Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and among Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers important suggestions on building and running a startup-practical knowledge for managing the toughest complications business school doesn’t cover, based on his popular ben’s blog.

Even though many people talk about how great it really is to start a company, hardly any are honest about how exactly difficult it really is to perform one. Ben Horowitz analyzes the issues that confront leaders every day, writing the insights he’s gained developing, managing, selling, buying, buying, and supervising technology companies. A lifelong rap fanatic, he amplifies business lessons with lyrics from his songs, informing it right about everything from firing friends to poaching competitors, cultivating and sustaining a CEO mentality to understanding the right time to cash in.

Filled up with his trademark humor and straight talk, The Hard Thing About Hard Things is invaluable for veteran entrepreneurs as well as those aspiring with their own new ventures, drawing from Horowitz’s personal and often humbling experiences.