Episodes
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It’s both easier and harder than ever to build a successful podcast. In this episode, we chat with Sriram and Aarthi from the Good Time Show, who ventured into the world of audio peak pandemic and have since interviewed the likes of Elon Musk, Calvin Harris, and Naomi Osaka.
We get their perspective on how to succeed in this competitive landscape, differentiation and the sliding scale of entertainment and information, the difference between an audience and a community, podcast analytics and how they’re changing, and even what Sriram has learned from his frontrow experience at Twitter recently.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Intro02:20 - Podcast trivia06:07 - Starting a podcast08:45 - Differentiating13:10 - Information vs entertainment18:08 - Getting off the talk track20:40 - Growth and metrics22:31 - Authenticity27:10 - Secret sauce of podcasting28:10 - Advice for new podcasters29:58 - In-person events32:06 - Tech as a force for good34:50 - The next wave of social37:23 - Creator middle class41:16 - Podcast infrastructure42:55 - ChatGPT45:10 - Swapping lives with a celebrity52:26 - Your personal monopolyResources:
Find Sriram on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sriramk
Find Aarthi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aarthir
Find Aarthi and Sriram on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AarthiAndSriram
Check out the Good Time Show: https://www.aarthiandsriram.com/
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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With every new technology, some jobs are lost while others are gained. People often focus on the former, but in this episode we chose to highlight the latter – a highly creative role that emerges alongside AI: the prompt engineer.
Until AI can close the loop of its own, each tool still requires a set of prompts. Just like a composer feeds an instrument the notes to play, a prompt engineer feeds an AI a map of what to produce. And if we know anything from music it’s that composing great music takes great skill!
In this episode we explore the emerging importance of prompting with Guy Parsons, the early learnings of how to do it effectively, and where this field might be going.
Will the prompt engineer be more like the highly sought after DevOps engineer, or a proficiency like Excel that you find on every resume? Listen in to hear Guy’s take.
Interested in the prompt competition? Email us at [email protected]
Resources:
DALL-E 2 Prompt Book: https://dallery.gallery/the-dalle-2-prompt-book/
Find Guy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GuyP
Guy’s combining image experiment: https://twitter.com/GuyP/status/1612880405207580672
Guy’s amorphous prompt experiment: https://twitter.com/GuyP/status/1608475973300948993
Guy’s space duck: https://twitter.com/GuyP/status/1601342688225525761
Prompt base: https://promptbase.com/
Lexica: https://lexica.art/
Topics Covered:
0:00 - Introduction
01:49 - DALL-E 2 Prompt Book
05:29 - Parallel skills
06:51 - 80/20 prompting
10:16 - New ways of prompting
13:44 - Pulling the AI slot machine
18:09 - Comparing models
21:04 - Requested features
26:34 - Learning with AI
27:58 - Practical use cases
32:08 - A top 1% prompt engineer
36:17 - The most popular images
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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Missing episodes?
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Starting in the 1960s, technology companies, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, were essential for creating the processors that would eventually launch satellites and guide missiles. Half a century later, today’s tech companies can — and need — to move even faster and smarter, as international adversaries scale up their aggressions. In this episode, Anduril Industries Founder Palmer Luckey will discuss how Silicon Valley is using new technologies to build new tools, systems, and companies to defend our nation and its interests.
Resources:
American Dynamism Summit: https://a16z.com/AD-summit/
Anduril’s website: https://www.anduril.com/
Find Palmer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PalmerLuckey
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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What happens when you don’t have the resources to fight for your rights? Whether it’s a major medical bill or a more minor parking ticket… even if you were in the right, is it easier to just… pay?
Well, Joshua Browder's answer is Do Not Pay!
He’s built a thriving company of the same name, that helps consumers “fight corporations, beat bureaucracy, and sue anyone at the press of a button.” Through the power of technology, DoNotPay has resolved over 2m cases successfully and in this interview we get to hear where Browder hopes to take the organization, including his first-hand account of his recent plan to bring the robot lawyer into the physical courtroom.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Introduction
01:51 - DoNotPay’s origin
03:09 - Surprising laws
05:49 - General counsel for consumers
06:54 - The role of AI and technology
09:26 - Ensuring quality counsel
13:19 - Prioritizing features
14:43 - Corporate pushback
17:11 - Reshaping the legal system
20:28 - Entering the physical courtroom
24:50 - Cross border possibilities
26:14 - Looping humans into modeling
29:01 - Deflationary impacts
30:05 - Recent pushback
33:13 - Is AI already writing law?
