20VC: Turning Peter Thiel's $100K into $10M Angel Portfolio | The One Man Accelerator at The Four Seasons | Why VCs Can Be Sharks and What Founders Need to Know | Why Stocks and Cash are BS and You Should Invest in Land with Josh Browder
Josh Browder is my favourite emerging manager. As the Founder of Browder Capital he has been the first check into unicorns like Micro1, Owner.com and Yuzu Health to name a few. He turned his Thiel Fellowship Grant of $100K into a whopping $10M angel portfolio. All new investments move into Josh's Four Seasons Residence where he then trains them on company building. They are only allowed to leave when they raise their seed round. In addition to this, Josh is the Founder & CEO @ DoNotPay, the now profitable company that has raised $22M from Marc Andreessen and others.
AGENDA:
00:00 Why I believe young founders make the best founders
02:10 What do I look for in founders I'm investing in?
10:00 How I test for founder commitment pre-investment
11:00 What do I want to see in the childhoods of the entrepreneurs that I back?
12:05 Why I make founders live with me in my Four Seasons residence after investing
14:00 There are three reasons why pre-seed companies fail and how I solve for them
15:45 What do I look for in a team to assure me they will last?
16:50 Is $5 million post still attainable in this world?
17:15 Should we be worried about the increasing levels of fraud at the early stages?
18:10 Which Silicon Valley investor was the most impressive?
20:00 Do VCs really add value?
20:50 Does university carry less value than ever and should founders drop out if they have a dream and an idea?
24:00 The advice of one lawyer changed the entire trajectory of this multi-million dollar company
28:10 I would never invest in someone that I met over Zoom
29:20 Are all the best founders you invest in delusional?
31:10 What is the biggest benefit of being a Thiel Fellow?
36:20 The problem of accelerators and why artificial constraints can enforce quality
38:20 How we used Mark Zuckerberg's house as a viewing instrument tool to get users
41:20 My pre-seed cheque in Micro One is now worth hundreds of millions and my lessons
43:20 The biggest mistake VCs are making in assessing founders
44:10 Why I will never tell the entrepreneur what to build and why I place little value on ideas
47:00 Why kingmaking is real and why you should accept half the price from a tier one firm
49:00 My biggest lessons on reserve investing
53:00 Why price rounds are bullshit and we should do more SAFEs
54:20 What all founders need to know about signing with a VC
55:10 Single biggest advice to founders on how to get the best price
57:30 What role does not exist today that will be massive in five years' time?
59:10 Stocks are bullshit. Cash is bullshit. I put my money in land. My personal investing strategy
1:01:00 Why the Trump administration is unwaveringly good for US business
1:03:20 Why competitive markets are the best investments
1:05:40 The serendipity of San Francisco is unmatched
1:08:10 What things does no one know about Marc Andreessen that everyone should know?
E34: The Consumer Rights Revolution with Joshua Browder of DoNotPay
In this episode, Nathan sits down with Joshua Browder of DoNotPay, the world’s first robot lawyer. They chat about the current state of AI use in law, what policymakers should consider in regulating AI, and the ethics of robo-lawyers for consumer use.
We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.
RECOMMENDED PODCAST:
The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord.
https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(03:22) Joshua Browder and the story of DoNotPay
(04:50) The value incurred through an AI lawyer
(07:17) What are the legal and financial injustices that motivates Joshua’s work?
(12:46) How does the AI negotiate with a Comcast chat agent?
(16:28) Consumer security
(17:12) Sponsor: Omneky
(21:08) The ethics of DoNotPay
(22:27) Should AI need to disclose that it’s AI?
(24:47) How much human intervention is necessary in AI tooling?
(27:15) Where does the burden of proof lie for AI regulation and ethics?
(31:47) Advice to policymakers
(35:45) AI Liability
(38:05) AI Arms Race
(43:46) Productive bot interactions
(45:00) AI-powered arbitration
(49:28) How the consumer experience might change two years from now
(51:45) AI Superapps
(55:25) Moats in AI
(57:11) How much money does DoNotPay save people today?
(59:30) Consumer and enterprise timelines given AI
(01:06:30) What will AI replace?
(01:09:34) Impact of AI in different industries
(01:11:10) The legal field’s view of AI
(01:15:50) Deflationary factors in running DoNotPay
(01:25:00) What are non-obvious ways to save money?
(01:27:55) Joshua’s favorite AI tools
(01:28:17) Would Joshua get a Neuralink implant?
LINKS:
https://donotpay.com/
TWITTER:
@jbrowder1 (Joshua)
@DoNotPay (DoNotPay)
@CogRev_Podcast
@labenz (Nathan)
@eriktorenberg (Erik)
SPONSORS:
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NEWSLETTER:
More show notes and reading material released in our Substack: https://cognitiverevolution.substack.com
How worried—or excited—should we be about AI? Recode Media with Peter Kafka
AI is amazing… or terrifying, depending on who you ask. This is a technology that elicits strong, almost existential reactions. So, as a Memorial Day special, we're running an episode of Recode Media with Peter Kafka that digs into the giant ambitions and enormous concerns people have about the very same tech.
First up: Joshua Browder (@jbrowder1), a Stanford computer science dropout who tried to get an AI lawyer into court.
Then: Microsoft's CTO Kevin Scott (@kevin_scott) pitches a bright AI future.
Plus: hype-deflator, cognitive scientist and author Gary Marcus (@GaryMarcus) believes in AI, but he thinks the giants of Silicon Valley are scaling flawed technology now—with potentially dangerous consequences.
Subscribe for free to Recode Media to make sure you get the whole series: https://bit.ly/3IOpWuB
Pivot will return on Friday!
