The Exchanges

Q Yeah, so you want to, Do you want to describe what Partiful is for people who didn't listen to that episode and why, why you might think it's interesting?

A Yeah, I mean, it's like, it's, uh, paperless posts, uh, brought into the new era for mobile, uh, or like, you know, for SMS and just the way people might do invites. And as obviously things like Facebook events and other things have died, uh, there's been obviously a need for, to make it really easy to organize. Um, and at least here in New York, I've been seeing Partiful go out, even some of those, a birthday party or, or, or whatnot, or a dinner, and they sent out a Partiful link. Um, and it's, it's really smart, you know, it's on SMS. Um, like it starts with website that you can just like text or, or snap to somebody. Um, yeah, I'm just genuinely surprised to see that it like has consolidated and it's like the thing for sending out like a really quick and prompt to invite, you know?

AI assessment note: “it's, uh, paperless posts, uh, brought into the new era for mobile”

Q like, and, and you were in it too, dude, like you were, you were at dig, which was like one of the most, you know, Hottest startups in social at the time. Path, one of the hottest mobile startups at the time. Talk like, what was it like in your, in your mind being in SF at that time? Um, because like, we've got thousands of listeners who just like,

A Well, one thing, one, one thing I'd say is that, okay, that's definitely 2008, you know, financial crash in its own right. You know, that's, that's the year I got to SF. Um, you know, everyone now knows SF to be this place where people are way overpaid, like the minimum, like salary out of college for a good CS degree is like something crazy, you know, like everyone basically has this expense lifestyles with like free kitchen, mini kitchens and laundry and buses and stuff. Um, and, and I think the one thing I'll, I'll say is, like, when you got to SF, like, there wasn't a ton of money floating around. Like, it wasn't like every company that was alive was overfunded, and, you know, there was just cash everywhere. It was kind of like this, um, Is this place where you, you, you went there because you're just attracted to hanging out and seeing what other people were building, you know, and it wasn't because it was super lucrative. I'd argue, you know, Facebook, sorry, Google done public, but it really wasn't probably until Facebook IPO, 2012 or so when things got kind of, kind of crazy, you know? Um, and so I'd say what was great about that period that's from the same time, you know, Addison was out there and that we all, you know, uh, so many friends, friends that I keep to this day, lifelong friends were made was it was just like, Hey, uh, what do you have to, what are you build…

AI assessment note: “when you got to SF, like, there wasn't a ton of money floating around.”

Q What are your thoughts, uh, on web three loyalty? I saw a few weeks ago, Starbucks obviously launched, uh, A really big push into loyalty. I'm curious, uh, what you think around that.

A That that's in the, I, I hope that a recording of this podcast doesn't become like a cautionary tale of me sounding like an idiot a few years from now. Um, I, I think My immediate reaction is like, it's cool to see them build. It's cool to see them experiment. Back to what you're talking about, like SF, it's like when I was a teenager and still I'm a youngster and a beginner's mind at heart, I'm like, it's awesome to see people experimenting. Even if it doesn't work out, I'm like net net, something they did in that experiment will probably be a building block that someone else grabs and uses and takes off. I think Starbucks is probably going nowhere. Maybe this is like the funny quote where like three years from now, Starbucks implodes. Um, but like, I, I don't think Starbucks is going anywhere, so cool with them to experiment with some stuff. Maybe they'll change their approach, maybe they won't, you know. It's kind of like, before the iPhone, Motorola made the rocker with Apple, which had a 99 song limit on it, and everyone thought, like, this, if this is the iPhone, this is not the future. I'm like, okay. I think people will experiment with loyalty stuff just as, like, music entities are trying to figure out what the Part of like, yeah, what the fuck that actually all means, you know, uh, but yeah, I think that's essential to getting there. Um, there, there's a book I really…

AI assessment note: “it's cool to see them build. It's cool to see them experiment.”

Q I think, yeah, I think the question is like, if you're a founder of a venture backed startup, how on a scale from like zero to fast, like in terms of being like super public and super audacious and super like marketing stunt driven, like where should the, where do you two think, uh, a founder should sit?

A I don't know if it's my call. I think what the one asterisk worth putting down here is like the hindsight's twenty-twenty, right? And I'm sure There have been some really crazy, audacious consumer, uh, hype stunts that, like, worked out for really great products. Like, uh, like the Super Bowl ad for, for the Mac, you know? I'm like, okay, that's the craziest, like, one of the craziest ads of all time. Iconic, but you're also like, what does, I mean, okay, I kind of get the message, but this is over the top, you know? Uh, well, also the Mac wasn't, didn't work out so hot, so maybe that's a bad example. Uh, but okay, all I know is, you know, I think it comes down to the person. It comes down to the founder of, of, can they stomach it? Are they shameless enough to stomach it living with them for years? Like Sam Altman, uh, the double popped collars on stage at WWDC when he did loops with neon and neon green and neon pink. I was like, how are you going to be next to Steve Jobs in a double popped collar? Uh, you know, that's going to be etched into history. You know, maybe some people forget it, but like most of us that have been around will remember that forever. And so, yeah, you can try to do this, like, revisionist, like, uh, image polishing and, like, let enough time pass to, like, you know, clean it up, you know, and become fresh. It's just, yeah, if you're gonna go crazy, uh,…

AI assessment note: “I think it comes down to the person... can they stomach it?”

Q then they can share it. So it's like a group camera roll. Um, and it's starting to take off, um, in like the, 18 to 24 year old demographic in New York City. Um, so curious if you think, you know, A, what do you think about the idea? B, what do you think about social events? Is this a, a big business, or, you know, what do you think?

A I feel like I, I, I'm looking at their Instagram right now, and it's being, it's followed by a bunch of younger folks I know, and so that's always good signal. I feel like it's always negative signal if you go to a company's page, and it's followed by, like, old VCs, and you're just like, yeah, they, like, have, like, a hype round going, but, like, no kids actually fuck with them, you know? So it's cool that, like, a bunch of young kids I know in New York that aren't necessarily so techy are, like, you know, following them, you know? Um, Yeah. And I mean, I'm also a killer idea, right? It's just like, what's the atomic unit? Like truly don't, you don't need to build an app. It could be just be a basic website. That's super, that's easy to share and how to mess. You know, um, I like the vibes on their, their little, uh, you know, on their page.

AI assessment note: “it's followed by a bunch of younger folks I know, and so that's always good signal”