a16z Podcast - The Next Generation of Cultural Influencers in Tech

Episode Date: May 2, 2020

This episode—which originally took place as a live event—is a conversation between Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner and a16z Cultural Leadership Fund partner Chris Lyons. Wagner is known for his power on the field and his business acumen off it. Last year, he negotiated his own three-year, $54 million contract extension to become the highest-paid middle linebacker in the NFL. In this candid conversation, Wagner and Lyons discuss how to identify standout companies and talent (for better or worse), the growing influence of cultural leaders in tech, and the potential of "shared genius."

The content here is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal business, tax, or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any A16Z fund. For more details, please see A16Z.com slash disclosures. Hi, and welcome to the A16Z podcast. This episode, which originally took place as a live event, is a conversation between Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner and A16Z Cultural Leadership Fund partner, Chris. lines. The two discuss everything from how to identify standout companies and talent, for better or worse, to the growing influence of cultural leaders in tech. They begin by talking briefly about the parallels between pro sports and the tech sector, given that Wagner most recently negotiated his own contract extension to become the highest paid middle linebacker in the NFL. Chris's question is the first voice you'll hear. So you know how to negotiate your own contracts, but now you're starting to also get into, you know, investments in the private side, too. How do you negotiate

when you're working with startups, when you're working with founders? What is the sum of things that you look for? It's kind of the same trying to figure out, is your team a good team? You look and you see, what's the culture? And do you believe in the person that is controlling a product? Because there's a lot of good products out there, but not good leaders, and they can lead them into the ground. But it's not so great products that a good leader could turn to amazing things. And so what I look for is, you know, do I believe in the culture? Do I believe in the person that's building a product?

And is it somebody I want to take a chance on? If you have examples of a company that really struck you as that, hey, this might be the next billion-dollar business, or this is a founder that I believe is going to be able to go through the struggle and make it all the way through? You know, I'll say the bad one first. Okay. I had investing in a company, and, you know, they were doing really well. They were backed by a lot of amazing people.

And something happened where it challenged the company and the leader. And in that moment, kind of felt like he folded. Pressure. At the end of the day, you're going to have challenges. And the people that can withstand those challenges are the people that come up top. That's the type of people that you look for, someone that is level-headed when things are bad and good. How'd you get your start? What was your process?

One of the things that at our firm we really believe in is you have to have an earned secret. Whether that's you starting a business or whether that's you creating a product. I did not originally come from the technology industry. I was a music producer and engineer. But then I had an idea for a startup and taught myself how to code, ended up moving out here. But I saw this transcendence of Twitter and Instagram. You saw that it was cultural influencers that were really. starting to help drive these businesses. And like when Puff did the first to one million

followers with Ashton Coucher, and then you saw like what DJ Khaled and how he took Snap and basically helped transcend the whole business. And I was like, well, who's the person that's going to help represent strategic investors? Like, let's leverage and work with a different type of investor, which will we consider a cultural leader. And specifically like 100% of our fund is made of African-American LPs. That's the first time in the history of Silicon Valley that's ever happening. On top of that,

100% of the proceeds that we make from our fund goes to a select number of nonprofits to help advance African-Americans in technology. That way, we're helping put more diverse backgrounds onto the cap tables. So you're a genius in your aspect, and you know something about a very unique set of cultures With someone like a Quincy Jones, they might look at him and say, hey, we want you to tweet our next product, but they don't understand that Quincy Jones also knows 22 languages.

So allowing him to understand ways to connect the dots and share some of his genius with the shared genius of the founder, create something special and what we believe can really help accelerate companies across all different levels. Why is that important? Why is that important bringing diverse into Silicon Valley? I came from right outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The people I looked up to were, you know, T.I. and G.Z. And I was like, they're making money. Like, I need to be in that industry, Jermaine DePree. Like, that's who I used to intern for. And then I came out here.

And I was like, wait, hold on. It's like, this is a whole other game real quick. So you realize that the next generation of wealth is happening within Silicon Valley. And if African Americans do not have a seat at that table, then we need to fix that as soon as possible. not just on the investment side, but also diverse talent. Everybody who feels like they're in an uphill battle, if we can open up the doors and build relationships with our portfolio companies or strategics within the Silicon Valley ecosystem

and vouch for the people that look like us because the biggest challenge that we're facing within Silicon Valley is that people can't see the talent. I don't look at you as an athlete. I look at you as an entrepreneur. And so if we can connect the dots between the two, ultimately we can make the world a better place. We can help increase the overall level of inclusion within Silicon Valley and inspire people who, like myself, never thought that being in technology or venture capital was a pathway.

