The holy grail of company building is finding product-market fit. But what most people don’t tell you is that once you’ve found it, product-market fit brings its own set of challenges, particularly when it comes to scaling rapidly and hiring the right executives at the right time.

Drawing from their extensive experiences, a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz and Databricks cofounder and CEO Ali Ghodsi sit down to talk about the hardest things about executive hiring and firing, and what is at stake.

They dive into the common reasons an exec fails, why sometimes micromanagement is a good idea, and the difference between someone who has written a playbook and someone who has only run one.

If you’d like to dive even deeper, the Growth team at a16z has spent the last year compiling insights from dozens of leaders at late-stage startups to literally write the book on hiring executives to scale. You can find that book at: http://a16z.com/executive-hiring-playbook

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 – When is it time to let someone go?
• 05:41 – When do you give someone a chance to grow into the role?
• 07:05-  Let go or level?
• 09:27 – How do you have the tough conversation? 
• 16:39 – Exit packages
• 18:40 – Setting a new leader up for success
• 24:27 – The importance of the first quick win 
• 26:24 – The impact a new leader has on culture
• 32:52 – Common ways new leaders fail
• 37:35 – Closing thoughts

Resources:

Read the Executive Hiring: The Key to Scaling in the Growth Stages: http://a16z.com/executive-hiring-playbook

Learn more about Databricks: https://www.databricks.com

Find Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz

Find Ali on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alighodsi

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

Demand for electric cars is booming. More than 10 million electric cars were sold worldwide in 2022, and consumer behavior is changing as more people embrace alternative and sustainable modes of mobility.

While the electrification movement is a critical element of climate action, it also presents new challenges – from the sky to the sea.

In this episode, industry experts Gregory Davis, CEO of Eviation Planes, Mitch Lee, co-founder and CEO of Arc Boats, and Duncan McIntyre, founder and CEO of Highland Electric Fleets, dive into how the electrification movement is shaping the future of transport and technology.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 03:29 – The sustainable aviation industry
• 04:47 – Electric school, municipal and government vehicles
• 07:57 – Electric boats
• 10:49 – What can be transferred from the EV car market?
• 14:06 – Battery challenges and architecture
• 19:06 – Providing grid services 
• 22:55 – Building a multimodal business
• 33:19 – Gaps in the market
• 46:16 – Do you make, buy, or borrow?
• 57:26 – What does the future look like for each industry?

Resources:

Learn more about Arc Boats: https://arcboats.com

Learn more about Highland Electric Fleets: https://highlandfleets.com

Learn more about Eviation: https://www.eviation.com

 

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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Many companies today are grappling with a few things: an economic downturn, potential layoffs and restructuring, and trying to keep up with the latest tech trends… all while still maintaining a growth trajectory.

In this episode, you’ll learn which companies are uniquely designed to weather this storm and what attributes these exponential organizations have. We’re joined by the co-authors of Exponential Organzations, Peter Diamandids and Salim Ismail, both also well-known for their involvement in XPrize and Singularity University, among many other companies.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 03:11 -What is an ‘Exponential Organization’?
• 04:46 – What has changed in business since 2014
• 07:06 – Building companies with minimal cost supply ***
• 11:49 – Can  incumbents become exponential organizations?
• 16:27 – Massive Transformative Purpose (MTPs)
• 19:04 – How can you tell if you have a good MTP
• 22:34 – Unilever’s MTP
• 23:27 – Staff on demand
• 29:35 – Building interfaces and dashboards
• 30:36 – The importance of experimenting
• 34:19 – The economic downturn and restructuring
• 38:00 – Peer-to-peer collaborative technologies
• 42:30 – Digitizing your business
• 43:53 – Kodak example
• 45:37 – Automation and the humans role
• 52:06 – How have you seen companies integrate AI?
• 56:56 – Emerging roles due to exponential trends
• 59:56 – The framework and diagnostic survey
• 01:00:02 – Creating APIs you can build on
• 01:05:00 – Opportunities in the market

Resources:

Attend the Exponential Organization workshop on June 6: https://www.diamandis.com/exo

Learn more about Peter: https://www.diamandis.com/about

Learn more about Salim: https://salimismail.com/

 

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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In this episode, you’ll hear directly from 6 founders trying to reinvent the healthcare system with the help of Fintech.

They’re tackling everything from the lack of price transparency, the complexity of billing, getting clinics paid on time, mental health support for the masses, virtual first-care, and the millions of Americans about to lose access to Medicaid.

 

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 – The biggest problems in healthcare
• 02:22 – The lack of price transparency
• 07:13 – The complexity of medical billing
• 14:32 – Getting health clinics paid on time
• 20:00 – Mental health support for the masses
• 24:58 – Millions about to lose Medicaid
• 29:12 – Adopting virtual-first care

Resources:

• Learn more about the intersection of Healthcare and Fintech: https://a16z.com/healthcare-meets-fintech/
• Check out Turquoise: https://turquoise.health/
• Check out Cedar: https://www.cedar.com/
• Check out Juniper: https://www.juniperplatform.com/
• Check out Headway: https://headway.co/
• Check out Propel: https://www.joinpropel.com/
• Check out Firefly: https://www.firefly.health/
• Find Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/crsevern?lang=en
• Find Florian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/flottobrasil?lang=en
• Find Jade on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jadeyychan/
• Find Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewlangadams?lang=en
• Find Jimmy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmychen?lang=en
• Find Fay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fyietc

 

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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

2022 was a breakout year for AI. While machine learning had already been integrated into applications for millions of users, for many, these tools still felt like their first real-world encounter with AI.

