Scott is the Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) where he is responsible for all operational aspects of running the firm. He also invests in growth-stage companies within the bio and healthcare industries. Scott originally joined Andreessen Horowitz as the first employee, joining Marc & Ben after they founded the firm. He is the author of the bestselling book, Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It. Follow Scott on Twitter @skupor.
[1:41] - The start of Scott's career, from law school to investment banking
[6:00] - The evolution of Scott's relationship with reading
[10:29] - Persisting after an initial rejection from Stanford
[14:05] - Scott’s role in shaping the amazing growth of a16z
[17:46] - Transitioning from executing tasks to managing people
[22:03] - Scott's learnings from scaling a16z from scratch
[27:25] - The development of a16z's organizational design
[36:30] - Going from a generalized investment fund to multiple specialized verticals
[39:50] - Criteria for selecting new general partners at a16z
[47:01] - The value of making media efforts as a VC firm
[51:40] - Scott’s guiding principles for success in his work
For more episodes, go to podofjake.com.
Previous guests include Mark Cuban, Vitalik Buterin, Brian Armstrong, Balaji Srinivasan, Keith Rabois, Ali Spagnola, Anthony Pompliano, Raoul Pal, Julia Galef, Jack Butcher, Tim Draper, and over 100 others alike. Learn from founders and CEOs of companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Solana, Polygon, AngelList, Oura, and Replit, and investors from Founders Fund, a16z, Union Square Ventures, and many more. I appreciate your support and hope you enjoy.
Thanks to Chase Devens for the show notes and Yiction for the music.
Lastly, I love hearing from fans of the pod. Feel free to email me any time at jake@blogofjake.com. Thank you!