The a16z Show
Don’t Follow Your Passion | Ben Horowitz’s Advice for New Graduates
The a16z Show discusses tech and culture trends, news, and the future – especially as ‘software eats the world’. It features industry experts, business leaders, and other interesting thinkers and voices from around the world. This show is produced by Andreessen Horowitz (aka “a16z”), a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. Multiple episodes are released every week; visit a16z.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletters and other content as well!
Show Notes
In this commencement address to Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science Class of 2015, Ben Horowitz challenges some of the most common advice given to graduates.
Rather than urging students to “follow their passion,” Horowitz argues that people should focus on developing their strengths and making meaningful contributions to the world. Drawing on stories from his own time at Columbia, the founding of technology companies, and investments in startups like Airbnb, he explores the importance of independent thinking, conviction, and pursuing ideas that others may initially dismiss.
Along the way, Horowitz discusses technological progress, entrepreneurship, opportunity, and why he believes today's graduates are entering a world defined less by unprecedented challenges than by unprecedented possibilities.
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