Jack Altman
@jaltma • 291,167 subscribers
Partner @Benchmark. Previously founded Alt Cap and Lattice.
Videos
New episode of Uncapped with Trae Stephens and delian from Founders Fund, and my partner Everett Randle. We talked about Founders Fund, the role of VCs, operating versus investing, their current views on the market, and dynamics in the AI supply chain and China. The conversation stayed almost entirely on the rails and as always I learned a bunch from the way they think. Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (0:54) What makes FF unique (8:01) Why lacking EQ can be an asset (12:10) Delian on working with Keith (18:30) Why Trae hates board meetings (24:13) Benchmark vs. Founders Fund (26:31) Investing as the exhaust of operating (28:52) Venture as a micro asset class (30:42) The infamous 2021 offsite (34:21) Current market sentiment (39:18) Can you beat the S&P? (48:53) America's semiconductor blind spot (51:56) Taiwan and the 90% probability (57:58) Robotics, humanoids, and the China question
Jack Altman274,350 просмотров • 26 дней назад
Something Sam learned with Parker Conrad is the importance of creating a demand-rich GTM environment. When you don't have enough leads, every deal is too precious, so targets can be easily be missed and more importantly reps might try to close bad-fit deals.
Jack Altman119,616 просмотров • 12 дней назад
"I am very uncomfortable, I am not enjoying this moment at all...we're getting back to this point where prices are untethered from reality and it reminds me a lot of 2021." Trae and FF have been among the best hard tech investors in the business, so it was interesting to hear him say that hard tech may be in an even more exuberant moment than AI.
Jack Altman125,666 просмотров • 26 дней назад
My conversation with tobi lutke, founder and CEO of Shopify. Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (0:49) A problem worth solving (5:58) Building products people love (10:14) Why originality matters (11:47) Conformity in Silicon Valley (15:47) Founder-led companies (18:44) Shopify’s AI transition (23:52) Building with urgency (26:52) AI for small businesses (35:18) Raising the standard of living (41:11) Predicting the future with AI (48:14) Changing perception on talent (55:34) Reading and curiosity
Jack Altman318,380 просмотров • 2 месяцев назад
Sam makes the case for why startups should invest much more time and capital into brand, and lays out what he's doing at Monaco. Demand gen is always easier to justify, but a lot of the software companies I respect most like Rippling, Ramp, Figma etc have clearly prioritized it.
Jack Altman51,437 просмотров • 12 дней назад
As appreciated as it is, I think the power of storytelling is still somehow underrated. Lulu Cheng Meservey has advised some of the best companies (with the best auras) on comms such as Anduril, Cognition, Ramp, and many others. I loved having Lulu on Uncapped. We talked about the role of comms in company building, the elements of a good startup story, how vibes impact recruiting, and more. I learned a ton and had a great time. Hope you enjoy.
Jack Altman1,218,932 просмотров • 10 месяцев назад
I think this is a brilliant observation from Lulu: people root for you when they think you deserve more than you've got, and root against you when it's the opposite. It captures an essential element of good comms...how can you help people think you're underrated rather than overrated? People are very motivated to correct the record in either direction, or as Lulu puts it, "We're all kind of reputational karens."
Jack Altman1,152,244 просмотров • 10 месяцев назад
In many ways, Thrive is helping define the current era of venture capital. Vince Hankes is one of the best in the business; he's behind their investments in OpenAI, SpaceX, Databricks, Stripe, and many more. He's also an excellent board member and friend. Excited for more people to hear his thinking, hope you enjoy.
Jack Altman852,733 просмотров • 9 месяцев назад
This was an exceptionally cogent articulation from Roelof about the state of venture capital. "There's a lot more talent than really interesting companies to be built. And I think we're spreading a lot of that talent thin right now." "Venture is a return-free risk."
