with @DCoolican @illscience @laurenmurrow The intersection of social networks and finance—as well as shifting attitudes around what we share about money online—have given way to an ambitious new wave of financial products. Fintech partner Anish Acharya, formerly a product manager at Credit Karma, consumer partner D’Arcy Coolican (who himself is a former founder in this space), and host Lauren Murrow discuss why the “holy grail” of social plus finance is both so challenging and, potentially, so rewarding. This episode is part of Social Strikes Back, a new series exploring the next generation of social networks and how they’re shaping the future of consumer tech. See more at a16z.com/social-strikes-back.

with @martin_casado @armon @smc90 As companies evolve -- especially from product to sales to scaling operations -- so must the leaders. But can the same person transition across all these phases? When and when not; what are the qualities, criteria, and tradeoffs to be made? Two enterprise startup CTOs share a glimpse into their journeys on the question of to CEO or not to CEO; managing their psychology and tactics for managing transitions; and much more.

What happens if we treat food as a medicine in the healthcare system?

This episode features Q&As with two artists who are exploring crypto-powered auction sites and marketplaces – this is part of our ongoing series on the creator economy. The big picture is that emerging "tokenization" models, especially non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are creating new ways for collectors and investors to buy, sell, and trade digital art. More broadly, these innovations open the door to the tokenization of any products or collectibles that can be captured and owned digitally.  Marketplaces powered by NFTs open up new revenue streams for creators, because anytime digital work is resold or their tokens traded on these platforms, no matter how many times, the creator gets a percentage of those secondary sales. It's all transparent and governed by code on the blockchain, and it’s a big shift in creator economies. Our first guest is one of the biggest names in crypto art, and one of the most mysterious. Murat Pak is the artist and industrial designer who created the AI-powered image sharing site Archillect. Pak has made it a policy to separate their personal identity from their online work, and prefers to keep their quote-unquote real identity hidden, so we conducted this interview by email and converted Pak’s answers to audio using text-to-speech software. As Pak has expressed in other interviews, it's really the work that matters. And we do know a lot about the work, Pak has sold more than 60 pieces of digital art this year on the auction site SuperRare, for more than $350,000. And that’s just one of the several platforms on which Pak’s work is sold.  In this Q&A, Pak talks with a16z's Zoran Basich about NFTs. These "non-fungible tokens" are unique assets that are not interchangeable. Dollar bills are fungible — each dollar bill is worth exactly the same as every other one. But works of art, for example, or any collectible, can be non-fungible — their value varies based on the market for that particular asset. With crypto, these assets carry digital ownership rights that can be easily exchanged. We start by discussing the whole concept of digital art, and why anyone would pay for something that (seemingly) can be easily copied. Our second interview is with Signe Pierce, a visual, digital, and performance artist whose work has appeared in major galleries in Paris, Los Angeles, and New York. She’s currently featuring her artwork on the creator marketplace Foundation. On that site, in addition to auction-style NFT markets, the price of tokens associated with individual works of art is something like you’d see on a stock market – the pricing is real-time, and dynamic and fluctuates according to demand by buyers, who might be investors, collectors, or fans. Signe discusses why she went from working exclusively with galleries to trying crypto marketplaces, how this move affects her work and her business, and how crypto could change the way she engages with her fans. She also offers advice for creators interested in getting into the world of crypto. She starts off by talking about how social media popularity several years ago opened her eyes to the idea of new monetization models for creators.  Stay Updated: Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

with @vintweeta @jorgecondebio @smc90 Given our early and ongoing coverage of coronavirus in this feed, we share a recent episode of 16 Minutes breaking down the 4 D's and what to know about recent news around the vaccines.

with @ibjade @Tocelot @laurenmurrow True cloud-native games—those exclusive to and solely playable within the cloud—are poised to revolutionize gameplay and unlock new avenues of hyper-personalized storytelling and socializing. In this episode, Jade Raymond, VP of Stadia Games and Entertainment, and a16z partner Jonathan Lai, formerly of Riot Games and Tencent, talk about the challenges in building cloud-native games, their potential to upend prevailing business models and pricing, and most importantly, the spontaneous, social, super-shareable experiences that true cloud streaming will reveal. Through the rise of user-generated content, AI, and the cloud, they believe we're inching ever closer to the Metaverse. This episode is part of Social Strikes Back, a new series exploring the next generation of social networks and how they’re shaping the future of consumer tech. See more at a16z.com/social-strikes-back.

Lakes v. warehouses, analytics v. AI/ML, SQL v. everything else... As the technical capabilities of data lakes and data warehouses converge, are the separate tools and teams that run AI/ML and analytics converging as well?

with Matt Abrahams & smc90 Whether participating in a meeting, doing a panel, conducting a live event, presenting a talk, or even hosting a podcast, these are expert best practices for moderating and managing discussions across modes and mediums. (Including how to manage unruly discussions, anxiety, presence in virtual environments, and more.)

with @vpostrel @smc90 The story of textiles IS the story, history, and evolution of technology and science (across all kinds of fields, from biology to chemistry); of commerce (as well as management, measurement, machines); but most of all, of civilization (vs. just culture) itself. That's what Virginia Postrel's new book, The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World is all about. But it is in fact a story of innovation, of human ingenuity... which is also the theme of the a16z Podcast.

