The a16z Show · Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Adam Neumann discussed how his dyslexia, which made reading difficult until the third grade, has been a driving force in developing his problem-solving skills and an ability to think outside the box. He credits learning to mask his difficulties and finding alternative solutions as key to his entrepreneurial success.
“So being dyslexic, always throughout my life, forced me to learn how to deal with things.”
“And it's 100% teaches you to think outside of the box. Whatever solution anybody else has, it's not going to work for me. So now let's see what I can do.”
“It makes you, when you see someone else who's disabled and doesn't matter what kind of disability because for one thing, each one of us has something that bothers us. And we think it's big for us, but someone else might think it's not. It makes you care.”