a16z Podcast a16z Podcast: Bending Every Pixel to Your Will -- Optimizely and the Next Wave of Internet Tools
May 20, 2014
Dan Siroker, Co-founder and CEO of Optimizely, and Tom Rikert, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, discuss the evolution of user-friendly software that enables non-technical users to implement A/B testing easily. They highlight how Optimizely democratizes design experimentation, enhancing decision-making. The duo also addresses the importance of user experience in software design, fostering an empowering work culture, and navigating mobile app optimization in a rapidly changing SaaS landscape, showcasing the future of internet tools.
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Experiment Framing That Started Optimizely
- Dan Siroker pitched a controversial idea at Google by asking simply, "let's run an experiment."
- That framing turned opinions into data and seeded the idea behind Optimizely.
Experimentation On The Obama Campaign
- Dan brought experimentation to the Obama campaign where decisions were often made by the highest-paid person's opinion.
- Introducing A/B testing there showed the power of data-driven decision-making over politics in organizations.
Enable Nontechnical Users To Test
- Make product features accessible to non-technical users so business teams can run experiments themselves.
- Empowering non-engineers to test ideas unlocks optimization across large organizations.