Just having data is not enough: it takes an entire system of tools and technology to extract value from data. a hallway style conversation between Ali Ghodsi, CEO and Founder of Databricks, and a16z general partner Martin Casado explore the evolution of data architectures.

with @tzhongg @conniechan Gen Z—those born between 1995 and 2010—now makes up 35 percent of the population and represent $143 billion dollars in spending power. This episode is all about how brands can better understand, collaborate with, and resonate with this hugely influential segment of consumers.  Our guest, Tiffany Zhong, is the 24-year-old CEO of Zebra IQ, a company that helps brands interpret the wants of Gen Z consumers and helps Gen Z creators turn their content into businesses.

with @gustavs @conniechan @smc90 We've talked a lot about podcasting, so where are we going with the future of audio, more broadly? Can we borrow from the present and future of video (e.g., TikTok) to see what's next in audio; can we borrow from the past of audio (i.e., radio) to see what's next for audio experiences (more blending of music, talk, podcasting)? Where do all these mediums converge and where do they diverge, when it comes to user experience, product design, recommendations, discovery, machine learning?

Today’s episode is a conversation about four big trends in the tech world. Any one of these trends would be notable on its own, but we cover all four in this hallway-style chat, as a16z General Partner Chris Dixon talks with Sep Kamvar (professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT and now cofounder of cryptocurrency platform Celo); and Elad Gil (investor and the cofounder of health technology company Color Genomics, and formerly at Twitter and Google). This is a wide-ranging survey of some of the major shifts in technology right now, but it’s really a meta-story of how innovation happens, which is most definitely not in a straight line. So here are the trends they cover: *crypto; *AI and machine learning (including GPT-3); *full stack startups (which Chris first wrote about in 2014); *and collaborative web/collaborative enterprise/social (including RTC or real-time communication within the browser), which is where the conversation begins.

with @annieduke @jeff_jordan All kinds of decisions, whether in life or business -- like marriage product management, what to eat or watch -- are a portfolio of investments. And obviously, not all decisions are equal; in fact, sometimes we don't even have to spend any time deciding. So how do we know which decisions to spend time on, which ones not to? What are the strategies, mindsets, tools to help us decide? How can we operationalize good decision hygiene into our teams and organizations? We cover all this and more in this early podcast with Annie Duke for her new book, How to Decide.

with @mira404 @illscience @seema_amble @laurenmurrow Millennials and Gen Z have been hard-hit by the one-two punch of the 2008 and 2020 financial crises. That experience has radically shaped their approach to finances and their mindset around credit and debt. This episode explores how fintech founders are now designing products tailored to the financial challenges of younger consumers, from managing and avoiding student loans to building credit to saving and budgeting apps. Historically, students have largely been overlooked by traditional banks. Due to a combination of economic forces, predatory lending practices, and uninformed decisions, millennials have more outstanding student loans—and owe more money—than any prior generation. According to a poll conducted this month by the data intelligence company Morning Consult, just 46 percent of millennials believe their student debt was worth attending college. Amira Yahyaoui wants to change that. She’s the founder and CEO of Mos, a platform that allows students to apply for every government college financial aid program with a single application. In this episode, Amira joins host Lauren Murrow and a16z fintech partners Anish Acharya and Seema Amble to discuss how fintech can cut through bureaucracy, downsize student debt, and optimize—and ultimately automate—consumers’ financial futures from an early age.

with @carolynbertozzi @lr_bio This is the second episode in our new show, Bio Eats World, a brand new podcast all about how biology is technology. This show now includes Journal Club, where we discuss groundbreaking research articles, why they matter, what new opportunities they present, and how to take the findings from paper to practice. Be sure to subscribe (and rate if you like) this show, and to learn more about the expanding a16z Podcast network, please go to a16z.com/podnetwork

with @kristenfortney @laurademing @vijaypande @omnivorousread This is the very first episode in our new show, Bio Eats World, a brand new podcast all about how biology is technology: Bio is breaking out of the lab and clinic and into our daily lives -- on the verge of revolutionizing our world in ways we are only just beginning to imagine. In this first episode, we talk all about the science of aging. Be sure to subscribe (and rate if you like) this show, and to learn more about the expanding a16z Podcast network, please go to a16z.com/podnetwork

with @eugenewei @smc90 TikTok's For You Page algorithm (which could yet be excluded from the deal given Chinese government recently revised export controls around source code) enabled it to grab massive marketshare in cultures and markets never experienced firsthand by the engineers and designers in China, beating out other dominant players in the United States. But well beyond the specifics and politics of this deal, what does its "algorithm friendly" product design tell us about “creativity network effects”, community, and the future of video?

Today’s episode, part two in our two-part series on the Creator Economy, focuses on the new potential revenue streams and fan-engagement models opened up by emerging decentralized technology. It's a new type of fan club, driven by crypto networks and aiming to give creators more power in the commercial sphere. Zoran Basich of a16z talked to two guests deeply immersed in these topics. Kayvon Tehranian is the founder and CEO of Foundation Labs, a platform for buying and selling limited edition goods. Think of it as a crypto marketplace that creates new revenue streams for creators, and financial incentives for buyers. Before that he was head of product at cryptocurrencies marketplace Dharma Labs, and he has long worked on making crypto more accessible to the mainstream. Jesse Walden is a former a16z partner who recently launched his own fund, Variant, which focuses on what he calls the ownership economy enabled by crypto. He also previously cofounded the startup Mediachain, which was acquired by Spotify, and is a former music promoter and manager whose focus was on helping artists stay independent. Kayvon and Jesse explain how the emerging crypto models differ from previous attempts to create new revenue streams for artists, and about the role of speculation and hype in creator markets. They also debate whether these new markets will largely be driven by financial motives, or whether cultural factors will be equally powerful in determining the growth of creator markets. And they offer advice to creators interested in exploring this new world, including important practical guidance on expectations and timelines.  Stay Updated: Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg   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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode explores the process and economics behind creating an independent newsletter. In this candid conversation, host Lauren Murrow talks with four Substack writers—an artist, a technologist, a journalist, and a clinical researcher-turned-psychedelics scholar—about how to find and foster an audience, the calculus behind going paid versus unpaid, the pressure to produce, and financial benchmarks for making a living from newsletter writing.