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Author: a16z Podcast

  • Insights from the Frontlines of Consumer Tech

    There is arguably nothing that impacts our daily lives more than consumer technology. This technology can drive our ability to change careers, build an audience, or feel understood. 

    And in this episode, listeners get a sneak peek into our new consumer series, Field Notes, where a16z’s very own Connie Chan speaks with the builders, creators, and investors behind the technology that shapes our daily lives.

    If you like these segments, you can find the full episodes at a16z.com/fieldnotes.

    Topics Covered:

    • 00:00 – Introduction
    • 02:13 – Chris Schroder
    • 08:15 – Brian Wong
    • 15:35 – Tracy Sun
    • 23:03 – Deb Liu
    • 30:56 – Susan Plagemann

    Resources: 

    Find the full series: https://a16z.com/fieldnotes

    Find Connie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/conniechan

    Deb’s Part 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is2pm06MNt8

    Deb’s Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osJp6S66u2U

    Chris’s episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zux1wVirUjs

     

    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.

  • Marketing web3: Audience, Community, More

    with @amandacassatt @kimbatronic @smc90

    All about marketing, and web3 — not just for marketers already in or seeking to enter web3, but also anyone doing community marketing/ community management, devrel (developer relations); or simply doing marketing in web2 or classic growth marketing, seeking to understand the latest trends and tactics.

    With the  author of the new book, Web3 Marketing: A Handbook for the Next Internet Revolution, Amanda Cassatt (who was also the first CMO at ConsenSys, helping bring Ethereum to market; and also founded and leads the pioneering, native web3-marketing agency Serotonin). Also joining this episode to share insights on marketing web3 — in conversation with host and editor in chief Sonal Chokshi — is Kim Milosevich, CMO at a16z crypto, where she oversees brand, marketing, events, and communications (and before that was VP of communications at Coinbase, where she took the company through its direct listing while leading internal, policy, product, and corporate communications internationally). 

    The episode also covers key top of mind questions for web3 builders and others, including how to do community marketing, manage “profiles” in decentralized and open source, and finding your audience… including feedback for product-market fit. And much. much more! 

  • Building Hardware and Taking on the Phone Giants

    People often say that building a hardware company is like “playing on hard mode”. Building a hardware company during a global pandemic, with the unpredictability of supply chains and markets, is harder than hard. Trying to penetrate the phone market in particular – where only a few players own almost all the market share – is REALLY hard.

    In today’s episode we chat with Carl Pei, founder of Nothing. Between Nothing and previously co-founding OnePlus, Carl has twice managed to do what many others have failed to do. Nothing has sold over 1m units and built a team of over 400. In this episode, Carl chats with us about why he’s at it again, what it takes to successfully build hardware, and how he thinks about making technology fun again.

    Timestamps:

    • 02:11 – The hardware market
    • 02:53 – Breaking into the phone market
    • 05:19 – Securing factories and stakeholders
    • 07:39 – Differentiating products
    • 10:32 – Hardware design
    • 11:53 – Strengthening software proposition
    • 16:04 – Table stakes
    • 17:49 – Marketing and Youtube
    • 19:34 – Underestimating the value chain
    • 21:50 – Manufacturing
    • 23:27 – Supply chain
    • 26:05 – Remote work
    • 27:36 – The future of hardware
    • 30:45 – Breakthrough hardware
    • 32:35 – Making tech fun again

    Resources:

    Stay Updated: 

    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.

  • Digital Humans and the Story Behind Lil Miquela

    You’ve probably heard of ‘Lil Miquela. The 19 year-old Brazilian-American influencer has millions of followers and has partnered with the likes of Samsung and Prada. But despite capturing the hearts of many, she’s not real. 

    But you probably haven’t heard her origin story. In this episode we take a trip back to 2016, to a world that looked much different to today, together with two of Miquela’s creators – Trevor McFedries and Isaac Bratzel – cofounder and Chief Design and Innovation Officer of Brud at the time.

    We learn what inspired the experiment and what early signs indicated that Miquela was not just a novel idea. In a world where spinning up an influencer, we learn what it took to capture mindshare, the pushback they’ve received, what a “scalable influencer” means, and what they think is to come.

     

    Resources:

    ‘Lil Miquela on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilmiquela/

    ‘Lil Miquela on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWeHb_SrtJbrT8VD-_QQpRA

    Find Trevor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatdotcd?lang=en

    Find Isaac on Twitter: https://twitter.com/izykbenjamin

    Find Brud on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brud.fyi

    Isaac’s new avatar company: https://www.avataros.com/

     

    Timestamps:

    • 00:00 – Introduction
    • 02:18 – The key insight
    • 04:05 – A new breed of influencers
    • 06:25 – Miquela’s aesthetic
    • 09:30 – Early signs of success
    • 13:01 – Narrative and fan engagement
    • 16:45 – The technology
    • 18:14 – Expanding past Miquela
    • 22:34 – Traction and generative AI
    • 26:45 – A new reality
    • 31:55 – Early pushback
    • 33:38 – Misunderstanding reality
    • 36:23 – Fear of new technologies
    • 37:47 – New technological unlocks
    • 41:13 – Scalable influencers

    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.

  • The Marketplace 100: A Glimpse Into the Future of Commerce

    Over the last decade, we’ve seen the marketplace model evolve and grow, and this year a16z is back with our fourth edition of the Marketplace100 – a ranking of the top private marketplaces by GMV – giving a unique window into what may be to come.

    This year’s list features nearly three dozen newcomers, including marketplaces for refurbished electronics, precious metals, and sustainably raised meat. And in this episode, we break down key trends from the report together with a16z’s Consumer partners Connie Chan, Olivia Moore, and Zach Cohen.

    If you’d like to see the full ranking of the largest consumer-facing marketplace startups and private companies, you can find the full report at https://a16z.com/marketplace-100.

    Resources:

    • Find the full Marketplace 100 report: https://a16z.com/marketplace-100
    • Find Connie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/conniechan
    • Find Olivia on Twitter: https://twitter.com/omooretweets
    • Find Zach on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zachcohen25

    Topics Covered:

    • 00:00- Introduction
    • 02:28 – Why marketplaces? 
    • 05:18 – What metrics matter
    • 07:55 – Newcomers on the list
    • 09:49 – Entertainment and personalization
    • 13:46 – Curated marketplaces
    • 14:47 – Trust and safety
    • 21:23 – Mental health trends
    • 22:42 – Untapped supply
    • 24:40 – Disintermediation
    • 27:42 – Transient vs foundational trends
    • 31:33 – Companies entering the category
    • 36:52 – Sleeper categories for 2024

     

    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.

  • The Art and Science of Podcasting

    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.

  • Unlocking Creativity with Prompt Engineering

    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.

  • Rebooting the Arsenal of Democracy with Palmer Luckey

    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.

  • The Robot Lawyer Resistance

    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.

  • The Challenge of Replicating Reality

    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.