35:15 - Why is law so complex?
37:54 - Entering the Supreme Court
38:38 - Lawyer support
39:47 - Looking forward
43:07 - Building horizontal vs vertical
45:28 - Does this law exist?
Resources:
DoNotPay: https://donotpay.com/
Find Josh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jbrowder1
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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What would you do if you believed in an idea but everyone said it would fail, nobody would fund you, and the industry was experiencing a nuclear winter?
Despite experiencing exactly that, Sandbox VR founder Steve Zhao doubled down and invested all of his personal savings into the unproven business. 7 years and 1 bankruptcy later, Steve has built the world’s leading full-body VR experience with over 30 locations across the globe.
In this interview, we get to chat with Steve about the many challenges he faced, how Sandbox made it through the pandemic, the future of VR, and the difficult task of tackling hardware, software, a new computing platform, and real estate.
Resources:
Check out Sandbox VR: https://sandboxvr.com
Find Steve Zhao on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zhaosaurus
Learn more about the Squid Game partnership: https://venturebeat.com/games/squid-game-is-coming-to-sandbox-vr-immersive-experience-locations/
Watch Steph’s highlight video: https://sandboxvr.com/event/b0b22aad-7c73-475d-ab43-281a456ff590
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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A small minority – likely less than 1% – of the world can code. Yet also widely known that the skillset tends to yield outsized returns, with developers generating some of the highest paying salaries out there.
But the field is quickly shifting, especially with the advent of wide-scale AI. In this podcast, we get to chat with Amjad Masad, founder of Replit, about these foundational shifts.
We cover how Replit has integrated AI into its platform and the implications on both current and future developers. It’s easier than ever to learn to code, but is it still worthwhile? Listen in to find out.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction02:04 - What is Replit?04:15 - Stories behind Replit11:10 - The software hero’s journey13:09 - Making coding fun15:58 - AI powering software19:37 - Training your own models22:36 - Building UX around AI24:16 - The developer landscape26:23 - The 1000x engineer30:40 - Should you still learn to code?34:41 - What does AI enable?40:54 - Developing on mobile43:24 - A software labor market45:53 - Differentiating a marketplace48:23 - Building new market dynamics50:45 - Looking aheadResources:
Replit: https://replit.com/
Replit Ghostwriter: https://replit.com/site/ghostwriter
Replit Bounties: https://replit.com/bounties
Find Amjad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/amasad
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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A few weeks ago, Apple released a stunning statistic: they’ve paid developers over $320B — yes, billion! — since the launch of the App Store in 2008, highlighting the cast opportunity in the marketplace.
And around the same time, a16z Consumer Partner, Olivia Moore, compiled a list of the top apps across the US app store throughout 2022.
In this episode, you’ll get to hear which apps made it to the top and what they have in common. Hint: the big winners were in social, but perhaps a new wave of social apps!
We also get the scoop on what it really takes to not just hit #1, but stay there. This episode highlights numerous surprising examples ranging from a new-age Beanie Baby app, a viral talking dog, an app from 2012 that finally broke the top 10, and the Chinese app that’s been at #1 for a majority of 2023, and it’s not TIkTok!
There are endless learnings about how new founders can take advantage of these opportunities.
