Robert Smith on Unfettered Conversations with A and Z
- Robert's foundational experiences growing up [3:03]
- His introduction to computers, how he got an internship at Bell Labs, and what he learned there [6:38]
- Why he studied chemical engineering [13:15]
- Working at Kraft and engineering macaroni and cheese [15:08]
- Why he moved to investing [18:12]
- How he realized that it made sense to do buyouts in enterprise software [23:19]
- Creating a common playbook for running enterprise software companies [30:45]
- How does he think about retaining vs replacing founders [34:54]
- Vista's approach to evaluating talent and getting people in the right roles [37:02]
- Robert's next ambition [46:10]
- His philosophy of philanthropy [49:15]
- Why he paid off the student debt for Morehouse College Class of 2019 [1:00]
For our upcoming schedule of Clubhouse conversations, follow the a16z Club on Clubhouse or visit a16z.com/clubhouse.