Startup Building: Challenges & Opportunities

Ғылым және технология

"It turns out the spreadsheet is not actually the business, despite what you may have learned in business school." - Ben Horowitz
Welcome back to "The Ben & Marc Show" featuring a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. In this second episode of a two-part series, Marc and Ben answer MORE questions about startup building in the post-COVID world.
In this one-on-one conversation, Ben and Marc discuss how startups can think differently about organizational design and talent deployment, unpack the lore around layoffs, and even tackle the future of customer service. They also reveal some unexpected benefits of nicotine and Ozempic. That and much more. Enjoy!
*Watch Part 1→ • Startup Building: Majo...
Topics Covered:
00:00:00 Teaser
00:00:33 Intro
00:01:04 How startups should think differently about talent deployment
00:06:29 How a CEO can designate hybrid vs. remote
00:09:14 Extreme barbell for truly creative work
00:11:46 Can you have a high functioning company where executives are not together?
00:17:18 Productivity improvement in the economy is the function of downs cycles
00:29:18 The lore around layoffs
00:34:01 Price's Law
00:41:30 Is a one person $1B company possible?
00:47:34 Llama 3 and training AI models
00:50:18 AI and customer service
00:55:23 California's Covid policy and it's repercussions
01:01:19 New forms of customer service
01:05:02 Caffeine and nicotine
01:09:18 Weight loss drugs and fertility
01:11:10 Post-Covid real estate crisis
01:14:27 Regional bank crisis
01:20:54 Sign off
#startups #business #work #technology #entrepreneur #realestate #ai #entrepreneurship #boeing #tech #covid19 #vc #founders #future #a16z
Listen to Us!
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- Spotify: spoti.fi/3SclPOr
Resources:
Marc on X: / pmarca
Marc’s Substack: pmarca.substack.com/
Ben on X: / bhorowitz
Stay Updated:
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The views expressed here are those of the individual personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any a16z funds. PLEASE SEE MORE HERE: a16z.com/disclosures/

Пікірлер: 92

  • @bryanoneal8067
    @bryanoneal8067Ай бұрын

    Please do an episode on "all the ways business schools are wrong about business" !🔥👑

  • @chapterme
    @chapterme29 күн бұрын

    Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) - 00:00 - Coming Up 00:33 - Intro 01:41 - In-House vs. Outsourcing 04:30 - AI Impact on Organizational Design 05:36 - Benefits of Remote Work 08:37 - Task Nature and Collaboration 16:31 - CEO Understanding Core Operations 20:03 - Strategic Remote Work Implementation 21:27 - Productivity Improvement in Downturns 23:30 - Executive Compensation and Efficiency 25:37 - Growth vs. Efficiency 27:51 - Transitioning Mindsets 32:14 - Layoffs and Employee Morale 36:57 - The "Square Root Law" 41:30 - Challenges of One-Person Billion-Dollar Startups 41:44 - Startup Scalability Examples 43:17 - Power of Focused Talent 44:28 - Internet Distribution vs. AI 45:36 - Challenges in AI Automation 50:41 - Automation and Job Displacement 52:30 - AI Edge Case Challenges 55:20 - Fiscal Challenges of Progressive Tax Policies 01:00:54 - Consequences of Tax Base Erosion 01:02:32 - Impact of Remote Work on Immigration Laws 01:03:28 - Automation of Knowledge Work 01:05:22 - Caffeine Consumption Debate 01:06:20 - Social Acceptance of Nicotine 01:08:41 - Historical Substance Consumption Shifts 01:11:28 - Concerns about Commercial Real Estate 01:14:20 - Prognosis: Crisis factor of regional banks 01:20:56 - Outro

  • @antigonid
    @antigonidАй бұрын

    Gentlemen, don't get me wrong, Ben is a GOAT, but Marc we want to hear more from you too. Perhaps the two of you could alternate asking questions each episode. This was excellent regardless.

  • @tyc00n
    @tyc00nАй бұрын

    one person billion dollar business without the tagalongs and just infrastructure (almost entire build with software synthesized with LLMs) is the dream. The fewer people know it was you that did it, the better!

  • @MichaelMerritt
    @MichaelMerrittАй бұрын

    Another hilarious LLM chatbot edge case was the GM chatbot that agreed to sell a 2024 Chevy Tahoe for $1. The dialog was hilarious as the bot repeated back “I understand this is a legally binding contract and no takesies backsies” 😂

  • @kennyleaver
    @kennyleaver28 күн бұрын

    Loved the topic of working remote as i've been full remote for 4 yrs and have a system i use on clickup where literally everything anyone in the company does (that takes >20min) is reflected with a task. I've helped 4-5 co'd go full-remote with this system too. We literally double the output of most teams consistently. And so my view on the question posed.... "Why do some managers work well remote while others do not?" Very simple answer... how organized they are and whether they follow systems to make remote work effective. To me its a skill like any other skill. If someone sucks at tennis and you ask them the question... "Well have you ever taken any lessons and actually practiced how to play correctly?" If they say "no" than you kinda nod your head and you understand why they suck. Same with remote work.

