with Shannon (Stubo) Brayton, Margit Wennmachers, and Sonal Chokshi
Much of the strategy -- and even tactics -- behind public relations are actually hidden from public view, so one of the most frequently asked questions startup founders have is how to manage PR: from when to bring an agency on and the mechanics of onboarding and engaging with them; to key acronyms to know in the process of doing so (what’s an AoR? RFP? GA?); to what are the ideal configurations for the who-what-where. This episode of the a16z Podcast provides perspectives from two PR legends representing both sides of the table (in-house vs. agency, big company vs. startup) to answer these questions. listen to this episode
with Martin Casado, Andrew Chen, Sonal Chokshi, Russ Heddleston, Jeff Jordan, Hanne Tidnam
Growth is one of the most top-of-mind questions for entrepreneurs building startups, whether consumer or enterprise -- but how does one go beyond a mindset of “growth hacking” to thinking about growth more systemically and holistically? What are the key metrics to know; why; and how? This series of a16z Podcasts (with transcripts) answers questions about user acquisition, engagement, and retention as well as what happens when enterprise products grow organically from the bottom up yet still map into direct sales. how to acquire users how to keep users how bottom-up growth works in the enterprise
We're constantly asked “why sales?”, since many founders hold the technical-centric view that if you build a great product, customers will come. But all world-class companies needed a strong sales force to get to where they are today. So how did they get there? In this series of 16 mini video lessons, a16z general partner Peter Levine distills the fundamentals of sales that every technical and first-time founder should know, from defining key concepts to offering concrete how-to advice. watch the entire series on YouTube
with Benedict Evans, Jeff Jordan, Hanne Tidnam, Steven Sinofsky, Cal Turner Jr.
Not every new technology or idea is disruptive, and the tech industry is littered with leading innovators who nonetheless failed to be the dominant leader in the end. So the question should be, is this new thing fundamentally difficult for the incumbent to do? How does it relate to market dominance? And what exactly is the new thing disrupting? The following post and podcasts look at the recent moves and "innovation (org) structures" of modern companies like Tesla and Apple, as well as the leadership principles of an older company surviving in a disrupted industry. software and the many kinds of disruption how disruptive is Tesla? how Apple innovates the case study of Dollar General
with Sonal Chokshi, Chris Dixon, Steven Johnson, Fred Wilson
There’s a lot of research and writing out there on “thinking fast” -- the short-term gut decisions we make, biases we have, and heuristics we use -- but what about for “thinking slow” -- the decisions that have long-term impact on our businesses, our lives, and the world? What frameworks help when trying to analyze past tech revolutions, see into the future, and embrace the unique properties of software-driven innovation... which changes everything? making decisions for, and telling stories about, the future tech trends, financial capital, and the dynamics of 'disruption'
