The a16z Show

As frontier AI labs expand into applications, where should startups build? a16z Partner Joe Schmidt joins HubSpot co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah to explore why the software opportunity is growing, and how founders can stay off the “Yellow Brick Road” the labs are racing down.
Drawing on HubSpot’s evolution, Dharmesh explains why founders should start with a narrow market, learn quickly, and solve the whole customer problem. They discuss where application companies can build lasting value as models become infrastructure: workflows, customer context, and the systems where work happens.
They also explore HubSpot’s AI experiments, the rise of one-person businesses, and why cheaper software creation could unlock markets that previously couldn’t support a software company.

Resources:
Follow Dharmesh Shah on X: https://x.com/dharmesh
Follow Joe Schmidt on X: https://x.com/joeschmidtiv
Read Joe’s essay, “Avoiding Death on the Yellow Brick Road”:
https://a16z.com/avoiding-death-on-the-yellow-brick-road/

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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.

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Scott Kupor helped build a16z from three people into a firm with hundreds of employees. Now, as Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, he’s applying some of the same lessons about talent, incentives, and organizational design to a workforce of roughly two million federal employees.
Scott joins Founders host David Senra to tell the story of a16z’s earliest days, from joining Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz during the 2008 financial crisis to borrowing Michael Ovitz’s CAA model to build a venture firm around specialized networks and services for founders. He explains why a16z chose to market itself when venture firms traditionally didn’t, how early wins like Skype accelerated the firm’s growth, and why it eventually reorganized around specialized investing teams.
Then they turn to Scott’s move into government. He lays out his effort to build a more merit-based federal workforce, attract younger technical talent, and create what he calls “permissioned risk” so government employees can actually try new things. That includes everything from changing how performance and promotions work to replacing a retirement process that still relied on hundreds of millions of pieces of paper stored in an underground Pennsylvania mine.

Resources:
U.S. Office of Personnel Management: https://www.opm.gov/
Federal early-career opportunities: https://earlycareers.gov/
Follow Scott Kupor on X: https://x.com/skupor
Follow David Senra on X: https://x.com/davidsenra

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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.

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Health advice has become an endless stream of supplements, diets, wearables, and biohacks. Which interventions are actually worth your time? Truemed CEO Justin Mares argues that most people should ignore the extremes and focus on a few fundamentals: better food, movement, sleep, and reducing harmful exposures.
Justin joins a16z General Partner Daisy Wolf to walk through his own approach to health, from what he eats and how he exercises to supplements, blood tests, sauna, sleep, and the changes he’s made to his home.
They also discuss the larger problem behind Truemed: while chronic disease drives the vast majority of U.S. healthcare spending, relatively little goes toward prevention. Justin explains how Truemed is trying to change that by making it easier for eligible consumers to use tax-free HSA and FSA dollars on qualified lifestyle interventions.

Resources:
Follow Justin Mares on X: https://x.com/jwmares
Follow Daisy Wolf on X: https://x.com/daisydwolf
Learn more about TrueMed: https://www.truemed.com/

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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.

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What actually matters if you want to stay healthy as you age? Dr. Mark Hyman argues it isn’t the most extreme longevity intervention. It’s the small investments you make every day in strength, nutrition, sleep, and stress.
Mark joins a16z Partner Daisy Wolf to walk through what he actually does, from meditation and strength training to protein, supplements, sleep, sauna, cold plunges, and the occasional ice cream. He explains why preserving muscle becomes increasingly important with age and how he uses testing to understand what’s happening inside his body.
They also discuss the idea behind Function Health: combining blood tests, imaging, wearables, medical records, and eventually AI to move healthcare from treating disease toward understanding and preventing it earlier.

Resources:
Follow Mark Hyman: https://x.com/drmarkhyman
Learn more about Function Health: https://www.functionhealth.com
Follow Daisy Wolf on X: https://x.com/daisydwolf

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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.

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What makes a startup worth acquiring when software has never been easier to build? Salesforce’s John Somorjai says the answer goes well beyond technology: the best acquisitions can accelerate a product roadmap, bring in exceptional talent, and put a startup in front of 15,000 Salesforce sales reps almost overnight.
John joins a16z General Partner Alex Immerman to unpack the thinking behind nearly $100 billion in acquisitions during his tenure, from Slack and MuleSoft to a new generation of AI-native companies. They discuss Salesforce’s build-versus-buy framework, why outcome-based pricing is replacing seats in parts of enterprise software, and what founders should consider when deciding whether to sell.
John also shares what can kill a deal during diligence, why he thinks parts of today’s venture market are overvalued, and how Salesforce Ventures is expanding from enterprise software into frontier AI and robotics.

Resources:
Follow John Somorjai: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsomorjai/
Follow Alex Immerman: https://x.com/aleximm
Learn more about Salesforce Ventures: https://salesforceventures.com/

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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.

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