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SaaStr 649: Being a Rebel and Building a Movement: Non-Traditional Approaches to Scale with DoNotPay CEO Joshua Browder
In a crowded and distracted world, it can be hard to break through with customers, the media, recruiting and investors. Capturing the zeitgeist is more important than ever in making you stand out. In this session Josh will share his story building DoNotPay and how building a movement has given his company an advantage and the non-traditional lessons that he has learned.
Video: https://youtu.be/kORBMIxRLs4
Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software.
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Our North American Event: https://bit.ly/2OXeAYh
Our European Event: https://bit.ly/2OZTad8
The Robot Lawyer Resistance
What happens when you don’t have the resources to fight for your rights? Whether it’s a major medical bill or a more minor parking ticket… even if you were in the right, is it easier to just… pay?
Well, Joshua Browder's answer is Do Not Pay!
He’s built a thriving company of the same name, that helps consumers “fight corporations, beat bureaucracy, and sue anyone at the press of a button.” Through the power of technology, DoNotPay has resolved over 2m cases successfully and in this interview we get to hear where Browder hopes to take the organization, including his first-hand account of his recent plan to bring the robot lawyer into the physical courtroom.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Introduction
01:51 - DoNotPay’s origin
03:09 - Surprising laws
05:49 - General counsel for consumers
06:54 - The role of AI and technology
09:26 - Ensuring quality counsel
13:19 - Prioritizing features
14:43 - Corporate pushback
17:11 - Reshaping the legal system
20:28 - Entering the physical courtroom
24:50 - Cross border possibilities
26:14 - Looping humans into modeling
29:01 - Deflationary impacts
30:05 - Recent pushback
33:13 - Is AI already writing law?
35:15 - Why is law so complex?
37:54 - Entering the Supreme Court
38:38 - Lawyer support
39:47 - Looking forward
43:07 - Building horizontal vs vertical
45:28 - Does this law exist?
Resources:
DoNotPay: https://donotpay.com/
Find Josh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jbrowder1
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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The internet’s Robin Hood uses robo-lawyers to fight parking tickets and spam calls
DoNotPay offers more than 250 “automated justice” services in every US state, from suing robo-callers to annulling marriages to fighting eviction. It earned Joshua the title “Robin Hood of the internet.”
DoNotPay leverages AI and ML solutions, including GPT-3, to shape and refine its decision trees.
Read about how DoNotPay is helping crypto traders who’ve lost money file suit against fallen leaders.
Why PDFs are unfit for human (or computer) consumption.
Follow Joshua on Twitter.
Today’s Lifeboat badge goes to user EM-Creations for their answer to the question The PHP header() function is not redirecting.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Hustlers's Guide to Suing the Man
This is the next cycle (Q1 2020) of Hustlin' Tech, a podcast series (from the a16z Podcast) about technology platforms that create opportunities for people. Recorded right before the coronavirus pandemic, these next 3 episodes touch on many things that are top of mind right now: from the profession of nursing and taking care of the elderly and the professionalization of caregivers; to fighting bureaucracy to get money back (and to now get help delaying utility bills and rent payments that are eligible for an extension or waiver of late fees due to the coronavirus crisis).
Episode #6, “The Hustler’s Guide to Suing the Man” features:
Joshua Browder, CEO and founder of DoNotPay, the world's first "robot lawyer" which helps people automatically fight bureaucracy to get money back, whether parking tickets or hidden bank fees; find other hidden money or cancel free trials; sue others or go to small claims court -- and now also helps people delay utility bills and rent payments that are eligible for an extension or waiver of late fees due to the coronavirus crisis.
Makiri Duckett, a small business owner who currently operates an adult on-demand delivery service (and therefore gets frequent parking tickets) and is a power user of the platform;
...both interviewed by Ben Horowitz and Shaka Senghor.
You can find the first cycle of this series (Q4 2019) -- including more about the what and the why -- here.
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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E1007: DoNotPay CEO & Founder Josh Browder built an AI lawyer to fight corporations & governments, demos product features & how it helps consumers, shares insights on following in footsteps of his father Bill Browder, & future of consumer empowerment
0:51 Jason intros Josh Browder & DoNotPay
2:48 Starting DoNotPay in college
6:12 How much $ has DoNotPay saved citizens since launching in 2016?
7:46 Josh explains his product roadmap to Jason
15:14 DoNotPay's mission and how Wells Fargo scammed its customers
17:37 Josh takes us through DoNotPay's suite of features starting with the robot lawyer/chatbot
19:57 Josh describes the "Skip Waiting on Hold" feature
23:37 DoNotPay's "Contract Reading AI"
28:31 Benefits of capitalist markets when consumers are treated poorly
30:51 Thoughts on Facebook?
34:05 "Hidden $ Discovery" on DoNotPay
34:47 What is DoNotPay doing for immigration
41:59 Jason asks Josh about his father, Bill Browder life and book, "Red Notice"
48:47 What is the CCPA? How does it relate to DoNotPay?
54:59 Long-term vision of DoNotPay?
56:24 Full audio of Ryan Block's call with Comcast
Recode Decode: Hermitage Capital CEO Bill Browder
Recode's Kara Swisher talks with Hermitage Capital CEO Bill Browder, a hedge fund manager turned human rights activist and his son, Josh Browder, whose company DoNotPay helps consumers fight everything from parking tickets to the Equifax leaks. They talk about the different ways they have pursued justice for relatively powerless people, their entrepreneurial journeys, and how both the Putin regime and mega-corporations have taken advantage of the internet.
Featuring:
Bill Browder (@BillBrowder), Hermitage Capital CEO
Josh Browder (@JBrowder1), DoNotPay CEO
Hosts:
Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large
More to explore:
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