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Jan 2, 2019 · 12m · a16z

a16z Podcast | Three Kids, One App, One Love -- The Five-O Story

Ima and Asha Christian · 5m spoken Ben Horowitz · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

This episode of the a16z podcast features teenage developers Caleb, Ima, and Asha Christian discussing Five-O, their community app for rating police interactions, alongside hip-hop legend Nas who praises their constructive approach to police transparency.

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 1.8 Guest teaching 2.2 Guest disagreement 0.2 The host pushing back 0.2
05100:0010:001:01–3:02 · The host as informed peer 1/10 Inspiration and Purpose Behind the App Ben asks welcoming questions about what inspired the guests to build an app rather than just getting angry after negative police encounters. The guests explain how their coding background and family discussions motivated them to focus on constructive solutions.3:02–5:35 · The host as informed peer 1/10 Technical Architecture and Core Features Ben prompts the guest creators to explain the technical architecture to the audience. Caleb and Asha detail using Appery.io, incident reporting, county/zip search, and integrating ACLU Know Your Rights information.5:35–8:09 · The host as informed peer 2/10 Reflections on Silicon Valley and Facebook HQ Visit The host asks about their experience visiting Facebook HQ and handling press interviews. Ima describes practicing responses with her mother to stay focused and articulate when answering difficult press questions.8:09–10:13 · The host as informed peer 2/10 Global Expansion Vision and SMS Functionality Guests outline global interest in Five-O and plans for SMS integration in regions without widespread smartphones. Ben playfully presses them on whether they were being coy about the name 'Five-O' being street slang.10:13–12:40 · The host as informed peer 3/10 Next Steps, Crowdfunding, and Open-Source Collaboration The guests talk about rebuilding the app natively and funding it via GoFundMe as they prepare for college. Ben demonstrates industry guidance by advising them to host the open-source code on GitHub and offering to connect them.1:01–3:02 · Guest teaching 2/10 Inspiration and Purpose Behind the App Ben asks welcoming questions about what inspired the guests to build an app rather than just getting angry after negative police encounters. The guests explain how their coding background and family discussions motivated them to focus on constructive solutions.3:02–5:35 · Guest teaching 3/10 Technical Architecture and Core Features Ben prompts the guest creators to explain the technical architecture to the audience. Caleb and Asha detail using Appery.io, incident reporting, county/zip search, and integrating ACLU Know Your Rights information.5:35–8:09 · Guest teaching 2/10 Reflections on Silicon Valley and Facebook HQ Visit The host asks about their experience visiting Facebook HQ and handling press interviews. Ima describes practicing responses with her mother to stay focused and articulate when answering difficult press questions.8:09–10:13 · Guest teaching 2/10 Global Expansion Vision and SMS Functionality Guests outline global interest in Five-O and plans for SMS integration in regions without widespread smartphones. Ben playfully presses them on whether they were being coy about the name 'Five-O' being street slang.10:13–12:40 · Guest teaching 2/10 Next Steps, Crowdfunding, and Open-Source Collaboration The guests talk about rebuilding the app natively and funding it via GoFundMe as they prepare for college. Ben demonstrates industry guidance by advising them to host the open-source code on GitHub and offering to connect them.1:01–3:02 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Inspiration and Purpose Behind the App Ben asks welcoming questions about what inspired the guests to build an app rather than just getting angry after negative police encounters. The guests explain how their coding background and family discussions motivated them to focus on constructive solutions.3:02–5:35 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Technical Architecture and Core Features Ben prompts the guest creators to explain the technical architecture to the audience. Caleb and Asha detail using Appery.io, incident reporting, county/zip search, and integrating ACLU Know Your Rights information.5:35–8:09 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Reflections on Silicon Valley and Facebook HQ Visit The host asks about their experience visiting Facebook HQ and handling press interviews. Ima describes practicing responses with her mother to stay focused and articulate when answering difficult press questions.8:09–10:13 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Global Expansion Vision and SMS Functionality Guests outline global interest in Five-O and plans for SMS integration in regions without widespread smartphones. Ben playfully presses them on whether they were being coy about the name 'Five-O' being street slang.10:13–12:40 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Next Steps, Crowdfunding, and Open-Source Collaboration The guests talk about rebuilding the app natively and funding it via GoFundMe as they prepare for college. Ben demonstrates industry guidance by advising them to host the open-source code on GitHub and offering to connect them.1:01–3:02 · The host pushing back 0/10 Inspiration and Purpose Behind the App Ben asks welcoming questions about what inspired the guests to build an app rather than just getting angry after negative police encounters. The guests explain how their coding background and family discussions motivated them to focus on constructive solutions.3:02–5:35 · The host pushing back 0/10 Technical Architecture and Core Features Ben prompts the guest creators to explain the technical architecture to the audience. Caleb and Asha detail using Appery.io, incident reporting, county/zip search, and integrating ACLU Know Your Rights information.5:35–8:09 · The host pushing back 0/10 Reflections on Silicon Valley and Facebook HQ Visit The host asks about their experience visiting Facebook HQ and handling press interviews. Ima describes practicing responses with her mother to stay focused and articulate when answering difficult press questions.8:09–10:13 · The host pushing back 1/10 Global Expansion Vision and SMS Functionality Guests outline global interest in Five-O and plans for SMS integration in regions without widespread smartphones. Ben playfully presses them on whether they were being coy about the name 'Five-O' being street slang.10:13–12:40 · The host pushing back 0/10 Next Steps, Crowdfunding, and Open-Source Collaboration The guests talk about rebuilding the app natively and funding it via GoFundMe as they prepare for college. Ben demonstrates industry guidance by advising them to host the open-source code on GitHub and offering to connect them.