Right. How do you go about finding that talent? We have to really be intentional about this. You have to be out and reach the network, right? You have to be very proactive about that. saying okay like you're interested in design you're interested in business development but like you can take that exact same skill go work at a private company be you know three or four stage earlier develop equity and then hopefully we align you with a great company that can eventually change your family's life

now you're giving a different level of understanding building a whole new network and you know it's not like we need to be intentional about you know just trying to make make this ecosystem you know a better place together. Yeah, that's dope. As you think about the evolution of your career, you have startups, you have your personal businesses, you got your family, like, what's the future look like? Hopefully it looked like Magic Johnson. Magic was somebody who inspired me because you watch a bunch of athletes and they did amazing things on the field and after they did amazing things on the field, you know, had a hard time transitioning into another life. I heard Marchand say this probably a couple months ago, but he was talking about how.

in our profession, we spend so much time focusing on our career that we don't really take the time to master something else. So by the time we get done with our career, we're already behind because from the moment we touch the football, basketball, baseball, whatever, all we've been doing is focusing on that sport and being good at that sport. From the moment I got into the league, I felt like everybody was telling me that NFL stands for not for long. And so we have to find a way to not only master what we're in currently but think ahead and because I do believe that you can multitask. I do believe that you could do other things than just what people say that you're good at in the moment. That was one of the things that inspired me to do contracts

because I knew I had enough time to study. I knew I had enough time to get the hold of it and understand what it was that I needed to do to be successful. And so I'm trying to build on that, see how much, see how far I can take it, see how far I can go with being in business. Honestly, yeah, it feels like just the evolution of influencers or athletes or anyone, it's not just Gatorade, pay me $200,000. Now, equities is having that conversation within the locker room. Yeah, I think, I think we passed that. When we first got into a league, you just, that's all you saw. You saw guys on, with the Nike deals and the Gatorade commercials and body urban commercials and all these different things. And you wanted to do that.

and you got that money, but that money was temporary. It wasn't something that can last. And I don't think we understood at our work. You know, Michael Jordan really pushed Nike, turning into a whole different thing. Imagine if they just cut them a check versus him having equity because him as a brand, him as a person, help move the needle.

Seeing that, players start to get smarter and understand that we have a big advantage and we help companies move the needle just as much as the people within the businesses sometimes. It's knowing your worth and understanding that you've got to take the time and do the work. And just like on the field, if you do the work, good things will come from you. For people who want to work with you, whether they want to be able to include, you know, someone like yourself in a deal, or if they're thinking about doing partnerships with talent, how should they negotiate, think about having you as a part of their business,

not just from a post standpoint, but integrating so that together everybody can win. I think you just have to look at who the talent is or who the person is and look at your brand and see if it matches. If it matches and it makes sense, then that can make everybody win. A lot of times you give equity, and at the end of day, it helps everybody. It helps the company, it helps the influencer, the talent. Exactly. That's kind of how you look at it.

Is that person a fit for the culture? Can they make the culture better? Can they really push us to the next step? And if they believe that, and they believe in the person, take a chance on the person, just like you want the people and the consumers to take a chance on the brand. That's very true. I mean, like, you can help get them into the business, right?

And then you can actually help open up the doors and help facilitate that relationship. And then you're a trusted resource. And, like, that adds way more value than you doing a 30-second commercial. Yeah, I only go so far, man. You know, Shaquille does a really good job. I'm not seven-foot tall, so I got to figure out different ways to help. and something that's going to be for the longevity of my life. Within the cultural leadership,

the thing that we care most about are those shared values. You have to deeply understand what it is that your company stands for and then figure out who also is moving in that same direction. And so that company can help your business, for example, Hip Camp. It's like Airbnb for camping. So I started going into the stats and doing some research and realizing that African-American and diverse backgrounds were on trend to be the...

the number one people who are looking to go outdoors. And so we were like, who is it that we can work with that can add not just a cultural relevance, but really help, you know, let our community know that, hey, this is a cool thing. And so that's when we brought on Jay Z and Will Smith. Once we made that announcement, you had Complex Magazine talking about going camping. You had Double XL talking about camping, which ultimately helps push the culture forward with what we're doing within technology.

and if you believe that technology is going to be at the center of every business, then it gives us that opportunity to bring other people involved in the game and also have creative influence as they're helping build the company. Have you ever had it go south? Have you ever thought somebody was going to be good with the brand and you partner with them and then they did the brand not justice? At the end of the day, this is why there has to be a commonality and shared values. You don't want to put someone who's vegan to do like a chicken company,

or be on the face of Popeyes, right? You've got to have the commonality between the two. When you're dealing with investments, advisory shares, partnerships, what does it look like from a marketing standpoint? You have to really find those connections. And so, you know, the ones that don't work, you never see, but when they do come together, it really becomes something special. It adds value to companies and ultimately allows the talent

to get a glimpse into the world of startup, you know, understanding how, you know, companies are running and building their businesses. And to me, that's the best of both worlds. Yeah. My last question is, what is the best advice you've gotten in this journey up to date? Oh, man. I think the biggest one is that there's always a move. I think that's one that really sticks to me.

This has been a journey for all of us. And with a journey, you always are hitting obstacles. You're always coming across adversity. You're always coming into situations where you think that it's done and you hit the road. This fund, like, it was 100% individuals. So no family offices, no fund of funds, nothing. And so for me, it was extremely challenging. I'm like, I don't know if I can do this.

But I always remember that there's always a move. You know, there's always a step. And you have to take that time, get yourself that clarity and that mental space so that you can see the bigger picture and then figure out one way in order to make it happen. because if you quit, they'll never see you, you know? And so you've got to figure out a way to make it happen. Yeah, quitting. You know all about that, so especially from, you know, Super Bowls, Pro Bowls,

and also just now that we're here today. Marathon continues, so let's keep it going. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, guys. Appreciate you.