with @davidmarcus @smc90

This wide-ranging conversation covers company building, big to small -- including what cadence and when is the right "time" to ship; the relationship between centralization, decentralization, platforms, and financial freedom; moving from web2 to web3 in both crypto AND payments... as well as why bitcoin, views on remote work, and much much more.

Our guest is David Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Lightspark; Marcus was also a co-creator of Diem (aka Libra and Novi, the cryptocurrency project initiated by Facebook). Before that, he was vice president of messaging products there, where he ran the Facebook Messenger unit; and prior to joining Facebook, Marcus was the former president of PayPal (which had acquired his previous startup).

This episode begins with an interview just to help kick things off and then features a rich set of questions from the audience -- as this originally took place live on stage at our Crypto Startup School 2023.

As a reminder: none of this should be taken as investment, legal, business, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information -- including a link to a list of our investments.

related readings:

Regulate apps, not protocols series (2022-2023) - Miles Jennings et al, a16z crypto)
What it will take to create the next great Silicon Valleys (2014) - Marc Andreessen (Politico, a16z)
Why bitcoin matters (2014) - Marc Andreeessen (NYT, a16z)
When one app rules them all: The case of WeChat and Mobile in China (2015) - Connie Chan (a16z)

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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.

Ep 135 - Unicorns, Dragonball Z, Mushrooms, The Ghetto Boys, Bloom County