Podcast Summary

Podcast: The a16z Show
Episode: The Inside Story of Growth Investing at a16z
Date: December 12, 2025
Guests: David George (General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz)
Host: Harry Stebbings (from 20VC, guest host on this replayed episode)

Episode Overview

This episode features Harry Stebbings in conversation with David George, General Partner leading the growth investing team at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). They delve deep into the philosophy and mechanics of breakout growth investing at a16z: how the team develops unique, non-consensus market views, underwrites upside, doubles down on winners, and navigates today’s highly competitive capital landscape. David offers candid insights into investment decision-making, the evolution of markets, unit economics, the role of SPACs, and how he personally balances competition, fear, and performance throughout his investing career.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

David George’s Journey & Philosophy

• Background & Path to a16z
  • Raised in Kentucky, originally intended to become a lawyer, discovered finance at Notre Dame, transitioned to tech investing at General Atlantic, joining a16z in 2019.
  • Built pattern recognition around what drives successful growth investments—primarily great founders and developing a “non-consensus” view of total addressable market (TAM).

    “What makes a breakout or successful growth investment...great founder and then a theory on busting through consensus view on total addressable market or TAM.” – David George [03:57]

Pattern Recognition & Examples

• Importance of Market View Over Business Model

  • At GA and a16z, David learned outsized returns are more a result of seeing TAM and growth further than consensus, less about incremental edge in refining business models.

    “Exceptional business models are just table stakes in growth investing.” – David George [05:00]

• Case Studies

  • Roblox: Seen not as a kids’ game, but as a broad co-experience platform.
  • Figma: Not just for designers, but for all front-end engineers—radically expanding TAM.

    “Our view was that all front end engineers in the future will engage in design and this is 10x plus bigger in terms of market opportunity…” – David George [05:37]

Unit Economics & Capital Strategy

• Role and Timing of Unit Economics

  • At growth stage, they are crucial but not the edge (“table stakes”). Rarely does outsized surprise come from upside in economics. Key is seeing the scale effect—do they worsen, stay stable, or improve?

    “It’s much more common that, hey, the growth of the company just exceeded all expectations.” – David George [08:12]

• Investing & Doubling Down

  • a16z regularly re-underwrites companies for follow-on investments (e.g., Coinbase, Databricks, Stripe) with fresh eyes.

    “Every time we assess one of those new investments, we do it with fresh eyes. And so we call it re-underwriting.” – David George [10:37]

• Managing High Entry Prices

  • High valuations mean taking a long-term view (5-7 years), focusing on companies that can be market leaders and create “Glengarry Glen Ross” market structures, where the winner takes all.

    “Most, many or most, tech markets play out in market cap in a similar way where the leader captures the vast majority of the market cap creation.” – David George [12:19]

• Learning from Missed Deals

  • Pain point: Turning down Qualtrics at GA due to price, even when all other signals were positive.

    “They figured out a huge market hiding in plain sight, a sales model that totally worked…” – David George [13:58]

Competitive Investing & Market Changes

• Crossover and Late-Stage Capital Influx
  • Rise of hedge and crossover funds changed deal velocity and diligence, requiring more focus and speed but still focusing on helping founders beyond capital.

    “Fundraises...gotten faster, to put it lightly. What that causes is it makes investors narrow the focus area of what they can cover in diligence…You have to have a prepared mind.” – David George [15:56]

  • “We tend to matchmake with the companies who see us as being able to deliver more than just dollars.” – David George [17:22]

Decision-Making at a16z

• Single Trigger Puller Model
  • Final investment call sits with a single GP rather than a committee, minimizing politics and maximizing accountability and conviction.

    “The benefit of single trigger puller model as opposed to committee decision making is it’s the ultimate measure of conviction.” – David George [00:00], [19:09]

  • Encourages open, less political discussions versus committee models, because conviction is tested not sold.

    “My experience...it leads to less intellectually honest conversations [in committee settings]...” – David George [19:58]

SPACs and Liquidity

• SPACs as an Option
  • Neutral-to-positive view: SPACs offer another path for liquidity/public markets, but shouldn’t be seen as a milestone unless the company is truly ready to be public.

    “It’s a totally fine path...as long as it’s not seen as a milestone and you’re just ready to be a public company, you know, after you’re done with it.” – David George [21:49]

Personal Motivations & Coping

• What Drives David
  • Not money, but learning, working with the best founders, deep paranoia of failure, and competitive drive. Scores are kept via returns, but ultimately wants to deliver for LPs (universities, nonprofits, etc.).

    “I love learning new things every day. I get the chance to work with the best founders in the world…There’s a mission...generating great returns for our limited partners.” – David George [22:51]

• Managing Fear & Pressure
  • Channels fear into working harder and going deeper; never-ending curiosity and drive.

    “The way I channel my fear, I channel it into working harder...the beauty of our business...there’s an endless amount of work that you can do.” – David George [23:39]

Pull vs. Push Companies

• Investment Preference
  • Looks for companies that are “pulled” by market demand, not those that have to “push” their product. Example: Loom (viral, organically spreading).

    “I try and invest in companies that are pull companies, not push companies. What that means is the market is pulling their product from them as opposed to they’re trying to push their product out to the market.” – David George [25:57]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On pattern recognition:

  “For me, that has come down to a great founder and then a theory on busting through consensus view on total addressable market or tam.”
  — David George [03:57]

• On the single trigger puller model:

  “It’s the ultimate measure of conviction. So if that individual has conviction and gets feedback from the partnership, and maybe the feedback is constructive or negative and still wants to make the investment, that’s conviction.”
  — David George [00:00], [19:09]

• On luck and success:

  “I think it’s overemphasizing their own work and underplaying the role of luck in some circumstances and other people who contribute to their success.”
  — David George [24:49]

• On living with market highs and lows:

  “Don’t get too high from the highs, don’t get too low from the lows.”
  — David George [25:35]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:57–06:17] — Pattern recognition and importance of non-consensus market views
• [06:43–08:19] — How and when unit economics matter; DoorDash example
• [10:37–11:17] — Re-underwriting, doubling down on winners
• [12:19–13:50] — The “Glengarry Glen Ross” market structure analogy
• [13:58] — Most painful miss due to price: Qualtrics
• [15:56–17:38] — Competing in a market full of crossover and late-stage capital
• [19:09–20:13] — Conviction and accountability in single trigger puller model
• [21:49] — Thoughts on SPACs
• [22:51–24:15] — Personal motivations, money, and managing fear
• [25:57–26:37] — Pull vs. push companies; Loom investment

Final Quick-Fire Questions (Selected)

• Favorite business book:
  Increasing Returns to Scale by Brian Arthur [24:25]
• Common lie rich people tell themselves:
  “Overemphasizing their own work and underplaying the role of luck…” [24:49]
• Advice hard to follow:
  “Don’t get too high from the highs, don’t get too low from the lows.“ [25:35]

Conclusion

This episode offers a transparent, high-level window into how a16z approaches modern growth investing, illustrated by concrete examples, frameworks, and plenty of personal anecdotes from David George. His focus on conviction, adaptability, and genuine company-building, along with the unique a16z model, set this apart as a must-listen for anyone interested in venture capital, the inner workings of top-tier growth investment, or startup-builder mentalities.