Article · 20 min read

Big Ideas in Tech

a16z partners · Andreessen Horowitz Free Intermediate

Each year a16z partners publish the problems they think startups will tackle next, which is less a prediction and more a map of where serious money and attention are about to flow. Reading it shows you what a room of full time trend watchers is paying attention to. Treat it as a prompt to argue with, not as gospel.

  • See where investors expect the next wave to form.
  • It signals attention and capital, not certainty.
  • Use it as a list to interrogate, not to follow.

It answers 2 questions

  1. How do I spot trends early enough to build a startup on them?
  2. How do I tell the difference between a trend that only matters to Silicon Valley and one that will actually land in India?

Read with it

  1. The CRED and Freecharge founder on building in India, including his line that Indian founders rush to solutions and underinvest... Lenny's Podcast Podcast · ~90 min Kunal Shah on winning in India, second-order thinking, and the philosophy of startups Kunal Shah (with Lenny Rachitsky)
  2. Twice a year Evans publishes a free deck reading the macro and strategic shifts in tech, strong on second order effects, not... ben-evans.com Article · 90+ slides Benedict Evans: annual tech trend presentations Benedict Evans
  3. The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past... momtestbook.com Book · ~130 pages The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick
  4. The definitive essay on where good ideas come from: notice problems you personally have, don't force it. Use it as the lens for... paulgraham.com Essay · ~20 min read How to Get Startup Ideas Paul Graham
  5. A YC partner turns 'how do I get an idea' into a concrete checklist you can run today, plus the traps (tarpit ideas) that sink... YC Startup Library Video · ~50 min How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas Jared Friedman (Y Combinator)
  6. The definitive short read on why disruptive ideas get dismissed as toys, and why that dismissal is your opening. It reframes... cdixon.org Article · ~5 min read The Next Big Thing Will Start Out Looking Like a Toy Chris Dixon
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