Ben Horowitz on What It Takes to Build a Great Tech Company: It’s All About the Product

Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz and a Silicon Valley legend, is known for his straightforward advice. And when it comes to building a great technology company, Horowitz makes one thing crystal clear: It all starts with a transformational product.

Ben Horowitz

Photo: TechCrunch

The Power of Innovation

According to Horowitz, the one thing that separates great companies from the rest is their ability to create something truly new—a product that transforms how things are done. Established giants like Microsoft, IBM, and Hewlett Packard can hire the best people, train them, and sell their products efficiently. But what they often struggle with is the ability to innovate—to come up with something revolutionary that changes the game.

This is where new tech companies have the advantage. To succeed, your product needs to be way better than anything currently available or significantly improve the way things are done. That’s the essence of technology, after all—finding a better way to accomplish something.

The Product Comes First

Many people focus on business models, marketing strategies, or operational efficiency when building a company. While these are important, Horowitz argues that nothing matters more than the product itself. Without a transformational product, no amount of marketing or clever business models will lead to long-term success. The product is the foundation, and everything else is secondary.

Examples of Transformational Products

Think about companies like Apple, which revolutionized personal technology with the iPhone, or Google, which transformed how we access information with its search engine. These companies didn’t succeed because of flashy marketing or complex business models. They succeeded because they built incredible products that were significantly better than anything else on the market.

Horowitz’s message is simple yet powerful: If you want to build a great tech company, start with the product. Make it transformational, and everything else will follow.

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Source: University of California Television (UCTV) 'Ben Horowitz Co-Founder Andreessen Horowitz'