Ep 047 - Bryan "BK" Kim, Partner at a16z

My first in-person podcast. Ever.

I kept thinking about it. A LinkedIn lurker who’d never posted. A kid with a computer and too many questions about venture.

Now I’m sitting across from Bryan Kim at a16z. Real conversation. Real energy. Pinch-me moment.

Bryan’s invested in companies that became the fabric of our society. Partiful, how we gather. Cluely, the AI assistant everyone’s talking about. ElevenLabs, the voice of AI. BeReal, the most authentic social media platform. Tune in to hear how he did it.

My key takeaways:

1️⃣ In a world where AI models are changing constantly, momentum becomes the moat. Momentum = Shipping velocity + distribution.

2️⃣ Super apps haven’t been built yet because they need their core competency to be at ~99% adoption first. Messaging, payments, and social media are all too fragmented.

3️⃣ Know your zone of competence. Own what you crush at, but also own what you suck at. It’s okay to not be good at everything.

4️⃣ Almost everyone in venture comes from somewhere impressive. Stanford, Goldman, Mckinsey, ex-founder. So what? Be a beginner. Nothing is beneath you. Do the work and soak everything up.

5️⃣ Your partners won’t always agree. If you think you know something and have done the work, have conviction. That’s why you have a seat at the table!

47 episodes ago, I started with a question. Today, I’m getting answers from the people shaping our future.

Sometimes you just gotta start.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Introductions

(01:06) - The power of “Where are you from?”

(02:11) - Origin stories

(03:56) - Korean venture capital + Super Apps

(08:57) - Momentum is the moat

(13:49) - High quality distribution

(17:23) - Creating momentum

(24:15) - Bryan’s zone of competence

(27:46) - Highlights and lowlights

(35:13) - Ceremonial Final Qs