  • @WhitneyDB
    @WhitneyDBАй бұрын

    😂😂 "...we're an hour in, no one is still watching, anyway". I appreciate your candid conversations, always... Your fans watch EVERYTHING all the way through and until the end...

  • @jakeadams2562
    @jakeadams256221 күн бұрын

    Keep making these podcasts please !!!

  • @nat.serrano
    @nat.serranoАй бұрын

    Horowitz has super clean thinking. Amazing thought process

  • @LAinLA86

    @LAinLA86

    Ай бұрын

    Its amazing how clear and fluid his thinking is compared to his counterpart. He seems to have an unnatural hunger for knowledge that clearly shows

  • @nat.serrano

    @nat.serrano

    Ай бұрын

    @@LAinLA86 I mean Andressen is the goat, he’s in another level but I feel Horowitz gets overlooked.

  • @3nityC

    @3nityC

    29 күн бұрын

    @@nat.serrano Andressen is humble, he use resources (Horowitz) wisely.

  • @nat.serrano

    @nat.serrano

    29 күн бұрын

    @@3nityC don’t we all use each other in an upward spiral? (Or downwards in some cases). Relationships become almost sacred. What I’m saying in plain terms is that I’m glad they became friends

  • @BakedBotAI
    @BakedBotAI22 күн бұрын

    Sips cups of coffee... going to be a good one 😊

  • @EcomCarl
    @EcomCarl25 күн бұрын

    Insightful discussion! 🌟 Retaining knowledge systematically is crucial for startups, especially in roles like software architecture where expertise is paramount. Integrating AI into organizational design can streamline processes and enhance knowledge retention, contributing to long-term success.

  • @georgekrax
    @georgekrax26 күн бұрын

    Good note on the commercial real estate crisis

  • @slavamarchenko
    @slavamarchenkoАй бұрын

    Guys, thank you and your team for such a valuable information, peace ☀️

  • @nokites
    @nokites29 күн бұрын

    Great insight gentlemen.

  • @REMUSE777
    @REMUSE777Ай бұрын

    Training an LLM requires quality data -- just like a good photo requires a great camera lens. More training, or megapixels, means nothing without the quality enhancement of the core resolution.

  • @WEFUHDUH

    @WEFUHDUH

    27 күн бұрын

    Doesnt the technology of today bring this argument into question when you can take an old photo from a crappy lens and upscale it in seconds.

  • @amonifinau4048
    @amonifinau4048Ай бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @lancejones4636
    @lancejones4636Ай бұрын

    I was still watching you guys an hour in -- you left all the good jokes to the end! 😂

  • @4ndj
    @4ndjАй бұрын

    Love these, thank you so much for sharing :)

  • @TheEtrepreneur
    @TheEtrepreneur20 күн бұрын

    I'm please to report that after a couple of years of downspeeding my Andreessen playback speed to 1x (from my av of 2.5x for all the rest) now I'm able to process it up to 1.75x playback speed (logic understanding included). This happens with Warren Buffet also, and of course Dan Aykroyd as well. 😉😂

  • @faneaziz1872
    @faneaziz187229 күн бұрын

    i will watch my heroes even over 10 hours

  • @j.hanleysmith8333
    @j.hanleysmith833322 күн бұрын

    Dank alpha

  • @faneaziz1872
    @faneaziz187229 күн бұрын

    Goats !!!!!!!

  • @---Oracle---
    @---Oracle---20 күн бұрын

    I am watching :P Caffeine and nicotine is way better than weed and percs, or meth and Cheetos 🤣🤣

  • @InfoSopher
    @InfoSopher28 күн бұрын

    just when it got interesting, you guys stopped 😡🤣

  • @nat.serrano
    @nat.serranoАй бұрын

    The virtual on screen doorman is already a reality in Argentina. I always wondered if the NYC landlords/board members would be ok to have an ai doorman (is the market ready for this?).

  • @Tom-tk3du
    @Tom-tk3duАй бұрын

    I worked for one of the largest multinational oil companies in the world for several years with operations, engineering, and manufacturing resources scattered worldwide working together of massive complex technical projects. It’s a long-established business model. An important advantage of having resources in distant timezones is that you can “keep the ball rolling” on a 24 hr basis. The distant party working full time on an issue while you’re sleeping, and having the answer waiting for you the next morning. It was a hybrid organization. But you want to be careful about how you group resources by function…eg. conceptual design, detailed design, hardware manufacturing, system assembly/test, installation, operations & maintenance. But I would try to avoid dividing the front-end engineering tasks between geographically distant parties. Group workers together when the team members need to be able to work together in real-time.

