Ben Horowitz: Why Courage Is the Most Underrated Trait in Founders

Ben Horowitz believes that above all else, founders need courage — because that’s what holds every other virtue together when things get hard.

“Does the founder have the courage to build the company?… Aristotle said courage is the first virtue, and it’s really important in leadership. Integrity, honesty, and so forth — everybody has them in certain situations. But that’s not the question. The question is if it’s going to cost you your company, do you have your integrity? If it’s going to cost you your job, are you honest? If it’s going to completely embarrass you in front of everybody, do you have it then? The only way you have it then is if you have courage.”

Ben continues:

“Courage ends up being the foundation for a lot of what we need in an entrepreneur. I always say you need two things. You need great intelligence and great courage. And I always found as an entrepreneur my courage was tested far more than my intelligence. And I think that’s pretty universal.”