The a16z Show

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 - Intro 02:20 - Podcast trivia 06:07 - Starting a podcast 08:45 - Differentiating 13:10 - Information vs entertainment 18:08 - Getting off the talk track 20:40 - Growth and metrics 22:31 - Authenticity 27:10 - Secret sauce of podcasting 28:10 - Advice for new podcasters 29:58 - In-person events 32:06 - Tech as a force for good 34:50 - The next wave of social 37:23 - Creator middle class 41:16 - Podcast infrastructure 42:55 - ChatGPT 45:10 - Swapping lives with a celebrity 52:26 - Your personal monopoly   Resources: 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. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 podpitches@a16z.com. 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. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 - Introduction 02:04 - What is Replit? 04:15 - Stories behind Replit 11:10 - The software hero’s journey 13:09 - Making coding fun 15:58 - AI powering software 19:37 - Training your own models 22:36 - Building UX around AI 24:16 - The developer landscape 26:23 - The 1000x engineer 30:40 - Should you still learn to code? 34:41 - What does AI enable? 40:54 - Developing on mobile 43:24 - A software labor market 45:53 - Differentiating a marketplace 48:23 - Building new market dynamics 50:45 - Looking ahead Resources:  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. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 2022 03:32 - A new era of social? 07:22 - Hitting #1 09:30 - Staying on top 11:20 - Building a sticky product 13:46 - Growing an app in 2023 15:35 - User-generated growth 17:48 - 2022 category winners 20:39 - Anonymous social 22:24 - Early monetization 26:30 - Monetization trends 31:07 - Leveraging platform shifts 35:26 - Surprising hits 37:50 - Looking toward 2023 39:38 - Invisible AI products 41:46 - Limiting virality 45:13 - Vertical social networks 48:37 - When digital goes physical 51:44 - TikTok growth 53:27 - Geographic trends 56:18 - A decade old app 1:00:25 - App challenge Resources:  Follow Olivia on Twitter: https://twitter.com/omooretweets Olivia's 2022 analysis: https://twitter.com/omooretweets/status/1605983056682045440 Olivia's 2021 analysis: https://twitter.com/omooretweets/status/1483482099562602500 Justine’s Boating app commentary: https://twitter.com/venturetwins/status/1616121691830390784 Olivia’s Tinder subscription commentary: https://twitter.com/omooretweets/status/1616480480546942976 Apps mentioned:  BeReal: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bereal-your-friends-for-real/id1459645446 TikTok: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tiktok/id835599320 Gas App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gas/id1641791746 Talking Ben the Dog: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/talking-ben-the-dog/id416345319 Argo Boating Navigation: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/argo-boating-navigation/id1463869636 NoteIt: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/noteit-widget-get-it-now/id1570369625 Locket Widget: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/locket-widget/id1600525061 LiveIn: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/livein-share-your-moment/id1606780589 Slay: https://apps.apple.com/de/app/slay-komplimente-umfragen/id1645858841 Lensa AI: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lensa-photo-editing/id1436732536 Starlink: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/starlink/id1537177988 NOAA Weather: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/noaa-weather/id436760574 Stardust Period Tracker: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stardust-period-tracker/id1495829322 Temu: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/temu-team-up-price-down/id1641486558 SquadApp: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/squadapp-collection-database/id1623120952 TravelBoast: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/travelboast-my-journey-routes/id1476504378 Subway Surfers: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/subway-surfers/id512939461 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. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 - Introduction 01:40 - 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 startups Resources: 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. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Yoo Resources: 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. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.