The a16z Show · Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Gary Tan advises founders to prioritize their own knowledge and insights over popular trends or consensus opinions. He believes that trusting personal experience, even when it contradicts external validation, is crucial for entrepreneurial success.
“The classic question that I'm sure you get all the time is what's hot and what should I work on? Right? And that's the wrong question to ask. Like the right question is, what are you interested in? What do you know uniquely?”
“I know that I am not a time traveler because if I was a time traveler, I would have sent a message back to myself and said, just stay working on web stuff. You literally have five years of experience on everyone else.”