Today, we will be diving into Moderna. Founded in 2010, Moderna and its innovative RNA platform made headlines after developing one of the first COVID vaccines. We treated this Breakdown slightly different than our other episodes. I’m joined today by two guests. First, I am joined by Jason Kelly, CEO of Gingko Bioworks. He gives us a primer on the biotech in ... Show More
Jan 8
Databricks: From Data to Decisions - [Business Breakdowns, EP.238]
Today we’re breaking down Databricks, a $130B private company that helps companies collect, store, and process very large amounts of data, and then use that data to run analytics and train machine learning models. Databricks sits in the middle of modern data systems, connecting r ... Show More
1h 14m
Dec 12
Amadeus: The IT Backbone of Travel - [Business Breakdowns, EP.237]
Today we are breaking down Amadeus, the dominant infrastructure powering global travel bookings. If you've used a travel agent or corporate booking system, you've likely interacted with Amadeus's technology—though most of what they do happens behind the scenes in airline operatio ... Show More
47m 49s
Dec 5
Doximity: The Hub of Healthcare - [Business Breakdowns, EP.236]
Today, we are breaking down one of the more impressive B2B media businesses I have come across, Doximity. It's been called “the LinkedIn for doctors.” Jim Jones, partner and analyst at William Blair Asset Management, helped explain exactly how Doximity works as a business. Jim ge ... Show More
32m 36s
Mar 2021
Matteo Franceschetti – Modernizing Sleep – [Founder’s Field Guide, EP. 23]
My guest today is Matteo Franceschetti, the founder and CEO of Eight Sleep, a smart mattress company. I’m a customer of Eight Sleep and this was one of the most unique founder conversations I’ve had on the show, in both the focus on the product and the exploration of sleep. We ta ... Show More
45m 54s
Jan 2023
Miles Grimshaw - The DNA of Software Companies - [Invest Like the Best, EP.312]
My guest today is Miles Grimshaw. Miles is in his early thirties and is a General Partner at Benchmark. His experience and success belie his age. He was an early investor in Segment, Benchling, and Airtable, all before they had 30 employees. I have learned a ton from Miles about ... Show More
1h 13m
Feb 2023
Jeff Green - Modernizing Advertising - [Invest Like the Best, EP.315]
My guest today is Jeff Green, the CEO and co-founder of advertising platform, The Trade Desk. The Trade Desk is the second advertising exchange Jeff has built, having sold his first venue to Microsoft in 2007. He started The Trade Desk in 2009 and has built it into a $30 billion ... Show More
1h 7m
Jan 2022
Geoffrey Moore - Building Gorilla Businesses - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 261]
My guest today is the renowned tech author, consultant, and venture partner at Wildcat Ventures, Geoffrey Moore. Geoffrey has spent his career focused on the dynamics surrounding disruptive innovations and his book, Crossing the Chasm, has become a canonical work for young busine ... Show More
1h 17m
Jun 2021
Marc Andreessen - Making the Future - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 232]
My guest today is Silicon Valley icon, Marc Andreessen. Before co-founding the legendary venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, Marc was an early pioneer of the internet. At age 22, he built Mosaic, the first widely adopted web browser and the technology that underpinned Nets ... Show More
1h 22m
Feb 2022
Joey Levin - Building an Anti-Conglomerate - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 264]
My guest today is IAC’s CEO, Joey Levin. IAC is a unique business in that it’s a holding company which builds world-class digital businesses. Since Barry Diller created IAC over two decades ago, it has produced 11 public companies, including Match Group, Expedia, and Live Nation. ... Show More
1h 11m
Mar 2024
The Key to Preserving a Long-Term Competitive Advantage
For more than a century, the pharmaceutical company Roche has been headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It’s one of more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies that have long been based there.
Howard Yu, Lego Professor of Management and Innovation at IMD Business School in Switzer ... Show More
25m 56s
Jan 2019
a16z Podcast: The Science and Business of Innovative Medicines
<p>with Vas Narasimhan (@vasnarasimhan), Jorge Conde (@jorgecondebio), Vijay Pande (@vijaypande), and Sonal Chokshi (@smc90)</p><p>On average, only 1 out of 20 medicines works when we actually bring them into the human body, and these rates of success haven't moved much in the ph ... Show More
59m 2s