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Boss Talk #15: Copycats, Inventors vs. Operators. Hiring SDRs, and more

Episode Summary

A grab bag episode that spans contrarian strategy, drop-in audio copycats, lessons from hip hop, recruiting sales development reps, and more... with a special guest appearance by Fab 5 Freddy.

Episode Notes

• Fab 5 Freddy on New York in the 70s, Warhol, Blondie, Basquiat, and Yo! MTV Raps [1:40]
• Contrarian strategy and challenging assumptions [5:12]
• Boring AI and solving meaningful problems [8:42]
• Drop-in audio copycats [14:39]
• How is copying software different from remixing hip hop? [21:07]
• Do you want a CEO as an inventor or an operator? [24:12]
• Recruiting sales development reps [30:34]
• Being a boss and having a personal life [36:56]
• How do you tell the story of letting someone go? [42:47]
• Best practices for delegating responsibility [49:46]
• Worst boss advice Ben and Ali have received [57:15]

Boss Talk is the Clubhouse show where a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz and Ali Ghodsi, the Founder/CEO of Databricks, discuss CEO stuff, leadership stuff, management stuff... boss stuff. Live every Tuesday 5-6pm on Clubhouse. 

For more a16z Clubhouse shows, follow the a16z Club on Clubhouse or visit www.a16z.com/clubhouse.