As AI continues to revolutionize industries, CEOs are discussing how to integrate this new superpower. They are also considering important questions around data privacy, competition, cost, accuracy, and speed.

In today’s episode, we talk with Cresta, Hex, and Sourcegraph, three companies at the forefront of integrating AI into their existing products. From navigating data privacy concerns to optimizing accuracy and managing costs, these leaders are navigating the complexities of this new superpower.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 02:51 – How AI can enhance customer service
• 08:26 – Using AI to shape data and analytics
• 09:33 – Solving the challenges on contextual understanding
• 12:01 – Giving AI the right information and context
• 13:31 – Tools that help build language Models (LLMs)
• 15:39 – Building open source tools
• 18:40 – Constructing prompts
• 22:26 – How do you differentiate?
• 23:48 – Customization as a moat
• 25:26 – Privacy challenges
• 29:14 – Language models and search engines
• 30:41 – Cost and pricing of models
• 32:48 – What does the contact center look like in 2028?

Resources:

Find Barry McCardel on Twitter https://twitter.com/barrald

Find Beyang Liu on Twitter: https://twitter.com/beyang

Find Zayd Enam on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zaydenam

Recent AI episodes:

• From Promise to Reality: Inside a16z’s Data and AI Forum
• Beyond Avatars: How AI is Reshaping Online Identity
• Unlocking Creativity with Prompt Engineering

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

 

 

Most people don’t need a reminder of the state of healthcare in America. But it’s not just the consumer that’s hurting.  Medical debt is increasing, billions are lost in unpaid claims, hospitals are in the red, service prices can range up to 30x…. 

In this episode, a16z GPs Julie You and David Haber explain where the healthcare system breaks down and how the three party system — between payors, providers, and consumers — can be rethought through the lens of Fintech.

Learn more about Healthcare x Fintech here: https://a16z.com/healthcare-meets-fintech/

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 02:50 – The intersection of healthcare and fintech 
• 05:40 – The problems within US healthcare 
• 09:00 – The stats behind US healthcare
• 12:10 – Where do the problems stem from in healthcare?
• 15:50 – New opportunities and regulatory changes
• 17:50 – Pushback on regulations
• 19:40 – Provider and patient models and transparency
• 21.10 –  The ‘No Surprises Act’ and the ‘Cures Act’
• 23:20 – Applying fintech infrastructure to healthcare
• 26:00 – Example: how Juniper in embedding fintech in healthcare
• 30:10 – Opportunities in the healthcare/fintech market
• 33:05 – Payvidors unbundled 
• 34:55 – The financial operating system for healthcare
• 37:40 – How founders can approach the problems
• 39:23 – The investor standpoint on company opportunities
• 41:00 – Unsolved problems in the market
• 45:25 – The bridge between start-ups and incumbents 
• 47:20 – Healthcare incumbent stats  
• 48:50 – The window of opportunity for healthcare and fintech

Resources:

• Read the article ‘Healthtech x Fintech’s Biggest Prize: The Financial Operating System for Healthcare: https://a16z.com/2023/02/07/healthtech-x-fintechs-biggest-prize/
• Read the article ‘ Payvidors, Unbundled: Opportunities in Healthcare Fintech’:https://a16z.com/2022/06/01/payvidors-unbundled-opportunities-in-healthcare-fintech/
• Find Julie on Twitter :https://twitter.com/julesyoo
• Find David on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dhaber

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.

In a recent episode, we delved into the first wave of technology that was used to create digital influencers like ‘Lil Miquela back in 2016.

Fast forward to today, we’re presented with a whole new set of tools that enable almost anyone to build their own digital influencer. 

In this episode, Sinead Bovell and Danny Postma discuss the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on the world of modeling, online creation, and self-representation.

From the rise of AI-generated photos to the democratization of creativity, they discuss the potential of AI in shaping the future of digital expression.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 03:08 – The key insight
• 08:00 – The photo studio of the future
• 09:44 – Programs and models behind deep fakes
• 10:58 – How the technology is used today
• 12:36 – How real is today’s content?
• 15:29 – The cost of a virtual model
• 17:13 – Industry benefits
• 19:28 – Market appetite
• 23:25 – Evolving tech
• 25:15 – Unlocking a new wave of creativity
• 28:38 – Future predictions
• 30:23 – Keeping up with tech
• 32:02 – Finding a moat
• 34:09 – Stacked AI models
• 35:25 – Running your own GPUs and models
• 37:33 – Product ideas

Resources:

Find Danny Postma on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dannypostmaa

Headshot Pro, ProfilePicture.Ai plus all of Danny’s projects at: https://www.postcrafts.com/

Find Sinéad Bovell on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sineadbovell/?hl=en

 

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.