Timestamps:
01:51 - Top apps in 202203:32 - A new era of social?07:22 - Hitting #109:30 - Staying on top11:20 - Building a sticky product13:46 - Growing an app in 202315:35 - User-generated growth17:48 - 2022 category winners20:39 - Anonymous social22:24 - Early monetization26:30 - Monetization trends31:07 - Leveraging platform shifts35:26 - Surprising hits37:50 - Looking toward 202339:38 - Invisible AI products41:46 - Limiting virality45:13 - Vertical social networks48:37 - When digital goes physical51:44 - TikTok growth53:27 - Geographic trends56:18 - A decade old app1:00:25 - App challengeResources:
Follow Olivia on Twitter: https://twitter.com/omooretweetsOlivia's 2022 analysis: https://twitter.com/omooretweets/status/1605983056682045440Olivia's 2021 analysis: https://twitter.com/omooretweets/status/1483482099562602500Justine’s Boating app commentary: https://twitter.com/venturetwins/status/1616121691830390784Olivia’s Tinder subscription commentary: https://twitter.com/omooretweets/status/1616480480546942976Apps mentioned:
BeReal: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bereal-your-friends-for-real/id1459645446TikTok: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tiktok/id835599320Gas App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gas/id1641791746Talking Ben the Dog: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/talking-ben-the-dog/id416345319Argo Boating Navigation: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/argo-boating-navigation/id1463869636NoteIt: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/noteit-widget-get-it-now/id1570369625Locket Widget: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/locket-widget/id1600525061LiveIn: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/livein-share-your-moment/id1606780589Slay: https://apps.apple.com/de/app/slay-komplimente-umfragen/id1645858841Lensa AI: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lensa-photo-editing/id1436732536Starlink: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/starlink/id1537177988NOAA Weather: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/noaa-weather/id436760574Stardust Period Tracker: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stardust-period-tracker/id1495829322Temu: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/temu-team-up-price-down/id1641486558SquadApp: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/squadapp-collection-database/id1623120952TravelBoast: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/travelboast-my-journey-routes/id1476504378Subway Surfers: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/subway-surfers/id512939461Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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Back in August, after a16z announced our investment into Adam Neumann’s new company, Flow, it felt like almost everyone – whether it was other VCs, founders, or journalists – had something to say.
But the one person that you didn’t hear from was Adam himself.
In this never-before shared footage from a16z’s American Dynamism Summit in Washington DC, Adam Neumann sits down with Marc Andreessen and David Ulevitch, to discuss the opportunities that have emerged from post-pandemic shifts in both work and home, and what Flow is doing to capitalize.
Find the full library of American Dynamism Summit recordings at a16z.com/ad-summit.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction01:40 - Getting back in the arena 09:03 - The opportunity in housing 16:19 - Lessons from WeWork 19:13 - Work & home post-pandemic 27:34 - Moving to the cloud 34:23 - Office serendipity 37:51 - Building Flow 43:51 - Cities as startupsResources:
Flow’s website: https://www.flow.life/
American Dynamism recordings: https://a16z.com/ad-summit
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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In this cross-over episode from Bio Eats World, Kristen Fortney, cofounder and CEO of BioAge, joins Vijay Pande, founding partner of a16z Bio + Health, and Olivia Webb, editorial lead, to discuss the biology of aging, how she started a company, and some fun things — like how long a hypothetical venture capitalist can expect to live.
Resources:
Greg Egan, whose writing inspired Kristen, has a list of his books on his website
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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At the end of 2022, our team at a16z asked dozens of partners across the firm to spotlight one big idea that startups in their fields could tackle in 2023.
Emerging from this exercise came 40+ builder-worthy pursuits for the year, ranging from entertainment franchise games to precision delivery of medicine to small modular reactors, and of course loads of AI applications.
In our 2-part series, we’ll be covering 12 of these big ideas with the partners that shared them.
Here in part 2, we’ll cover Fintech, American Dynamism, and Bio & Health. Listen in as we chat with Anish Acharya, Angela Strange, Michelle Volz, Ryan McEntush, Vijay Pande, and Julie Yoo.
And for the full list of 40+ ideas, check out the full article: https://a16z.com/2022/12/15/big-ideas-in-tech-2023/
Topics Covered:
(0:59) GPT Unlocks Credit Counseling - Anish Acharya(9:53) Compliance as a Competitive Advantage - Angela Strange(23:31) Small Modular Reactors Advance the Nuclear Renaissance - Michelle Volz(33:48) Overhauling the Space Supply Chain - Ryan McEntush(44:40) The Biggest Company in the World - Vijay Pande(51:17) The Value-Based Care Stack - Julie YooResources:
https://a16z.com/2022/11/02/america-space-age/
https://a16z.com/2022/11/11/the-biggest-company-in-the-world/
https://a16z.com/2021/01/08/the-new-tech-stack-for-virtual-first-care/
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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At the end of 2022, our team at a16z asked dozens of partners across the firm to spotlight one big idea that startups in their fields could tackle in 2023.
Emerging from this exercise came 40+ builder-worthy pursuits for the year, ranging from entertainment franchise games to precision delivery of medicine to small modular reactors, and of course loads of AI applications.