  • @thehari75
    @thehari75Ай бұрын

    Is midjourney a billion dolar company with 10 ppl?

  • @kaelanrichards4858

    @kaelanrichards4858

    Ай бұрын

    they have near 100 peeps now

  • @markrussellfilaroski5035
    @markrussellfilaroski5035Ай бұрын

    Billion dollar company with 1-person = why? why does this even get "thought" "time" or any "effort?" If you can build a billion dollar business with 20 people, you win, they win, the world wins. Let's build more innovation and innovative companies.

  • @ctkenyon

    @ctkenyon

    29 күн бұрын

    That's 19 more people than true introverts really want to have to deal with:)

  • @quantumpotential7639

    @quantumpotential7639

    22 күн бұрын

    Exactly. Think of the money you save by not having to mail out invitations to the annual Christmas party. In fact, the Christmas party can be relegated to sitting quietly next to your Christmas 🎄 tree where no one is around to help celebrate with you.

  • @markrussellfilaroski5035

    @markrussellfilaroski5035

    22 күн бұрын

    ​@@ctkenyon😂 true

  • @artivilla3798

    @artivilla3798

    3 күн бұрын

    ​@@markrussellfilaroski5035 Why stop at 20. how about 21. or 211. or 2111? where does it end? It's merely a thought exercise on how to be capital efficient but the goal isn't it benefits 1 person. capital efficiency = investors are happy, and those extra $ can go to other founders.

  • @rehanAllahwala1
    @rehanAllahwala128 күн бұрын

    What headphones are you using Marc

  • @JaccuziLean6509
    @JaccuziLean650928 күн бұрын

    Petition to create a chrome extension that automatically switches the playback speed to 0.75 when Marc speaks and 1.25 when Ben speaks.

  • @brandonreed09
    @brandonreed09Ай бұрын

    52:10 Uber Drivers basically have AI as their boss

  • @big8611
    @big861127 күн бұрын

    I really like what you both said about coding and programming. Somebody that claims that programmers can be easily replaces should work for a company as programmer for lets say 3 months and then replace himself, before making wild claims. The last 10 - 20 % that is hard to replace is the role of programmers as problem fixes and NEGOTIATORS. People think that programmers just write code like some 1950es secretary writes the bosses dictations, nope there is a lot of negotiation between programmers and between programmers and architect and between programmers and product manger, product owner.

  • @tethron.
    @tethron.Ай бұрын

    If the Boeing CEO was an accountant that really makes a lot of sense

  • @dannyquiroz5777
    @dannyquiroz5777Ай бұрын

    1:05:34 I drink a double shot of espresso with two ounces of steamed milk within 10 minutes of waking up every day and I never feel a drop-off. I would suspect diet has more to do with why people crash or feel a drop off of any sort.

  • @dannyquiroz5777

    @dannyquiroz5777

    Ай бұрын

    I also don’t add sugar to my coffee or eat carbs in the morning

  • @chrsl3

    @chrsl3

    20 күн бұрын

    Same, and without sugar.

  • @kylefcords
    @kylefcordsАй бұрын

    Marc talks on 1.5x speed

  • @austinwilkerson9640
    @austinwilkerson9640Ай бұрын

    You. Yes, you, reading this, could be the Billion Dollar Man (or Woman). Good luck!

  • @kahlilgarmon7315

    @kahlilgarmon7315

    Ай бұрын

    ☝🏾

  • @Skargar

    @Skargar

    Ай бұрын

    Literally a billion dollar comment

  • @Aedonius

    @Aedonius

    Ай бұрын

    I'm going for the first single person Trillion.

  • @pythagoran

    @pythagoran

    Ай бұрын

    Statistically more likely to get hit by lightning

  • @stealthoverflow

    @stealthoverflow

    Ай бұрын

    Most likely not, but thanks.

  • @ChairmanHehe
    @ChairmanHehe28 күн бұрын

    in my experience doing new things lends itself incredibly better to remote- less group think more free creativity where you just try stuff -- linux, bitcoin, etc

  • @cabotfamilydentistry871
    @cabotfamilydentistry87129 күн бұрын

    Next episode: plunge forth into the deep, dark “conspiracy” rabbit hole of why all mainstream roads seem to lead to centralization and consolidation of power!

  • @REMUSE777
    @REMUSE777Ай бұрын

    BTC the first solo billion? Hmm, not sure I can agree.

