How This Foodie Founder Is Revamping Restaurants
01/24/25 • 60 min
with @benleventhal @AriannaSimpson
Welcome to web3 with a16z. How many of you are regulars at a favorite cafe, bar, or dinner spot? Probably a lot of you — but if you’re not, well, our guest today aims to make you one.
This episode features Ben Leventhal — the founder and CEO of BlackBird, and formerly the founder of Resy and Eater. In it, he shares his journey as a serial entrepreneur in conversation with a16z crypto General Partner Arianna Simpson.
Ben shares hard-won lessons learned in company-building, including navigating in wartime; the difference between measuring vs feeling when it comes to defining success; and more.
Today’s conversation originally took place in the fall at our CSX Crypto Startup Accelerator in New York. We're currently accepting applications for our next cohort in the spring in San Francisco. Visit a16zcrypto.com/csx for more information and to apply.
As a reminder, none of the content should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.
with @benleventhal @AriannaSimpson
Welcome to web3 with a16z. How many of you are regulars at a favorite cafe, bar, or dinner spot? Probably a lot of you — but if you’re not, well, our guest today aims to make you one.
This episode features Ben Leventhal — the founder and CEO of BlackBird, and formerly the founder of Resy and Eater. In it, he shares his journey as a serial entrepreneur in conversation with a16z crypto General Partner Arianna Simpson.
Ben shares hard-won lessons learned in company-building, including navigating in wartime; the difference between measuring vs feeling when it comes to defining success; and more.
Today’s conversation originally took place in the fall at our CSX Crypto Startup Accelerator in New York. We're currently accepting applications for our next cohort in the spring in San Francisco. Visit a16zcrypto.com/csx for more information and to apply.
As a reminder, none of the content should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.
Previous Episode
Social Media Secrets: How to Build Your Presence
with @0xgaut @ishverduzco @rhhackett
Welcome to web3 with a16z. Today we’re talking about how to make social media work for you, rather than overwhelming you.
Whether you’re a startup founder, creator, avid doomscroller, or longtime lurker, this show has tips and tactics you can use to attract attention, build a following, and level up your online presence.
In this episode, we cover what to do and what not to do, how much of your authentic self to bring to the table vs. merely playing to the algorithms, turning your interests and obsessions into viral hits, and what standup comedy has to do with the art of posting.
Our guest today is Gauthier Le Meur, aka Gaut, a meme-maker with a cult following who also happens to be the cofounder and chief operating officer of Alongside, a DeFi project that creates investible crypto market indices. Joining him is the man behind our handles, a16z crypto Social Lead Ish Verduzco, as well as me, your host, Robert Hackett.
Resources
- Social for startup founders: A practical guide to building an online presence by Ish Verduzco [a16z crypto, August 2024]
- How to build a social presence in web3 and beyond [video]
- How to 10x on Twitter (without getting lucky) [@ishverduzco on X, March 2021]
- 24 Prompts to Get Over Writer's Block in 2024 by Ish Verduzco [The Creator Blueprint, January 2024]
As a reminder, none of the content should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.
Next Episode
Why blockchains need privacy
with @1HowardWu @SuccinctJT @rhhackett
Welcome to web3 with a16z. Today’s show is all about privacy, why it matters, and how to achieve it technically onchain.
It's fair to say that many blockchains today are quite... revealing. But that openness and transparency doesn’t work for everything — who would want anyone to have full-on X-Ray vision into your finances? That’s one reason why there’s been a growing appreciation for — and trend toward — more blockchain privacy.
Our guest today argues that there are many other reasons you might want some secrecy too, including a whole host of onchain applications and uses that only become feasible when you have a notion of privacy. That guest is Provable Cofounder and CEO Howard Wu who helped invent the protocols behind and build Aleo, a privacy-focused blockchain network. Wu joins a16z crypto Research Partner Justin Thaler, who is also a computer scientist at Georgetown University (as well as the brains behind the cutting-edge, open source zkVM Jolt), plus me, your host, Robert Hackett.
The first voice you’ll hear is mine, then Howard’s, then Justin’s.
As a reminder, none of the content should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.
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