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%12:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%12:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:49 Gentle pushback on street slang origins

In an entirely cooperative interview, the guests mildly counter Ben's teasing suggestion that they were playing coy about 'Five-O' being street slang before agreeing it was quirky and cool.

 Hardest push from the host ▶ 9:49 Host playfully challenges the app naming story

Ben jokingly challenges Caleb's explanation that the name came solely from their mom watching Hawaii Five-O, asking if they were playing coy about its widespread use as rap and street slang.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:42 Guests detailing granular app features and ACLU integration

Asha and Caleb educate the host and listeners on how the app aggregates location-based police ratings by county/zip code and provides ACLU legal rights directly to users.

 The host holds their own ▶ 12:04 Host offering domain advice on open source and GitHub

Ben leverages his tech expertise and industry connections by guiding the young founders to put their open-source project on GitHub and offering direct introductions to the team.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicThe host as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementThe host pushing backWhy
Inspiration and Purpose Behind the App 1200 Ben asks welcoming questions about what inspired the guests to build an app rather than just getting angry after negative police encounters. The guests explain how their coding background and family discussions motivated them to focus on constructive solutions.
Technical Architecture and Core Features 1300 Ben prompts the guest creators to explain the technical architecture to the audience. Caleb and Asha detail using Appery.io, incident reporting, county/zip search, and integrating ACLU Know Your Rights information.
Reflections on Silicon Valley and Facebook HQ Visit 2200 The host asks about their experience visiting Facebook HQ and handling press interviews. Ima describes practicing responses with her mother to stay focused and articulate when answering difficult press questions.
Global Expansion Vision and SMS Functionality 2211 Guests outline global interest in Five-O and plans for SMS integration in regions without widespread smartphones. Ben playfully presses them on whether they were being coy about the name 'Five-O' being street slang.
Next Steps, Crowdfunding, and Open-Source Collaboration 3200 The guests talk about rebuilding the app natively and funding it via GoFundMe as they prepare for college. Ben demonstrates industry guidance by advising them to host the open-source code on GitHub and offering to connect them.

Statements from this episode (4)

Assertion Supported
Five-O's 'Know Your Rights' feature sources information from the ACLU
“We have a know your rights section, so you really just have that information, which is provided from the ACLU at your fingertips.”
Ima and Asha Christian Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 4:33
Opinion
Horowitz: Many tech executives are worse at press handling than teenage founders
“I know executives that aren't that good at that.”
Ben Horowitz Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 8:01
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Five-O has received user interest from the UK, Brazil, and Canada
“We have gotten emails from people in the UK Brazil, and The UK, Brazil, and Canada, saying that this app would be useful where they live.”
Ima and Asha Christian Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 8:57
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Five-O is developing SMS functionality for users without smartphones
“We're also trying to get it that function so that it can work with SMS, and they can submit their interaction reports through text messaging.”
Ima and Asha Christian Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 9:20
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