In our 2-part series, we’ll be covering 12 of these big ideas with the partners that shared them.
Here in part 1, we’ll cover Consumer, Games, and Enterprise, with a little Fintech sprinkled in. Listen in as we chat with Connie Chan, Anne Lee Skates, Jack Soslow, Doug McCracken, Sarah Wang, and Sumeet Singh.
And look out for part 2 dropping soon, covering Fintech, American Dynamism, and Bio & Health!
For the full list of 40+ ideas, check out the full article: https://a16z.com/2022/12/15/big-ideas-in-tech-2023/
Topics Covered:
(1:30) Breakthroughs in Buying (Finally!) - Connie Chan(16:40) Unlocking the “Third Place” - Anne Lee Skates(30:14) Games as a Neverending Turing Test - Jack Soslow(46:09) The Metaverse Goes Fashion Forward - Doug McCracken(59:24) Generative AI Advances Beyond “Text to Image” to Complex Workflows - Sarah Wang(1:12:23) Embracing Large Language Models and Maintaining Trust - Sumeet SinghStay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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In this special episode, we share never heard before footage from Steve Wozniak alongside his cofounder and best man, Alex Fielding.
Listeners get an inside look into what drove Woz to building a computer, but also how Steve’s zest for life was applied beyond computers – from the rare opportunity to play Tetris on the side of a building or throw a concert across borders.
Full Privateer episode: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/new-the-data-highway-above-with-privateers-steve-wozniak-alex-fielding-and-dr-moriba-jah
Full Privateer episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/ZZbrwxOs0y4
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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New year, new you! Right?
Well, as much as we’d all like to believe that we embrace the new… the reality is that we often resist change.
That’s why we’ve brought in someone who has studied how humans respond to and adapt to change – or sometimes how we fail to. That person is Jason Feifer – long-time editor in chief at Entrepreneur Magazine, host of two popular podcasts, and recent author of his book Build for Tomorrow.
Today, Jason shares 6 specific frameworks around the very natural human responses to change, which he’s developed through interviewing and studying some of the most influential people in the world – past and present. We also play a fun game at the end, where Jason comments on current technologies encountering pushback, and assesses where they might fit into his framework.
Jason’s website: https://www.jasonfeifer.com/
Jason on Twitter: https://twitter.com/heyfeifer
Jason’s book Build for Tomorrow: https://www.jasonfeifer.com/book/
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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In this episode, Marc Andreessen and Vijay Pande discuss expert AI and its role in healthcare, bio, and more.
Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/c7ScUDYSRYo
Subscribe to Bio Eats World: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bio-eats-world/id1529318900
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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with @robertiger @cdixon @smc90
A wide-ranging conversation with Bob Iger on the interplay between technology, content, and distribution; as well as Bob’s journey -- and that of various creators! -- especially as the industry evolved from TV and cable to the advent of the internet/ web 1.0 to 2.0 to briefly touching on web3 and other emerging technologies. As well as topics top of mind for all company and community builders: from build vs. buy and the innovator's dilemma, to managing creativity, decentralization, remote work, and much more.
Subscribe to web3 with a16z: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/web3-with-a16z-crypto/id1622312549
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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We’ve had some incredible guests join us on the a16z podcast this year, ranging from moonshot entrepreneurs, to top creators, to some of the most forward thinking technologists – all of which are busy shaping the future right before our eyes…
We have so much more in store for 2023 and cannot wait for you to see who we bring on as guests. But before we turn the page, we wanted to recap some of the most interesting, thought-provoking segments from our 2022 roster. Here are 8 of our favorite clips, covering topics from AI to space to the metaverse… and beyond.
Catch the full playlist here.
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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The predecessor to the office was Florence’s Uffizi Gallery – an admin building to the Medici mercantile empire. That was in… 1560. In the centuries to come, work was revolutionized, with perhaps the most well-known inflection of Ford Motors adopting the 40-hour work week in 1926. The cubicle? We have Robert Propst to thank for that, entering the picture in 1968.
It wasn’t until the 80s when the Internet appeared on the scene and wifi released in 1997, forever changing the way people live and work. Since then, companies have continued to adopt many of the practices from the 20th century, despite the possibilities being fundamentally different.
