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Feb 6, 2023 · 10m · a16z

Intro to American Dynamism

Katherine Boyle · 8m spoken David Ulevitch · 1m spoken
0:00 / 0:00
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At the inaugural American Dynamism Summit, Andreessen Horowitz partners Kathryn Boyle and David Ulevitch introduce 'American Dynamism,' a tech category focused on investing in software-driven startups that support the national interest and modernize foundational public sectors.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →

The host as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 1.0 Guest disagreement 0.3 The host pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:000:00–2:20 · The host as informed peer 0/10 Opening Visual Montage and Legal Disclosures This introductory segment consists of welcoming remarks and opening framing by Katherine Boyle and David Ulevitch at the summit. The podcast host is not active in this monologue format, so host metrics remain zero.2:20–5:57 · The host as informed peer 0/10 Macro Trends: Public Service Crisis and Technical Idealism Katherine Boyle delivers a presentation explaining historical macro trends, citing data on the shift from liberal arts to technical degrees and the evolution of Silicon Valley's relationship with government. The presentation is informative rather than adversarial, and the host is absent.5:57–8:25 · The host as informed peer 0/10 Introducing American Dynamism and Unique Founder Profiles Boyle outlines the unique characteristics of founders in the American Dynamism portfolio, pointing out that none of their recent investments were based in San Francisco. There is no host involvement or conflict.8:25–10:15 · The host as informed peer 0/10 Go-to-Market Strategies and Movement Building Boyle addresses go-to-market strategies using portfolio examples like Flock Safety and concludes her keynote speech. The segment is entirely monologue presentation without host interaction.0:00–2:20 · Guest teaching 0/10 Opening Visual Montage and Legal Disclosures This introductory segment consists of welcoming remarks and opening framing by Katherine Boyle and David Ulevitch at the summit. The podcast host is not active in this monologue format, so host metrics remain zero.2:20–5:57 · Guest teaching 2/10 Macro Trends: Public Service Crisis and Technical Idealism Katherine Boyle delivers a presentation explaining historical macro trends, citing data on the shift from liberal arts to technical degrees and the evolution of Silicon Valley's relationship with government. The presentation is informative rather than adversarial, and the host is absent.5:57–8:25 · Guest teaching 1/10 Introducing American Dynamism and Unique Founder Profiles Boyle outlines the unique characteristics of founders in the American Dynamism portfolio, pointing out that none of their recent investments were based in San Francisco. There is no host involvement or conflict.8:25–10:15 · Guest teaching 1/10 Go-to-Market Strategies and Movement Building Boyle addresses go-to-market strategies using portfolio examples like Flock Safety and concludes her keynote speech. The segment is entirely monologue presentation without host interaction.0:00–2:20 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Opening Visual Montage and Legal Disclosures This introductory segment consists of welcoming remarks and opening framing by Katherine Boyle and David Ulevitch at the summit. The podcast host is not active in this monologue format, so host metrics remain zero.2:20–5:57 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Macro Trends: Public Service Crisis and Technical Idealism Katherine Boyle delivers a presentation explaining historical macro trends, citing data on the shift from liberal arts to technical degrees and the evolution of Silicon Valley's relationship with government. The presentation is informative rather than adversarial, and the host is absent.5:57–8:25 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Introducing American Dynamism and Unique Founder Profiles Boyle outlines the unique characteristics of founders in the American Dynamism portfolio, pointing out that none of their recent investments were based in San Francisco. There is no host involvement or conflict.8:25–10:15 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Go-to-Market Strategies and Movement Building Boyle addresses go-to-market strategies using portfolio examples like Flock Safety and concludes her keynote speech. The segment is entirely monologue presentation without host interaction.0:00–2:20 · The host pushing back 0/10 Opening Visual Montage and Legal Disclosures This introductory segment consists of welcoming remarks and opening framing by Katherine Boyle and David Ulevitch at the summit. The podcast host is not active in this monologue format, so host metrics remain zero.2:20–5:57 · The host pushing back 0/10 Macro Trends: Public Service Crisis and Technical Idealism Katherine Boyle delivers a presentation explaining historical macro trends, citing data on the shift from liberal arts to technical degrees and the evolution of Silicon Valley's relationship with government. The presentation is informative rather than adversarial, and the host is absent.5:57–8:25 · The host pushing back 0/10 Introducing American Dynamism and Unique Founder Profiles Boyle outlines the unique characteristics of founders in the American Dynamism portfolio, pointing out that none of their recent investments were based in San Francisco. There is no host involvement or conflict.8:25–10:15 · The host pushing back 0/10 Go-to-Market Strategies and Movement Building Boyle addresses go-to-market strategies using portfolio examples like Flock Safety and concludes her keynote speech. The segment is entirely monologue presentation without host interaction.

speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%0:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%3:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%3:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%6:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%6:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%9:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%9:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 3:30 Dismissing Silicon Valley meme on government businesses

Boyle directly rejects the historical Silicon Valley consensus that non-pure software or government procurement businesses could not scale successfully.

 Hardest push from the host ▶ 8:25 Refuting direct government sales requirement

Boyle proactively counters the common misconception that American Dynamism companies must sell directly to government agencies.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:20 Degrees flipping from liberal arts to computer science

Boyle presents specific statistics highlighting how computer science degrees flipped to surpass liberal arts degrees between 2010 and 2023.

 The host holds their own ▶ 1:04 Clarifying vague concepts with specific sector targets

Ulevitch grounds the abstract concept of American Dynamism by listing specific essential industries like housing, public safety, and defense.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicThe host as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementThe host pushing backWhy
Opening Visual Montage and Legal Disclosures 0000 This introductory segment consists of welcoming remarks and opening framing by Katherine Boyle and David Ulevitch at the summit. The podcast host is not active in this monologue format, so host metrics remain zero.
Macro Trends: Public Service Crisis and Technical Idealism 0210 Katherine Boyle delivers a presentation explaining historical macro trends, citing data on the shift from liberal arts to technical degrees and the evolution of Silicon Valley's relationship with government. The presentation is informative rather than adversarial, and the host is absent.
Introducing American Dynamism and Unique Founder Profiles 0100 Boyle outlines the unique characteristics of founders in the American Dynamism portfolio, pointing out that none of their recent investments were based in San Francisco. There is no host involvement or conflict.
Go-to-Market Strategies and Movement Building 0100 Boyle addresses go-to-market strategies using portfolio examples like Flock Safety and concludes her keynote speech. The segment is entirely monologue presentation without host interaction.

Statements from this episode (5)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ulevitch: Core American Industries Have Not Yet Been Improved by Advanced Software
“Massive industries that support America in the lives of Americans. But which have yet to be dramatically improved by advanced software and technology.”
David Ulevitch Feb 6, 2023 ▶ 1:27
Prediction Partly held up
Boyle: U.S. CS and engineering degrees will surpass liberal arts in 2023
“In 2010, if you looked at the number of degrees that were awarded, ah, across U.S. Colleges, there were four times as many liberal arts degrees awarded to students as there were engineering degrees or computer science. That is, there, in 20, or 23, that will f…”
Katherine Boyle Feb 6, 2023 ▶ 3:59
Opinion
Boyle: Belief that big government tech businesses cannot be built is false
“They were very wary of companies that had to go through the long procurement cycle to work with government, and so there was sort of this meme in Silicon Valley that you can't build a big government business, and if we've seen anything over the last 10 years t…”
Katherine Boyle Feb 6, 2023 ▶ 5:02
Disclosure
a16z made zero American Dynamism investments in San Francisco in 2023
“This year we haven't made a single American dynamism investment in San Francisco.”
Katherine Boyle Feb 6, 2023 ▶ 7:46
Disclosure
Boyle: Flock Safety began selling to HOAs before expanding to government
“Flock Safety, where they started out as a consumer business selling directly to homeowners associations, and they were having such success with the people in their communities that they were serving, That law enforcement officials started pulling them into gov…”
Katherine Boyle Feb 6, 2023 ▶ 9:11
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