.@DavidGeorge83 leads @a16z Growth, which has backed some of the most successful technology companies including Stripe, SpaceX, Waymo, Databricks, Figma, OpenAI, and Cursor. This conversation is a detailed look at how David built and runs the growth business. He shares how they win the most competitive deals, the principles behind its culture, and the framework he uses to evaluate companies. We discuss how a16z is investing across the AI stack -- from model providers to applications -- and why this platform shift creates a real window for startups to displace incumbents. Throughout the episode, David shares the models that guide his investing: why markets misprice consistent growth, what makes "pull" businesses so powerful, and why he likes to back a certain kind of founder he calls the "technical terminator." It’s fun to talk with students of the game, and David is certainly one of them. He's spent his career studying great companies, markets, and founders, and you can feel that depth in how clearly he connects patterns across cycles. Enjoy! Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 6:54 Enterprise AI 10:23 Lessons from Waymo 16:17 Technical Terminators 22:34 The "Glengarry Glen Ross" Rule 31:23 Winning Competitive Deals 42:24 The "Yankees" Mindset 46:13 Decision Making 51:12 Model Busters 53:42 Push vs. Pull Markets 1:10:23 How Startups Beat Incumbents 1:13:38 The Kindest Thing