Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and one of the most influential venture capitalists of the last decade, sits down with Erik for @TurpentineVC. They shed light on how Ben thinks about firm-building and where the future is going. We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/upstream
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(02:55) Ben on what allows the legendary VC firms to be great for multi-decades
(04:05) a16z’s unique product-first, investor-second approach
(05:20) YC as a16z’s closest spiritual analog
(08:40) Ben on why venture firms should stay private
(10:40) How a16z scaled their fund sizes to market opportunities
(11:40) Why a16z chose to go bigger than Benchmark or USV on fund size
(13:20) “Spreadsheet” VCs vs. people-first VCs
(15:00) a16z’s customer-focused strategy
(16:28) The firm’s unique approach to governance
(16:50) Sponsor: Mercury, Vanta
(18:55) Shared economics and centralized control
(20:20) Ben’s view on the future of venture
(23:00) How Ben thinks about riding trends like AI, crypto, etc.
(26:00) a16z’s AI strategy
(31:00) Will a16z expand into multi-asset firms like BlackRock?
(32:00) How a16z thinks about their LPs differently from other firms
(34:28) Sponsor: NetSuite
(37:00) Peacetime vs. Wartime VCs
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LINKS:
Why Software Is Eating the World: https://a16z.com/why-software-is-eati...
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X / TWITTER:
@bhorowitz (Ben)
@eriktorenberg (Erik)
@TurpentineVC

Music license:
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