Jan 2, 2019 · 20m · a16z

a16z Podcast | Bending Every Pixel to Your Will -- Optimizely and the Next Wave of Internet Tools

Dan Siroker · 8m spoken Scott Weiss · 8m spoken Tom Reichert · 2m spoken

0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of the a16z podcast, host Scott Weiss talks with Optimizely co-founder and CEO Dan Soroker and Andreessen Horowitz partner Tom Reichert about the evolution of enterprise SaaS, data-driven optimization, and company culture. They explore Optimizely's origin story, the shift toward consumer-grade usability in business software, mobile expansion strategies, and the future of best-of-breed software tools.

Chapters · click to jump

1 statement ▾

Soroker: Optimizely got lucky discovering broad market for non-technical A/B testing open →

3 statements ▾

Reichert: Consumer-grade user experience has surpassed traditional enterprise software design open →

Weiss: Software requiring a user manual lacks a modern user interface open →

Weiss: Intuitive SaaS applications remove the need for data-entry intermediaries open →

2 statements ▾

Weiss: Legacy software giants will fail to adapt due to design hiring open →

Dan Soroker: The best enterprise software products are bought, not sold open →

2 statements ▾

Soroker: Optimizely places managers at the bottom of every org chart open →

Soroker: Optimizely shares all meeting notes company-wide, including board meetings open →

1 statement ▾

Weiss: Most enterprise SaaS mobile products are crap open →

2 statements ▾

Soroker: Businesses will choose best-of-breed software over acquired product suites open →

Reichert: Non-programmers are replacing costly enterprise system integration projects open →

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 3.4 Guest teaching 2.7 Guest disagreement 0.1 The host pushing back 0.0

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

Sharpest disagreement ▶ 18:37 Best-of-breed versus acquired suite reframe

In an otherwise entirely agreeable episode, Dan mildly counters Scott's thesis on suite consolidation by arguing that departmental buyers prefer best-of-breed tools connected by APIs over clunky acquired suites.

Hardest push from the host ▶ 2:29 Refocusing from campaign project to scalable business

Scott interrupts the campaign narrative to redirect Dan, pressing him on how he knew this was a ubiquitous business problem worth founding a dedicated software company around.

Biggest teaching moment ▶ 15:26 Technical mechanics of mobile app optimization

Dan educates the hosts on unique mobile development pain points, explaining how feature flagging and dynamic remote config solve app store review delays and negative review risks.

The host holds their own ▶ 16:11 Scott analyzes freemium unit economics in mobile SaaS

Scott demonstrates sharp venture capital insights by connecting mobile optimization tools directly to conversion rate lifts in freemium software business models.

the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each

Topic	The host as informed peer	Guest teaching	Guest disagreement	Why
Origin Story and Founding of Optimizely	2	3	0	Scott introduces Dan and asks about the origin story of Optimizely. Dan explains his journey from Google to the Obama campaign, outlining how experimentation shifted opinions into data-driven decisions.
Consumerization and Usability of Enterprise SaaS	4	2	0	Scott and Tom discuss the shift toward consumerized, highly usable enterprise SaaS. Dan elaborates on changing customer expectations where software must work seamlessly without manuals.
Design Culture and Speed of Product Experience	4	3	0	Scott asks how Optimizely attracts top design talent in contrast to legacy IT giants. Dan reframes modern software sales around 'bought, not sold' product experiences with instant trial entry.
Building Company Culture and Organizational Transparency	4	3	0	Scott asks about Optimizely's workplace culture and transparency practices. Dan details their inverted organizational hierarchy and practice of sharing all meeting notes across the entire company.
Mobile Optimization and iOS Platform Expansion	4	4	0	Scott asks about Optimizely's expansion into mobile optimization. Dan explains technical advantages like staged rollouts and dynamic configuration updates that bypass app store review bottlenecks.
Future of Enterprise SaaS: Best-of-Breed vs Consolidation	5	4	1	Scott poses a question on legacy suite consolidation versus standalone SaaS tools. Dan offers a polite reframe advocating for best-of-breed software linked via open API ecosystems.
Podcast Conclusion and Final Remarks	1	0	0	Scott wraps up the discussion with closing compliments and optimism for Optimizely's future.

Statements from this episode (11)

Disclosure

Soroker: Optimizely got lucky discovering broad market for non-technical A/B testing

“I never started the company thinking this is a ubiquitous problem. In fact, we got more lucky than good there, realizing that the problem we faced in the campaign of wanting to do A-B testing, enabling non-technical people to do A-B testing, was actually a pro…”

Dan Siroker Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 2:43

Insight

Reichert: Consumer-grade user experience has surpassed traditional enterprise software design

“Like in the old days enterprise grade was like better, but I think today consumer grade, the consumer grade user experiences are actually the superior experience, and that's what companies are starting to build.”

Tom Reichert Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 3:47

Insight

Weiss: Software requiring a user manual lacks a modern user interface

“If it needs a manual, it's probably not a mod, doesn't have a modern UI, it probably doesn't have, it's not a consumerization of IT product”

Scott Weiss Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 5:31

Insight

Weiss: Intuitive SaaS applications remove the need for data-entry intermediaries

“If you look at the new applications like Box, like Evernote, you know, a lot of these new applications are built for mobile. They're they'll, they're built for kind of a HTML user interface, and they're intuitive in the way that Tom was talking about, like Fac…”

Scott Weiss Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 6:06

Prediction Not checkable as stated

Weiss: Legacy software giants will fail to adapt due to design hiring

“I honestly don't think that the old old line companies are going to make this shift, make this change, and one of the reasons I contend is they can't hire the design talent.”

Scott Weiss Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 6:38

Insight

Dan Soroker: The best enterprise software products are bought, not sold

“Today, the best products are bought. They're not sold. People come to Optimizely, and they try our product, and they convince themselves of the product before they even talk to a salesperson on our team”

Dan Siroker Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 7:39

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Soroker: Optimizely places managers at the bottom of every org chart

“Every org chart at Optimizely, the manager's at the bottom of the org chart, not at the top of the org chart.”

Dan Siroker Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 10:34

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Soroker: Optimizely shares all meeting notes company-wide, including board meetings

“Every meeting at Optimizely, the notes from that meeting, including the board meeting we had last week, get sent to the entire company.”

Dan Siroker Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 12:46

Opinion

Weiss: Most enterprise SaaS mobile products are crap

“If you look at most of the enterprise, even the enterprise SaaS companies, their mobile products are crap.”

Scott Weiss Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 13:56

Prediction Not checkable as stated

Soroker: Businesses will choose best-of-breed software over acquired product suites

“And the way I see, you know, the next few years playing out is that in, in markets where there is a best of breed product that is a delightful product that practitioners and departments will decide to use and evangelize for, as long as those products integrate…”

Dan Siroker Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 19:07

Insight

Reichert: Non-programmers are replacing costly enterprise system integration projects

“And so, ultimately, I think a lot of what used to be kind of expensive, long-term system integration work, now that can be done by non-programmers, just the way non-programmers are using tools like Optimizely.”

Tom Reichert Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 20:36

a16z Podcast | Bending Every Pixel to Your Will -- Optimizely and the Next Wave of Internet Tools

How this conversation actually went

Statements from this episode (11)

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