  • @artivilla3798
    @artivilla37983 күн бұрын

    If you start in the US with the highest ROI per customer, you're quickly going to reach your peak of low margin beyond that going international. So by definition, you do have low ROI unless you keep innovating on new products. Its not just human nature, its the value capture per customer and their expendable $.

  • @ferchizzle
    @ferchizzleАй бұрын

    Can we have an episode devoted to Ben's conspiracy theories?

  • @georgekrax
    @georgekrax26 күн бұрын

    Are there going to meet together in person anytime to host the podcast or only through Zoom? 😅

  • @nbme-answers
    @nbme-answersАй бұрын

    UIUC and Columbia's finest

  • @winspyre
    @winspyre16 күн бұрын

    Boeing must have thousands of people who know how to build airplanes. CEOing is a different genre in itself.

  • @drewdepascale9863
    @drewdepascale9863Күн бұрын

    Has anyone ever seen Ben and Mark Messier in the same room?

  • @djcardwell
    @djcardwellАй бұрын

    these guys have it all figured out don't they?

  • @tuckerbugeater

    @tuckerbugeater

    29 күн бұрын

    you better hope so

  • @mahavakyas002
    @mahavakyas002Ай бұрын

    is horowitz a shmear?

  • @tuckerbugeater

    @tuckerbugeater

    29 күн бұрын

    wut

  • @planetmuskvlog3047
    @planetmuskvlog304721 күн бұрын

    Bing used to get frustrated and become annoyingly self-righteous and judgemental. Those were the days

  • @WEFUHDUH
    @WEFUHDUH27 күн бұрын

    Obesity inverse to smoking doesnt suggest anything other than addiction. Sugar is as addictive as coacaine, some say more. The food industy has government leverage ie food stamps to buy coke pun intended.... food in america is toxic, over processed and nutrient deficent. So yeah people might not be smoking but sucking down sodas is not much of a departure from the ritual of smoking. Some tone deaf commentary made here with what appears to be the result of being in a bubble or ivory tower. Doesnt a reimaging of existing systems and institutions appear to be desperate for disruption in a way that they would resist attempts, which creates an unavoidable fruction sure to exist in the future, but will be absolutely neccessary to make broad meaningful changes I am faccinated by how marcs brain works through ideas, and generally find value in listening to him to be clear.

  • @pppinto97
    @pppinto9721 күн бұрын

    Marc is SHARP but with his SPEED you understand nothing. Ben is not a SMART speaker, but at least you get the drift.

  • @boonkiathan
    @boonkiathan29 күн бұрын

    4 is most fair, that means two people brought in half the sales, the other 2 brought the other half. goes to show as a 1 person unicorn, I'm awesome, 1 of me responsible for half the output, the other half of my output comes free!

  • @pronoia.
    @pronoia.Ай бұрын

    If Pieter levels combined all his products/companies I think the valuation would be over $1b. I'm not sure what his yearly profit is exactly, according to google its between $3m and $300m per year and still building, times that by an earnings multiple and $1b is easy. He's just now learning how to do google ads.

  • @christian_vega

    @christian_vega

    26 күн бұрын

    It’s around $3m ARR total

  • @kaelanrichards4858
    @kaelanrichards4858Ай бұрын

    once the concept of one person billion dollar company is a thing a billion dollars won’t be a billions dollars

  • @cyberft

    @cyberft

    Ай бұрын

    Please explain your thinking here.

  • @nbme-answers
    @nbme-answersАй бұрын

    Ozempic & nicotine better than weed and percocets

  • @alexdellecese
    @alexdelleceseАй бұрын

    Can anyone talk about making a billion without talking about billionaires.

  • @Aedonius

    @Aedonius

    Ай бұрын

    billionaire is a mindset.

  • @tuckerbugeater

    @tuckerbugeater

    29 күн бұрын

    @@Aedonius parasite

  • @user-cz1nh1hv9v
    @user-cz1nh1hv9vАй бұрын

    Stop accountant for being CEO in future pls Accountant done more damage than good in top senior roles

  • @chrsl3

    @chrsl3

    20 күн бұрын

    Accountants could perfectly be replaced by AI?

  • @christinehill1038
    @christinehill1038Ай бұрын

    Marc, you are really overdoing it with all these constant AI/human cognition analogies. It's sloppy reasoning through false analogy.

  • @christinehill1038

    @christinehill1038

    Ай бұрын

    Also, it would be great to hear Ben's long conspiracy theory about the banks.

  • @stephaneosmont
    @stephaneosmont8 күн бұрын

    Marca, please slow down, you want to sound smart by speaking fast but you mumble and we don't understand you.

  • @The-company-doctor
    @The-company-doctor29 күн бұрын

    你是说我们吗

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