Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

Matt Mullenweg – The Past, Present, and Future of the Internet – [Founder’s Field Guide, EP.20]

6 snips

Feb 11, 2021

Matt Mullenweg, co-founder and CEO of Automattic, revolutionized the web with WordPress, which now powers 40% of all websites. He reflects on the evolution of the internet from its early days to today, discussing the balance between open-source and proprietary systems. Mullenweg emphasizes the need for long-term thinking in platform development and the power of decentralized models. He also dives into the challenges and strategies of managing remote teams, highlighting the importance of effective asynchronous communication in today's digital landscape.

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ANECDOTE

Missing the Wave

Matt Mullenweg felt he'd missed the internet boom while in high school.
In the early 2000s, the internet felt saturated with blogging platforms owned by giants like Google and Microsoft.

INSIGHT

Overlooked Opportunities

Matt Mullenweg was drawn to overlooked areas like blogging, which was considered "finished" at the time.
He enjoyed finding opportunities in neglected spaces, much like a value investor.

ANECDOTE

Angel Investing

Matt Mullenweg has made over 100 angel investments, focusing on companies that struggled to get funding.
His successful investments included Calm and Ring, showcasing his value-oriented approach.

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My guest today is Matt Mullenweg, co-founder and CEO of Automattic, the company on top of the open-source project WordPress that Matt helped start. Today, WordPress powers 40% of all the websites in the world. Our wide-ranging conversation covers the state of the internet when Matt first started WordPress, the symbiotic relationship between open source and proprietary projects, and how the most successful companies are really master world builders. I hope you enjoy this great conversation with Matt Mullenweg.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

[00:03:15] – [First question] – What the internet felt like when he first started building Wordpress

[00:05:11] – What was wrong with his impression of the internet then

[00:06:50] – Being a connoisseur of things overlooked

[00:08:34] – How permission less publishing and open source software shaped the internet

[00:12:30] – Balance between centralization and decentralization and where we are in the cycle

[00:14:08] – The cycle between direct-to-consumer and having intermediary

[00:16:32] – New opportunities and challenges of the internet today

[00:18:49] – Potential of cryptocurrency to enable big changes on the internet

[00:21:22] – The idea of distributed work via the internet and the utopia of it

[00:21:38] - Sam Harris podcast with Matt Mullenweg

[00:24:31] – Advantage of having a team distributed across geographies and timezones

[00:26:46] – What he learned from the Amazon’s API mandate

[00:29:12] – Landmines of distributed work

[00:31:13] – Interesting lessons learned building Wordpress

[00:34:55] – Company building as world building

[00:35:52] – Lessons from Microsoft on platform building

[00:38:53] – Key ingredient to world building within your company

[00:41:09] – Lessons from Wix and Shopify

[00:42:23] – How to decide what to do next in resource and capital allocation

[00:47:00] – How to engage with other stakeholders in a platform business

[00:50:06] – The continued connectivity created by the internet

[00:53:14] – Kindest thing anyone has done for him