At the end of 2022, our team at a16z asked dozens of partners across the firm to spotlight one big idea that startups in their fields could tackle in 2023.Emerging from this exercise came 40+ builder-worthy pursuits for the year, ranging from entertainment franchise games to precision delivery of medicine to small modular reactors, and of course loads of AI applications.In our 2-part series, we’ll be covering 12 of these big ideas with the partners that shared them.Here in part 1, we’ll cover Consumer, Games, and Enterprise, with a little Fintech sprinkled in. Listen in as we chat with Connie Chan, Anne Lee Skates, Jack Soslow, Doug McCracken, Sarah Wang, and Sumeet Singh.And look out for part 2 dropping soon, covering Fintech, American Dynamism, and Bio & Health!For the full list of 40+ ideas, check out the full article: https://a16z.com/2022/12/15/big-ideas-in-tech-2023/Topics Covered:(1:30) Breakthroughs in Buying (Finally!) - Connie Chan(16:40) Unlocking the “Third Place” - Anne Lee Skates(30:14) Games as a Neverending Turing Test - Jack Soslow(46:09) The Metaverse Goes Fashion Forward - Doug McCracken(59:24) Generative AI Advances Beyond “Text to Image” to Complex Workflows - Sarah Wang(1:12:23) Embracing Large Language Models and Maintaining Trust - Sumeet SinghStay Updated: Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease 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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Today, we’re breaking down one of the most important apps in the world, WeChat. WeChat is the default operating system for life and business in China. Founded inside of Tencent in 2011, it is the original super app and its 1.3 billion monthly active users can order food, message friends, play games, pay bills, shop, and more on the service.To break down WeChat, I’m joined by Connie Chan. Connie is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and is well-known across Silicon Valley for her deep knowledge of the Chinese consumer technology landscape. We discuss WeChat’s legendary founder, how trust is integral to the app’s success, and why we haven’t seen super apps proliferate in the West. Please enjoy this breakdown of WeChat. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. -----Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt Show Notes[00:02:40] - [First question] - Overview of the super app model[00:04:43] - How apps and software from the Western world differ from WeChat[00:06:19] - WeChat’s history in China and why it dominates[00:08:27] - Seeing WeChat as an OS within an app[00:09:19] - How service unification in WeChat affects privacy, identity, and marketing[00:13:16] - High-level analysis of their business model and reach[00:16:53] - What Westerners would find surprising about using WeChat[00:18:04] - History and functionality of WeChat Pay[00:23:14] - The importance of their integrated Mini Programs [00:25:56] - Factors impacting their margin structure[00:28:51] - Holistic design philosophies for maintaining user engagement and trust[00:30:44] - WeChat’s saturation point and how future growth might look[00:32:02] - How they leveraged mobile-only coding, self-disruption, and internal competition[00:37:21] - Initial app build - simplicity for steady growth[00:38:36] - How her understanding of WeChat influences her investment decisions[00:41:47] - Western companies that have super app potential[00:43:52] - Exporting the philosophy of treating your app users like friends to Western developers[00:44:25] - The relationship between WeChat and the suppliers on their platform[00:47:14] - Uncertainty caused by software regulations in China[00:47:53] - Attributes of her typical investments[00:49:42] - Lessons for operators and investors when studying WeChat’s story

Audio is no longer just audio anymore -- podcasts now pull from new video platforms like TikTok and older ones like radio, user experience is growing and changing, and it's easier than ever to create audio content. Where do all these mediums converge and where do they diverge -- when it comes to user experience, product design, recommendations, discovery, and more?In this episode from October 2020, a16z general partner Connie Chan and Spotify’s chief R&D officer Gustav Söderström join host Sonal Choksi to discuss the past, present and future of audio. They dig into everything from what the past in radio can tell us about the future, what audio can and will borrow from mediums like video and platforms like TikTok, the role for more interactivity and increased use of tools like machine learning and AI, and more. 

