Kickstarting Network Effects

The a16z Show

a16z

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

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 December 2021

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Network effects can be found powering almost every major technology company, from messaging apps and workplace collaboration tools, like Slack and Zoom, to marketplaces, like Airbnb and Instacart to even the internet itself. In this podcast, we look at the role of network effects creator-driven social platforms, with Alexis Ohanian, cofounder from Reddit, Paul Davison, cofounder from Clubhouse, and a16z general partner Andrew Chen, whose new book, "The Cold Start Problem: How to Start and Scale Network Effects" comes out this week (see coldstart.com for more). We cover: how do you cold start and get your first creators? How does your relationship to creators change as you scale? And how is web3 changing the incentives and dynamics around network effects?

Transcript

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0:00.0	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.
0:14.3	For more details please see A16Z.com slash disclosures.
0:18.2	Hi and welcome to the A16Z podcast.
0:22.3	I'm Doss and today's new episode is all about how to
0:25.5	kick-start network effects. It features two entrepreneurs who have built or are building companies
0:30.9	with network effects. Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of
0:34.5	Reddit and now an investor, and Paul Davison, co-founder of Clubhouse, as well as
0:39.5	A16 Z general partner Andrew Chen, whose new book, The Cold Start Problem, how to start and scale network effects, comes out just this week.
0:48.0	You can find more on that at coldstart.com.
0:51.0	The conversation that follows is one I recently moderated live on Clubhouse.
0:56.5	We initially focus on how social media platforms can first win over creators before moving
1:02.0	to discuss how Web 3 is changing the incentives and
1:05.0	dynamics around network effects. Now at A16Z we've covered network effects a
1:10.3	lot in our content over the past decade.
1:13.0	Much of that you can find at a16Z.com slash network effects, including an exclusive
1:18.5	excerpt from Andrew's book, which is also on future.com.
1:23.0	But we begin this conversation with Andrew answering the most basic question.
1:28.0	What exactly are network effects?
1:32.0	So if you go back to the original original definition, it is the idea that a product that gets
1:38.7	more useful as more users are on it.
1:42.3	And so that could be anything from like a messaging
1:45.2	app where if your friends are on it, the more of your friends that are on it, then
	...

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