Jack Altman745,378 просмотров • 9 месяцев назад
This week, on Benchmark's new podcast Uncapped 😂, I sat down with Bret Taylor, founder of Sierra and Chairman of OpenAI. He's easily one of the most impressive people I’ve met in tech or in general. We talked about AI and the saaspocalypse, the unique considerations of building an AI native / agent company, whether young or experienced founders have the advantage right now, Codex and OpenAI ads, and much more. Learned a ton from Bret, hope you enjoy. (0:00) Intro (0:20) The Saaspocalypse and systems of record (12:34) Sierra's landscape (17:05) Outcome-based pricing (24:22) The rapid evolution of AI support technology (28:21) Young founders vs. experienced founders (34:12) What comes next beyond support (38:47) Codex and the future of software engineering (51:49) OpenAI and advertising (54:59) Working with investors and boards
Jack Altman417,178 просмотров • 5 месяцев назад
New Uncapped with two of the greats, Vinod Khosla and Keith Rabois. I don't think I've seen them on a podcast together so I was especially excited about this. I asked them about how they work together, how they see the world, what's changed in tech, and of course a little bit about their politics. Enjoy. (0:00) Intro (0:58) The working relationship (4:26) Pie chart on what’s discussed (7:11) Ethos of investors today vs the past (10:42) Comparing FF and KV (12:46) What makes a great founder (22:56) Alpha in today’s market (30:05) Themes in AI (38:23) How AI companies are built (46:23) Interests outside of AI (53:12) Their politics on X (58:24) Evolution of political leanings
Jack Altman489,220 просмотров • 6 месяцев назад
I asked Vince if he would rather invest in $10B companies that could go to $100B rather than $1B companies trying to go to $10B. He said usually yes and gave an incredibly clear articulation for why. "There've been 75 companies in the last decade that have reached $100B or more. There were only a few hundred in the $10B bucket. So if you think about picking the 75 out of a few hundred, that has much better odds than trying to pick from the thousand of unicorns which might get to $10B."
Jack Altman709,290 просмотров • 9 месяцев назад
For this episode of Uncapped I got to sit down with my close friend Max Mullen, cofounder of Instacart 🥕 We talked about the key moments of Instacart...how it got started, critical wins, tough losses, competitive dynamics, earned insights, going public, and Instacart's future. Max is also an awesome startup investor, and we talked about what he looks for in founders, consumer investing, and what he's building with Workshop. He's one of the best people I know, hope you enjoy. (0:00) Intro (0:36) The inception of Instacart (4:55) Finding product market fit (7:20) Landing Trader Joe’s (11:04) Big levers for growth (13:36) Operationally complex businesses (14:55) Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods (17:50) COVID and Instacart’s IPO (20:02) Prioritizing profitability (23:21) Avoiding temptations (24:59) The future of Instacart (25:53) Investing in consumer (28:21) Irrationally optimistic founders (29:49) B2B vs consumer founders (30:35) How to work with investors (33:38) Building Workshop
Jack Altman226,582 просмотров • 3 месяцев назад
"If you are building the same thing other people build, it can only be similarly good. It can't be actually much better. It can slightly look nicer, but you're bounded a couple percentage points either direction. If you want to build something great or much better, it has to be different. So this has to be your starting position."
Jack Altman145,562 просмотров • 2 месяцев назад
a16z just announced their newest fund - $15 billion! I had benahorowitz.eth on Uncapped to discuss how they run the firm, how he thinks about venture talent, a16z's overall investment approach, deploying capital at scale, media, and more. He's easily one of the most impressive people I've gotten to have on the podcast. Hope you enjoy.
Jack Altman372,766 просмотров • 6 месяцев назад
New episode of Uncapped with Dylan Field. I think he's one of the best founders of our generation. I always feel smarter and clearer and after talking to him. We talked about the slow build of Figma vs. the dizzying start of today's AI startups, the role of AI and humans in design, the importance of staying connected to young people, and what it takes to be a strong and empathetic leader.
Jack Altman451,438 просмотров • 8 месяцев назад
I sat down with Sequoia's new stewards, Pat Grady and Alfred Lin. Maybe a bit selfishly, I spent almost the entire time asking them about the tactics of how to do venture capital well. I got a ton out of it and hope you do too. Search Uncapped on youtube, spotify, or apple to listen there. (0:00) Intro (1:01) Mindset as stewards (4:30) The business of outliers (6:27) Managing inputs in venture (12:11) Sourcing coverage goals (17:57) Seeing the right companies (22:36) Proprietary map of talent (24:39) What a single engineer can do (29:06) Picking winners with conviction (36:26) Coaching asymmetry into picking (43:16) Disagreeing with younger investors (46:45) Frameworks on picking (53:20) What it takes to win (58:32) How to start working with a founder (1:02:59) Proudest board roles (1:06:12) Looking ahead
Jack Altman341,987 просмотров • 7 месяцев назад
This week's Uncapped guest was Roelof Botha, who runs Sequoia. We talked about his psychology leading the firm, how Sequoia makes decisions, and his views on the state of technology markets today. Unsurprisingly, I learned a ton. Hope you enjoy listening.
Jack Altman410,745 просмотров • 9 месяцев назад
Such a good story about how Ravi Gupta helped Instacart focus on profitability when he was COO. At an all hands he said "we okay we can spend $25k a month on blue bottle, leasing teslas, acquiring 5,000 customers, or 1,000 shoppers. Raise your hand if you want the blue bottle!"
Jack Altman145,850 просмотров • 3 месяцев назад