Over the last decade, we’ve seen the marketplace model evolve and grow, and this year a16z is back with our fourth edition of the Marketplace100 – a ranking of the top private marketplaces by GMV – giving a unique window into what may be to come.This year’s list features nearly three dozen newcomers, including marketplaces for refurbished electronics, precious metals, and sustainably raised meat. And in this episode, we break down key trends from the report together with a16z’s Consumer partners Connie Chan, Olivia Moore, and Zach Cohen.If you’d like to see the full ranking of the largest consumer-facing marketplace startups and private companies, you can find the full report at https://a16z.com/marketplace-100.Resources:Find the full Marketplace 100 report: https://a16z.com/marketplace-100Find Connie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/conniechanFind Olivia on Twitter: https://twitter.com/omooretweetsFind Zach on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zachcohen25Topics Covered:00:00- Introduction02:28 - Why marketplaces? 05:18 - What metrics matter07:55 - Newcomers on the list09:49 - Entertainment and personalization13:46 - Curated marketplaces14:47 - Trust and safety21:23 - Mental health trends22:42 - Untapped supply24:40 - Disintermediation27:42 - Transient vs foundational trends31:33 - Companies entering the category36:52 - Sleeper categories for 2024 Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease 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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Today’s guest is Connie Chan, General Partner at a16z. In conversation with Emerj Senior Editor Matthew DeMello, Connie discusses the challenges consumer companies are facing from distribution to mobile technology. Later, she addresses how AI use cases in personalization and the consolidation of social media as marketing distribution channels will shape the future of consumer technology.    A note from a16z on today’s episode: The content here is for informational purposes only and 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. For more details, please see a16z.com/disclosures.  

You might have noticed that more and more social media platforms are offering paid versions of their services, like Twitter Blue, Snapchat Plus, and Discord Nitro. But what you may not have noticed is that this is nothing new. Social media platforms in China have had a huge head start in getting users to not only pay for features, but in creating features that truly are innovative. In this episode, Connie Chan, general partner at the VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, analyzes what Western companies should be learning from their successes.

Connie Chan is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley-based technology venture capital firm with $35B in assets under management across multiple funds, where she focuses on investing in consumer technology. Chan joined the firm in 2011 as a deal partner on the investment team before becoming a general partner in 2018. She serves on the boards of Cider, Whatnot, and KoBold. In this conversation with Stanford adjunct lecturer Ravi Belani, Chan shares her career and life advice for college students and aspiring venture capitalists.—-----------------------------------Stanford eCorner content is produced by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. At STVP, we empower aspiring entrepreneurs to become global citizens who create and scale responsible innovations.CONNECT WITH USTwitter: https://twitter.com/ECorner LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StanfordTechnologyVenturesProgram/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner LEARN MOREeCorner Website: https://ecorner.stanford.edu/STVP Website: https://stvp.stanford.edu/Support our mission of providing students and educators around the world with free access to Stanford University’s network of entrepreneurial thought leaders: https://ecorner.stanford.edu/give.

In the tech world, marketplaces are a hot topic. That term—marketplace—encompasses a huge swath of services we use every day, from grocery delivery to online shopping to remote learning. How have marketplace dynamics changed since pre-pandemic, and what COVID-propelled consumer behaviors will persist into 2021 and beyond?  In this episode, we discuss the most promising marketplace companies and categories on the rise, based on data from the Marketplace 100, a ranking of the largest and fastest-growing consumer-facing marketplace startups and private companies.The report provides rich fodder for looking ahead at the future of marketplaces: Which companies are on a tear and which are locked in close competition? Which marketplace categories are poised for growth, and which may make a comeback? Host Lauren Murrow is joined by a16z consumer team partners Connie Chan, D’Arcy Coolican, Jeff Jordan, and Sriram Krishnan. 

"When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China" by Connie Chan. First published August 2015. You can also find and share this essay at a16z.com/mobilefirstchina

Today we're continuing a series we started a while ago of read-alouds (for more context on the why and why now check out episode #500 on how we podcast!).The first was episode #544 in April, It's Time to Build, read out loud by Marc Andreessen; what follows are  three more pieces read out loud by their authors:"Why Every Company Will Become a Fintech Company: The Next Era of Financial Services and the 'AWS Phase' for Fintech" by Angela Strange"When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China" by Connie Chan, first published August 2015"Why We Shouldn’t Fear the ‘Black Box’ of AI (in Healthcare and Everywhere)" by Vijay Pande, first published in the New York Times January 2018