a16z Podcast: Belief -- An Interview with Oprah Winfrey

with @ldhawke and @stevesi The government wants to get onto the cloud! But how do they assess the levels of risk in adopting specific cloud products, and which "cloud service providers" (aka "CSPs") to work with? That's where FedRAMP -- the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program -- comes in. And enterprise SaaS companies need to pay attention, since it will be a requirement for selling to the U.S. government, which is one of the biggest buyers of tech. Not just that, but even state governments and private/public companies may seek FedRAMP certification because they either work with the federal government or are just seeking standards. How similar or different is FedRAMP to other types of certification, authorization, and compliance (such as ISO, SOC-2, GDPR, even HIPAA); and what does it mean for a startup to go through organizationally, culturally? Is it like a check-the-box policy thing, is it like getting a driver's license... or what? One thing's for sure: It's an opportunity for enterprise SaaS startups, and the government is trying to help companies through the process. What are the steps to certification? What are some acronyms and terms to be aware of? When and how should you bring a consultant, advisor, or third-party auditor into the process? How long does it take, really? And how does it affect your sales team? Most importantly, what is the best strategy for moving forward? (Hint: start with a customer). Lisa Hawke, VP of Security and Compliance at Everlaw, an a16z company, shares her expertise and their experience in navigating all this, as well as the resources below, in this episode of the a16z Podcast hosted by board partner Steven Sinofsky. (The two were also previously on another episode sharing everything startups need to know about GDPR.) For links mentioned in this episode and other resources, see: https://a16z.com/2019/08/28/fedramp-why-what-how-for-startups/

28 Aug 201934min

with @illscience and @smc90 This is episode #7 of our news show, 16 Minutes, where we quickly cover recent headlines of the week, the a16z way -- why they're in the news; why they matter from our vantage point in tech -- and share our experts' views on these trends. This week we cover, with the following a16z experts: Apple releasing a credit card, and what it means beyond the card features itself, what it means for consumer credit (and recession risks), and the financial ecosystem overall -- with new a16z fintech general partner Anish Acharya; BEC frauds and scams indictment and the FBI bringing a massive federal grand jury indictment, one of the biggest of its kind, and what it means and how to prevent this type of cyber fraud -- with a16z operating partner for security Joel de la Garza; ...hosted by Sonal Chokshi. The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. 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 fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

25 Aug 201917min

Back in 2011, a16z cofounder Marc Andreessen first made the bold claim that software would eat the world. In this episode (originally recorded as part of an event at a16z), Andreesseen and a16z general partner on the bio fund Jorge Conde (@JorgeCondeBio) take a look back at that thesis, and think about where we are now, nearly a decade later—how software has delivered on that promise… and most of all, where it is yet to come. In the wide-ranging conversation, the two partners discuss everything from the translatable learnings of software’s transformation of the music and automotive industries, to how software will now eat healthcare (including what exactly changed in the fields of bio and computer science to make Marc eat his own words!). The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. 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 fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

15 Aug 201946min

with @julesyoo @smc90 This is episode #6 of our new show, 16 Minutes, where we quickly cover recent headlines of the week, the a16z way -- why they're in the news; why they matter from our vantage point in tech -- and share our experts' views on these trends as well. This week we cover, with the following a16z experts: health claims, insurance & big tech, and healthcare data liquidity -- with a16z bio partner Julie Yoo; Capital One data breach, cloud security, and corporate hacks -- with a16z operating partner for security Joel de la Garza; ...hosted by Sonal Chokshi.

12 Aug 201917min

with @astrange @jeff_jordan and @smc90 This is episode #5 of our new show, 16 Minutes, where we quickly cover recent headlines of the week, the a16z way -- why they're in the news; why they matter from our vantage point in tech -- and share our experts' views on these trends as well. This week we cover, with the following a16z experts: Federal Reserve real-time payment and settlement service FedNow, the U.S. payments rail, and fintech -- with a16z general partner Angela Strange; Barney's bankruptcy, the "death of retail", and ecommerce -- with a16z general partner Jeff Jordan; ...hosted by Sonal Chokshi.

11 Aug 201916min

with @jorgecondebio @vijaypande and @smc90 This is episode #4 of our new show, 16 Minutes, where we quickly cover recent headlines of the week, the a16z way -- why they're in the news; why they matter from our vantage point in tech -- and share our experts' views on these trends as well. This week we do a short but deep dive on the opioid crisis, given recent data around where and who was behind the manufacturing and distribution of specific opioids: How do opioids work, why these drugs? Who's to blame? What are other directions for managing pain -- and where could tech come in, even with the broader social, cultural, and structural context involved? Our a16z experts in this episode are a16z bio general partners Jorge Conde and Vijay Pande, in conversation with host Sonal Chokshi.

4 Aug 201918min

with @andrewchen @dcoolican and @smc90 This is episode #3 of our new show, 16 Minutes, where we quickly cover recent headlines of the week, the a16z way -- why they're in the news; why they matter from our vantage point in tech -- and share our experts' views on these trends as well. This week we do a short but deep dive on esports, given recent news of the inaugural Fortnite World Cup champion, and how this all fits into the broader trends in gaming, social networks, and the future of entertainment. Our a16z experts in this episode are general partner Andrew Chen and investing team partner D'Arcy Coolican, both of the consumer vertical, in conversation with host Sonal Chokshi.

4 Aug 201918min

with @martin_casado @jorgeconde @jayrughani and @smc90 This is episode #2 of our new show, 16 Minutes, where we quickly cover recent headlines of the week, the a16z way -- why they're in the news; why they matter from our vantage point in tech -- and share our experts' views on these trends as well. This week we cover, with the following a16z experts: . mobile malware and a recent report of a new kind in the wild and security in a post-perimeter world -- with a16z general partner Martin Casado; drug pricing given recent proposals on the table, sharing a lay of the land for why drug pricing is so damn hard, what is a medicine, and where tech comes in -- with a16z bio general partner Jorge Conde and market dev partner Jay Rughani; ...hosted by Sonal Chokshi. The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation.  This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. 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 fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

28 Juli 201919min