to your team during crises.

1. Why’s This Book Awesome?

This book’s killer because it’s real. I love how foreign founders like Horowitz lay it all out—good, bad, and ugly. No fairy-tale startup dreams here, just pure, practical advice on surviving the worst days. He shares how to break bad news to your team, and I’m telling you, it works. He even uses hip-hop lyrics to vibe with the entrepreneurial hustle—funny but spot-on, keeps you hooked. For someone like me—tech background, no family business experience, jumping across industries like robotics and IoT—this book’s a goldmine for figuring out how to untangle the chaos.

1. Who Should Read It?

This book’s for:

Aspiring or active entrepreneurs: Whether you’re just starting or a seasoned hustler, these stories will save you from some nasty pitfalls. Team leaders: Especially if you’re navigating a crisis, it’ll teach you how to make tough calls. Complex project wranglers: If you’re like me, juggling robotics, IoT, and more, you’ll learn how to tame the mess.

1. Wrapping Up

Hard Things About Hard Things is for anyone who’s serious about getting shit done. No fluff, just battle-tested wisdom. Horowitz’s stories pulled me through my darkest startup days, and I hope they spark something for you too. Whether you’re dreaming of starting up, in the thick of it, or just curious about leading well, read this book—it’s worth every page. Thanks, folks!