Hire for Resilience and Agency, Not Just IQ/EQ
Most hiring conversations focus on IQ and EQ. But Tako co-founder Sebastian Mejia spends most of his time on 2 other corners: AQ ("adversity quotient" or resilience) and Agency. His framing: to build a global company, you need to attract the best global talent. And the differentiating signal isn't the smartest person in the room — it's the one who pushes through when things get hard and doesn't wait to be told what to do. I've started stealing this lens. Resilience and agency are incredibly hard to teach and provide the biggest upside to your company. You kind of just have them — or you don't. @mejiasebas @usetako @GEVS94
Talent Engineering Is the AI Speed Bottleneck
A good heuristic for whether your company is moving fast enough for AI: Append "engineering" to every function. Then rate it. GTM → GTM Engineering ✅ | Product → Product Engineering ✅ | Talent → Talent Engineering ❌ Talent is where it breaks....
Competitors Using AI Cut Mortgage Costs 25%
“It’s not AI that’s your competition. It’s your competitors using AI.” A real-world example from mortgage origination 👇 The frustratingly high cost to originate a mortgage (>$10K!) has persisted for decades. Except for originators on Vesta . Powerful stats from...
VC Success: Prioritize Founder Agency Over Rigid Rules
Rules are the enemy of great returns -- but this is a very good heuristic for VC 👇 1⃣Founders with high agency 2⃣Encyclopedic about their industry 3⃣Who can materialize labor, capital & customers 4⃣Have "Count of Monte Cristo" motivation. Great pod by my...
A16z Deploys $15B to Fuel Global Innovation
The gap between what’s possible—and what’s actually built—has never been bigger. Excited to back entrepreneurs around the world building the future with >$15B in new funds - Apps, Infrastructure, Bio + Health, American Dynamism & Growth🚀 @a16z
Banks Ditch Legacy Contracts for AI‑Native Systems
It's 2026. The best financial institutions are quietly doing something that would’ve been unthinkable 5 years ago. They’re letting 20–30 year legacy contracts expire — and replacing them with AI-native systems of record. This time is different. Really. Why? *...
By 2026, Legacy Systems Risk Exceeds Change Risk
🚨 New 2026 Andreessen Horowitz prediction. A turning point is coming to financial services & insurance 👇 By 2026, the risk of *not* replacing legacy systems will exceed the risk of change. Major institutions will let long-standing contracts expire and...
Tenacity and People Drive Success Despite Early Hardships
Anyone building going through a low moment - this thread is for you. What incredible tenacity. And a reminder as an investor that the people make all the difference. Early stories over overcoming hardship aren’t necessarily...
Own the AI Narrative or Lose Market Leadership
If you don’t own the AI narrative in your industry, someone else will—fast. It's not enough to just quietly do the work. Now, more than ever -- it's important to also win the narrative. Founders still consistently...
Mascobot Becomes A16z’s Top Scout and Infra Partner
.@Mascobot is always a few steps ahead!! best @a16z scout now infra partner 🚀🚀
Stamina Wins: Persistence Turns Long‑Term Vision Into Payoff
It’s near impossible to beat someone who just doesn’t give up. I learned that racing marathons: you hit a wall, you feel awful, you may think you're done—and then somehow you find another gear. The same thing happens as a founder. And...