All Segments
The New Media Advantage with Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen
10 segments available
Recorded live at the New Media Summit, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Erik Torenberg, and Gaby Goldberg discuss how media, communication, and influence are changing in the internet era. The conversation explores the shift from legacy media to creator-led platforms, why authenticity has become a competitive advantage, and how founders can build audiences by communicating directly with customers, employees, and the public. They discuss podcasts, social media, storytelling, corporate communications, and the changing relationship between companies, journalists, and audiences. Along the way, they examine how founders can develop a public voice, why some leaders become influential communicators, and what it means to build a brand in a world where distribution is increasingly decentralized. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro: The New Rules of Media 00:56 - Why Authenticity Beats Media Training 02:41 - Marc's Media Training Horror Story 06:59 - How the Legacy Press Turned Adversarial 11:58 - Going Direct: The Founder Is the Brand 20:20 - Picking Your Battles: When to Fight Back 23:42 - Why Being Polarizing Beats Being Liked 25:06 - Hiring a Team Built for New Media 30:03 - The Founder Messaging Mistakes to Avoid 33:47 - Tell the Bigger Story: The Alex Karp Playbook Resources: Follow Marc Andreessen on X: https://x.com/pmarca Follow Ben Horowitz on X: https://x.com/bhorowitz Follow Erik Torenberg on X: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Follow Gaby Goldberg on X: https://x.com/gaby_goldberg Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg This material is solely for educational purposes and is not investment advice or an offer of investment advisory services. This material should not be used as the basis for an investment decision. a16z is an investor in SpaceX and Cursor through its managed funds, and thus has a financial interest in the company's performance and future prospects. In particular, a16z benefits if the company grows in value; and a16z funds will receive any customary dividend payments in connection with their status as a shareholder of the company. However, a16z is not being compensated by SpaceX or Cursor for this material. Please 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. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.
Segments Timeline
Intro: The New Rules of Media
"One rule of old media's don't be interested. Like that's the worst thing you can do. There is no way to get to anything resembling a story that you're going to like through the traditional media anymo..."
Why Authenticity Beats Media Training
"Gabby's birthday today. You know, I'm so excited for the next one in five for many reasons, but one is that Ben had floor seats to the game six and wasn't going to make it today and so we're so lucky ..."
Marc's Media Training Horror Story
"okay, so for people who haven't been through it. Yeah, so it's like you get put in front of one of these camera >> [snorts] >> in your face and then and then somebody like you know, who's supposed to ..."
How the Legacy Press Turned Adversarial
"offense. Talk more about why that is and what that playbook looks like. One of the things we were talking about more also in that meeting is the importance of of outside in and situating sort of your ..."
Going Direct: The Founder Is the Brand
"direct. It feels like it's table stakes for founders. Um but I've talked to a lot of founders who feel that now they have sort of a second job of being the spokesperson for their company on top of run..."
Picking Your Battles: When to Fight Back
"says something negative about us, we want to respond. It's just like it it but you you have to determine whether like that's going to improve your position or they're just feeding you bait to get you ..."
Why Being Polarizing Beats Being Liked
"new media, which is you really want people to hate you and you want people to love you, but you don't want to be neutral. You don't want to be lukewarm. Um, because then you're uninteresting. So, you'..."
Hiring a Team Built for New Media
"very very very hard to do new media. Um so, you have to be a very exceptional person to make that transition because it's like if you spent 10 years doing old media, there are laws of physics, there a..."
The Founder Messaging Mistakes to Avoid
"founders on the on on going direct. Uh Gabi, I'll start with you. What are some mistakes that you see CEOs making and things to avoid? >> I I would say there's there's two mistakes that I commonly saw..."
Tell the Bigger Story: The Alex Karp Playbook
"we you admire about people like, you know, Alex Karp or Palmer or Elon or others is the ability to also not just focus on what they're doing, but also go outside in and talk about what's happening in ..."