Boss Talk #1

In this episode, which took place at a16z's Connect Fintech event, a16z General Partner David George interviews Capital Group's Mark Casey on his investment philosophy, what sends him into what he calls "barnacle mode," his preference for customer-focused North Star metrics, and more.  0:00-1:42 Intro1:42-5:58 Approach to investing5:58-8:20 What Casey told Jeff Bezos, and what he learned8:20-12:57 How CEOs communicate with public market investors; unconventional North Star metrics12:57-15:48: Why Casey loves dividends15:48-20:44 Macro trends and investing theses20:44-21:37 Ecommerce predictions 21:37-23:15 Opportunities and choke points in AI23:15-25:18 What makes a great public company?25:18-26:04 OutroPlease 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.

23 Heinä 202426min

In this conversation, which took place at a16z's Connect Fintech event, a16z General Partner Angela Strange, Plaid CEO and cofounder Zach Perret, and Marqeta CEO Simon Khalaf discuss how AI will shape the future of banking, the battle between payment rails in the U. S., and how there's still opportunity to transform the basic credit card into a fully digital product. 0:00-1:42 Intro1:42-1:56 Topics: Generative AI, payment rails shift, and regulation in open banking and sponsor banking1:56-4:46 GenAI's potential impact on credit modeling and fraud4:46-7:09 Implications of payment products becoming digital products ("The open face of the internet")7:09-8:33 Why brands need to embed finance, and why every company will eventually be a fintech company8:33-11:01 The card vs. pay-by-bank debate11:01-12:24 New infrastructure to combat fraud12:24-17:27 Reassessing traditional "top-of-wallet" tactics and longstanding business models17:27-20:04 Potential implications of Visa/Mastercard antitrust suit20:04-24:12 Regulation around open banking and sponsor banks24:12-24:40 OutroPlease 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.

20 Kesä 202424min

In a new episode of In the Vault, a16z General Partner Angela Strange talks with Jeff Sloan, former CEO of Global Payments, about how he was early to spot significant industry trends, how to make bets that move an organization, and the sea change that AI represents for the financial services industry. 0-1:40 Intro1:40-8:15 Joining Global Payments8:15-19:30 Placing many bets19:30-26:10 Deal integration and scale advantage26:10-31:35 GenAI sea change31:35-32:19 Outro 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.

30 Huhti 202432min

In a new episode of In the Vault, a16z General Partner David Haber talks with Marco Argenti, the chief information officer at Goldman Sachs, about bringing fintech processes into financial services, turning developers into clients, and how AI is a major inflection point in the history of technology.0-1:30 Intro1:30-12:05 From tech to financial services12:05-17:30 Turning developers into clients17:30-23:50 GenAI and productivity23:50-28:50 The future of financial services28:50-29:31 OutroPlease 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.

30 Huhti 202429min

In a new episode of In the Vault, a16z General Partner David Haber talks with Marty Chavez, a partner and vice chairman of Sixth Street Partners, about the foundational role he’s had in merging technology and finance throughout his career, and the magical promises and regulatory pitfalls of AI. 0-1:30 Intro1:30-12:50 Marty's history and transition to Wall Street12:50-20:50 Financial Crisis and SecDB20:50-32:10 GenAI's impact32:10-36:15 AI and biotech36:15-37:06 OutroPlease 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.

30 Huhti 202437min

In this SaaS era, partnering with no one means competing with everyone. How the best companies take advantage of ecosystem-led growth—or where they sit in the SaaS ecosystem to improve acquisition, expansion, and access to new markets, as discussed by a16z general partner Sarah Wang and Crossbeam CEO Bob Moore.[00:01:43] The birth of ecosystem-led growth[00:05:12] The data revolution in partnerships[00:12:46] Integrating ecosystem-level GTM motions[00:16:29] Bob's founder history[00:24:30] Ecosystem-qualified leads and new opportunities[00:29:34] ELG as AI force multiplierFor a transcript of this episode of a16z Live!, click here.

9 Huhti 202434min

CEO of Quora Adam D’Angelo discusses how building infrastructure for creators can democratize AI, in conversation with a16z’s David George. [01:07] Social networks as compliment to AI[03:59] Poe: bringing AI to the masses[05:51] The future of AI is multi-model and multimodal[08:11] Is the model the product?[11:31] Building AI infrastructure for creators[13:41] Navigating platform shifts[16:02] Sharing human- and computer-generated knowledge[17:43] Knowledge sharing on the internet[20:41] The benefits of scale for AI[21:59] Competing on scale or feature differentiation[25:01] Fault tolerance as a wedge for startupsThis conversation is part of our AI Revolution series, which features some of the most impactful builders in the field of AI discussing and debating where we are, where we’re going, and the big open questions in AI. Find more content from our AI Revolution series on www.a16z.com/AIRevolution.

20 Maalis 202429min

Hiring the right executives at the right time is the key to scaling your company. But to many founders, the executive search and hiring process can feel like a black box. a16z talent partner Matt Oberhardt dives deep into the executive search process with Kelli Dragovich and Nolan Church on the HR Heretics podcast.[00:01:21] How a16z talent partners assess talent[00:03:42] Balancing internal and external roles[00:04:57] Measuring success in talent assessment[00:06:07] The MOC[00:10:29] Whiteboard sessions for assessing fit[00:13:10] Referencing as a continuous cycle[00:16:47] Putting negative references in context[00:20:25] Assessing personal growth vs. mistakes[00:21:50] Establishing trust with founders[00:25:03] Vetting EQ[00:26:53] Measuring success of what you can't control[00:28:43] Why hire veterans for startups[00:33:45] Talent landscape in 2024[00:35:20] Recruiting top talent in a tight market[00:38:42] Hiring the "operational glue"[00:39:36] The value of tough feedbackYou can read the key takeaways from this conversation, along with a transcript, here.

12 Helmi 202441min