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Ben Horowitz - Backing America’s Future - [Invest Like the Best, EP.457]

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Ben Horowitz - Backing America’s Future - [Invest Like the Best, EP.457]

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

Feb 03
Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

Feb 03
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

My guest today is Ben Horowitz, the co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz. Since its founding in 2009, a16z has grown into one of the most influential firms in venture capital, reshaping how technology companies are funded and how power and ideas move through ...

Highlights

In this candid and wide-ranging conversation, Ben Horowitz—co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz—moves beyond his well-known venture capital persona to explore the deeper values, relationships, and responsibilities that shape his leadership and vision for America’s future.
02:46
a16z's role extends beyond venture capital to civic stewardship
03:27
AI will have a major impact in the next 12 to 24 months as there's no need to build new infrastructure for its adoption.
06:06
Technology solutions are more effective than policy solutions for challenges like COVID, climate change, and public safety
08:40
The 'laws of physics' of company-building have changed; with enough data and GPUs, problems can be solved quickly
11:45
Only about 40 AI researchers in the world have the hands-on experience needed to build large models
13:16
AI is an extension of trends that increase wealth disparity, like the internet, but it also democratizes access to powerful tools, equalizing opportunities in education
18:08
New technologies like crypto enable wealth creation even with little initial capital
20:03
America’s current status resulted from winning the Industrial Revolution, and now, in the face of an AI-equivalent change, America must lead in technology to maintain its economic, military, and cultural dominance
25:42
Reorgs are the toughest leadership challenge because they involve redistributing power
30:17
They named the firm after themselves to convince LPs they'd stay, especially during the 2009 financial crisis when LPs worried they'd leave to build another company.
35:44
Investing with small teams of 4–5 people can't cover the whole tech market, so a VC firm needs multiple teams
36:18
Most current venture firms don't offer much help with multi-product, multi-channel, and multi-geography expansion
37:46
Becoming like Blackstone or Apollo is culturally opposite to our focus on creating new tech companies and supporting entrepreneurs
40:03
They spend much effort on culture, enforce it strictly, and face challenges in maintaining it as the organization grows
41:13
Culture is defined by actions, not ideas
43:05
His dad taught him about the difference between creating and dividing wealth in socialism
45:06
AI is an underestimated tool for creatives in music, potentially leading to a new art form like hip-hop did
46:48
Nas pointed out a lyric interpretation the speaker had missed
50:09
AI cameras reduced police shootings of suspects by 75%
54:08
Ken Coleman gave him a summer internship as a college sophomore, which was crucial for him to reach Silicon Valley

Chapters

Welcome to Invest Like the Best
00:00
Episode Intro: Ben Horowitz
02:43
The State of America Right Now
03:27
How Policy Could Destroy America
06:06
AI Changes the Laws of Company Building and Investing
08:29
Why AI Researchers are Paid $100M
11:40
Thoughts on Growing Inequality
13:16
Societal Challenges Due to AI
18:07
Ben’s Scope of Ambition for the Next 20 Years
19:56
Andy Grove’s Influence on Ben
22:48
Starting Andreessen Horowitz
27:44
Early Mistakes
32:53
What Capital Markets Are Missing
36:17
Why VC and Not PE
37:44
Tradeoffs with Scale
40:03
A Culture is Not a Set of Ideas, it’s a Set of Actions
41:10
Lessons from His Father
43:05
Exciting Use Cases of AI
45:03
Ben’s Friendship with Nas
46:46
Funding New Technology for the Las Vegas Police Department
50:05
The Kindest Thing
54:07

Transcript

Patrick O'Shaughnessy: Most software companies try to maximize your time on their app to juice engagement. Ramp does the exact opposite. Ramp understands that no one wants to spend hours filing expense reports, reviewing expense reports, and checking for p...