Founding SafeGraph and theory-driven bets

Intro

Today’s episode features Auren Hoffman founder of LiveRamp ($RAMP), Flex Capital, Dialog, Safegraph and NQB8. This is one of the most interesting conversations I have had on the show so far and probably the best.

He grew LiveRamp to a $300m exit, has invested in 180+ companies through Flex Capital, a seed stage fund, is chair of Safegraph ($370m data company backed by Sapphire Ventures, Peter Thiel, Ridge Ventures) and is host of World of DaaS, a podcast and community for data nerds.

Auren is thinking of and validating new ideas on almost a weekly cadence. He continues to start new companies through NQB8 which includes a few successful spin outs. He also has a great blog post on it if you are interested in exploring different type of spinouts and how you should think about them as a startup.

Highlights

* Choosing What To Pursue. Why LiveRamp’s bet on vendor sprawl (not consolidation) was right, and how SafeGraph’s bet on a “data-buying explosion” may find its moment with AI.

* Succession Planning. Why founders should promote from within even if it means higher failure rates.

* Who You Know vs. What You Know. Why skills matter more than connections in today’s economy (but not in every industry), and how AI could shift the balance again.

* Career Time Horizons. Why optimizing for the mid-term is a trap, and how Auren thinks about fun in the short term while keeping eyes on the long game.

* Why Community is the Future. Why repeated, in-person interactions compound and why the most powerful communities will never be replaced by AI.

* Spotting 10x Talent & Founders. After funding, hiring, and working with hundreds of people, he explains why identifying 10x talent is more art.

* Decision Making. His framework for understanding micro-time, short-time, long-time, and big-time thinkers and why most CEOs thrive in the “hours-to-days” zone.

Hope you enjoy the show!

Watch on YouTube:

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:14 - Can you categorize founder archetypes?

02:36 - Upbringing & early entrepreneurship

04:10 - College and job experiences

09:05 - Hiring for age v. experience, succession planning

19:20 - Choosing What to Pursue

29:15 - Insight for Safegraph

37:05 - The importance of community in the AI age

42:42 - Capitalizing on a successful podcast

47:09 - Outsiders vs Insiders

51:32 - Why founders like Thiel are not in the government

53:53 - When should founders transition to board Chair

56:30 - Investing at Flex Capital

1:01:05 - Decision Makers: Short Time, Long Time and Big Time

1:09:41 - Learning from people below the ladder

1:12:27 - Conspiracy Theories

1:18:18 - Favorite interview questions and evaluating talent

1:26:23 - Are ambition and persistence linked?

1:30:10 - Reading fewer books and favorite TV shows

1:42:18 - Signing off

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