COVID sent a shock into that system, forcing many people to adopt a distributed model and despite much debate about what the future holds, this episode will highlight the many ways that companies are continuing to adapt.
Will companies shift toward more asynchronous work? How will a distributed model shift the way we hire? How will companies attract top talent, and is remote the only benefit that matters? What workers and companies will come out on top of this sea change?
And of course… is the office dead? We’ll address these questions, and much more!
Topics covered:
00:00 - History of remote work3:27 - Is the office dead?7:05 - Async vs sync16:18 - Building culture remotely27:15 - Attracting top talent31:16 - The evolution of benefits36:04 - Remote work vs work39:29 - Location-based pay46:36 - Open salaries51:23 - Vetting top talent55:32 - The need to adapt58:39 - Rewriting the rules1:03:09 - Infrastructure gapsResources:
GitLab’s Remote Handbook: https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/
Deel’s Salary Insights Tool: https://www.deel.com/salary-insights
Deel’s State of Global Hiring report: https://www.deel.com/state-of-global-hiring-2022
Deel:
Deel’s website: https://www.deel.com/Deel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/deelAlex on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BouazizalexSafetyWing
SafetyWing’s website: https://safetywing.com/SafetyWing on Twitter: https://twitter.com/safetywingSondre on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SRaschGitLab:
GitLab’s website: https://about.gitlab.com/GitLab on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gitlabDarren on Twitter: https://twitter.com/darrenmurphStay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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In this episode, we tackle three carbon removal projects of varying scale, business models, and technical challenges.
Biomass pyrolysis via Charm IndustrialAn electrochemical process via TravertineMineralization via 44.01We cover these companies through the lens of their founders – Peter Reinhardt (CEO of Charm Industrial), Laura Lammers (CEO of Travertine), and Karan Khimji (COO of 44.01) – who share the fascinating stories of how they stumbled into this industry, how their processes work, whether they can economically scale, and ultimately why each of them is dedicating their time and energy to this field.
This episode also closes out our carbon removal mini series, where we’ve seen a unique convergence of attention, capital, policy, and creativity being applied. With that combination, it's rare that humans don't surprise one another in progress.
Resources:
Charm Industrial:
Charm Industrial’s website: https://charmindustrial.com/Charm Industrial on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharmIndustrialPeter on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reinpkTravertine:
Travertine’s website: https://www.travertinetech.com/Laura on Twitter: https://twitter.com/limestonedr44.01:
44.01’s website: https://4401.earth/44.01 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/4401earthKaran on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kdkhimjiStay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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If you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably heard of the recent FTX scandal.
While there’s much still unknown, in this episode we get the unique opportunity to hear from Brian Armstrong – co-founder and CEO of Coinbase – about what’s top of mind for the crypto industry. That includes the impact of this current event on future regulation, how this crypto winter might be different from previous ones, founder psychology during downturns, the transparency that comes with being public, and much more.
Brian is interviewed by a16z cofounder and general partner Ben Horowitz, who has the unique perspective of having invested in, built, and been on the board of numerous companies during the ups and downs, leading him to his well-known book The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
Resources:
Subscribe to web3 with a16z: web3-with-a16z.simplecast.com/
Coinbase’s website: coinbase.com
Brian’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong
Ben’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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In part 1 of our carbon removal series, we talked to Nan Ransohoff — Head of Climate at Stripe — about what it might take to jumpstart the market of carbon removal solutions. But what happens when there is a true, thriving market of buyers and sellers? How will suppliers effectively reach the right buyers, and as more solutions become available, how will buyers effectively vet the options?
In part 2, we address these questions and more, together with Brennan Spellacy, co-founder & CEO of Patch – a growing marketplace for carbon credits.
We also cover many evolving market dynamics, like the potential differences between two sets of tons delivered, the opportunity and challenge of effectively educating buyers, the integration of software like Patch's API, verification solutions and their current limitations, how even the voluntary market is being held accountable for their carbon claims, and the role that Patch is playing to help develop this nascent industry.
By the way, if you like this episode, be sure to look out for part 3 of our series where we get into the nitty gritty of 3 emerging carbon removal solutions — ranging from biomass pyrolysis to carbon mineralization.
Resources:
Patch’s website: https://www.patch.io/
Follow Patch on Twitter: https://twitter.com/usepatch
Follow Brennan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bspellacy_
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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