Andreessen Horowitz

Ben Horowitz cosigned the Databricks co-founders in 2013, when they were Berkeley academics. " When I met with them, they were like, 'We need to raise $200,000.'" "I said, 'I'm not gonna write you a check for $200,000. I'll write you a check for $10 million.'" "You need to build a company. You need to really go for it if you're gonna do this, otherwise you guys should stay in school."

Cosign.

Sam Altman on one of the highest-return years of his career: no job, exploring his interests, and a lot of people who were nice enough to teach him things. "I read many dozens of textbooks. I learned about fields that I had been interested in. I didn't have any idea that they were all gonna come together in the way they did." "I learned a lot about nuclear engineering. AI was starting to work, so I learned a lot about AI. I learned about synthetic biology. I learned about investing." " I met people that were working on all sorts of different things who were nice enough to talk to me." "If I met someone interesting and it seemed good and needed help, I would just help them. And they would teach me stuff, or they would offer me the chance to invest in their startup later." "Out of all of it, almost all of it didn't work out. But the seeds were planted for things that worked in deep ways later." With Craig Cannon (Nov 2018)

Some of the best people in tech are people you’ve probably never heard of. Think about the best person you’ve ever worked with. Very few people outside your team know how good they are. If more people knew, it could change their career. They’d get their next job faster. They’d have an easier time starting a company, raising a round, and hiring people of their own. Today we launched Cosign - a curated professional network for the people and companies that drive the startup ecosystem. Read more about it:

Excited to introduce Cosign: The curated professional network for the startup community. Our goal is to create the following: - A comprehensive startup directory of investors, companies, and operators, including what they worked on and who they worked on it with. - Cosign graph: Who shaped your career? Who were you actually in the trenches with? Who would work with you again? Who thinks you’re someone to watch? - Durable reputation: Great endorsements happen every day on X and disappear into the feed. Cosign attaches those signals permanently to people and companies. - Discovery: Who are the best fintech angels? Which AI companies should I watch? Who are the best designers? - Intent network: Privately signal “I’d invest in them,” “I’d hire them,” “I’d work with them,” or eventually even “I’d acquire this company.” Match people when interest exists on both sides. Imagine if Wikipedia, LinkedIn, and OG AngelList had a baby. Though Cosign is a community, not a business. In order to join, you need to be cosigned. Or you can apply directly. cosign.co

We’re excited to launch Cosign. Silicon Valley knows people by watching other people know them. One person's visible belief becomes a signal to someone else, and the network updates its priors. Ascendancy is a game of two moves: self-made wins and high-status vouches. The earlier someone is in their trajectory, the less proof there is to go on, and the more meaningful the vouch. Belief compounds. People used to earn status through rites of passage like graduating college and landing prestigious jobs. People collect status in bits now, 24/7, often outside any formal system. Showing your work in public has become the new warm intro. Vouches take many forms. A tweet, an invite, an introduction, an angel check. Being undeniable and getting credible people to say so is how you become somebody in Silicon Valley. The game only works if new people can win. Everyone benefits when good people get pulled into the game faster. If you believe in someone early, say so. cosign.co

Innovation is refusing to accept ‘that’s just how it works’. Challenge yourself to create something better.

Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz on the Future of Higher Education

Ben Horowitz on an alternative path for young people: finish high school, spend a year learning about a field of interest, then let the work teach the rest. "The world has really changed, warfare has changed, power has changed, economics have changed... And there's not a constant refresh of the knowledge." "Arguably a better system is, you finish your 12 years of education in elementary and high school, then you maybe get a year that bridges you to knowledge in a field you want to go into... and then go from there." "For most college students, probably over 95% of college students are there to prepare themselves for the workforce. And a four-year degree to do that seems a little misplaced in a world where the rate of change is so high."

Amjad Masad, CEO of Replit, on how to find your best ideas: