Brand Building Ideas… and People

The a16z Show

a16z

Culture, Business, Science, Disruption, Technology, Software Eating The World, Entrepreneurship, Innovation

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2019

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

with @wennmachers @smc90 Many technical founders believe that great products and ideas sell themselves, without any extra effort or marketing. But in reality, they often need public relations (PR). The irony is, most of the work involved in PR is actually invisible to the public. So how does such brand-building really work? In this 10-year anniversary episode of the a16z Podcast, a16z operating partner Margit Wennmachers shares the case study of her work at The Outcast Agency (which she co-founded) and of building the a16z brand, where she heads marketing -- answering some FAQs about how things work, and even revealing some details behind the scenes of popular op-eds and stories about a16z.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi everyone, welcome to the A6 and Z podcast. I'm Sonal, and I'm here today with one of our special episodes for our 10-year anniversary year. This is also the 499th episode of the A6 and Z podcast, and the 500th will come next week. Both are special behind-the-scenes shows where for the first time we answer some of the frequently asked questions we often get about how
0:21.7	things work and how they came about. We also did another episode earlier this year for our 10-year
0:26.5	anniversary in case you missed it, where we had Stuart Bratterfield, CEO of Slack, turn the tables
0:31.0	on the show by interviewing A6 and Z co-founders, Mark Andreessen, and Ben Horowitz, on the topic of
0:36.5	entrepreneurs then and now.
0:38.7	They covered everything from tech shifts to changes in entrepreneurship.
0:41.9	But in this episode, we go behind the scenes on the building of the A6 and Z brand during the
0:47.4	early days up to 2014 because many technical founders, academics, and other experts
0:52.9	often believe that great products or or their great ideas, sell themselves without effort.
0:59.8	But in reality, they often need PR.
1:02.0	How does such brand building work?
1:03.8	So A6 and Z operating partner and head of marketing, Margaret Wenmockers, shares her insights using the example of A6 and Z, which she joined very early on,
1:12.3	coming from a leading PR agency she co-founded in Silicon Valley called Outcast.
1:16.6	Finally, in this episode, we reveal how popular pieces like Software Is Eating the World came
1:21.3	about, as well as the many small and big decisions that go into what to do and what not to do
1:26.7	when it comes to building a brand,
1:28.9	particularly when the product is something abstract as many software products are.
1:32.9	As a reminder, the content here is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as
1:37.8	investment advice, nor is directed at any investors or potential investors in any A6 and Z fund.
1:44.5	Please be sure to see A6NZ.com slash disclosures for more details.
1:48.9	So tell me about how you first came to Andrewson Horowitz, the backstory.
1:52.9	Did they reach out to you or you one of many firms they pitched?
	...

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