You’re not talking to someone who woke up a loser. That loser attitude, that loser premise makes no sense to me.
Menlo Park, CA
Joined May 2007
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Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
when we first had the idea of creating this show, production asked me who my dream guest would be. I instantly said Keller.
I interviewed him once before on MTS. It was only a 30 minute convo, but I came away feeling incredibly inspired. during that interview I asked what motivated him, and he told me about his love for sci-fi books and how he wanted to build the sci-fi version of the future we were promised.
today, most people know of Zipline for their big partnership announcements and their recent $1.5B fundraise. but it didn’t start out that way. when Zipline began, flying autonomous drones in US airspace was illegal, and investors don’t typically want to invest in illegal things.
yet, Keller knew this technology would exist one day. so they found a use case so important that regulators wanted to work with them - delivering blood to hospitals in Rwanda. and after 6 years, they finally built up enough of a track record to get commercial approval to operate in the states.
A few things I learned from Keller:
- the next breakthroughs will start in the places that feel the problem the most.
- if you want to solve big global problems, focus on “trade, not aid.”
- a world where delivery feels like teleportation isn’t that far away.
Keller has some of the boldest predictions about the future of anyone I’ve met. predictions that many people disagreed with for a decade. and yet, he pursued it anyway, knowing that this scifi version of the future had to exist.
excited and honored to share his story. The Method E1 with @Zipline CEO @keller out now.
The Method E1: Inside Zipline with Keller Cliffton
It was illegal to fly autonomously in US airspace when Keller Cliffton started Zipline, and most investors "weren't willing to invest in illegal things." Zipline launched in Rwanda instead, flying blood to 21 hospitals. It's now valued at $21.5 billion.
@Keller, co-founder and CEO of Zipline, sat down with @sophiadew at Zipline's South San Francisco factory to break down why they started in Rwanda, why each 10x jump in scale breaks everything, and the case for 50 billion US instant deliveries:
00:00 the closest thing to teleportation
01:38 why Zipline launched in Rwanda first
03:14 the UPenn study and a 51% drop in maternal mortality
04:17 why tech keeps solving "rich people problems"
06:00 bringing Zipline to the US and going back to square one
07:28 why every 10x breaks the company
09:16 running teams like special forces
10:42 people patting the droid to say thank you
11:19 the case for 50 billion US instant deliveries
13:30 from pro rock climber to "happy to fail"
@zipline
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
SITUATION EXPLAINED: The Method's 1st EP tells the story of Zipline, the $21.5B drone company that spent a decade flying blood to hospitals in Rwanda.
• Zipline was founded in 2014, and Rwanda's president opened its first blood delivery service in October 2016
• Early on, the team recovered its drones with a bouncy castle
• A Wharton study found its blood deliveries cut deaths from severe bleeding after childbirth in Rwandan hospitals by 51%
• Zipline has made more than 3 million deliveries worldwide, and its median order in October arrived 19 minutes after checkout
• Last week, they raised $1.5B at a $21.5B valuation, nearly 3x the $7.6B it was valued at in January
@sophiadew: "I could see in a very short time from now, you just snap your fingers, you ask for a toothbrush, and a flying drone delivers it in the sky in T minus 10 minutes."
The Method E1: Inside Zipline with Keller Cliffton
It was illegal to fly autonomously in US airspace when Keller Cliffton started Zipline, and most investors "weren't willing to invest in illegal things." Zipline launched in Rwanda instead, flying blood to 21 hospitals. It's now valued at $21.5 billion.
@Keller, co-founder and CEO of Zipline, sat down with @sophiadew at Zipline's South San Francisco factory to break down why they started in Rwanda, why each 10x jump in scale breaks everything, and the case for 50 billion US instant deliveries:
00:00 the closest thing to teleportation
01:38 why Zipline launched in Rwanda first
03:14 the UPenn study and a 51% drop in maternal mortality
04:17 why tech keeps solving "rich people problems"
06:00 bringing Zipline to the US and going back to square one
07:28 why every 10x breaks the company
09:16 running teams like special forces
10:42 people patting the droid to say thank you
11:19 the case for 50 billion US instant deliveries
13:30 from pro rock climber to "happy to fail"
@zipline
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
The Method E1: Inside Zipline with Keller Cliffton
It was illegal to fly autonomously in US airspace when Keller Cliffton started Zipline, and most investors "weren't willing to invest in illegal things." Zipline launched in Rwanda instead, flying blood to 21 hospitals. It's now valued at $21.5 billion.
@Keller, co-founder and CEO of Zipline, sat down with @sophiadew at Zipline's South San Francisco factory to break down why they started in Rwanda, why each 10x jump in scale breaks everything, and the case for 50 billion US instant deliveries:
00:00 the closest thing to teleportation
01:38 why Zipline launched in Rwanda first
03:14 the UPenn study and a 51% drop in maternal mortality
04:17 why tech keeps solving "rich people problems"
06:00 bringing Zipline to the US and going back to square one
07:28 why every 10x breaks the company
09:16 running teams like special forces
10:42 people patting the droid to say thank you
11:19 the case for 50 billion US instant deliveries
13:30 from pro rock climber to "happy to fail"
@zipline
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
A live jazz night in ancient Rome, where every sound comes out of a physically simulated body. No samples, no synthesizers: only air, flesh and brass.
The crowd is still buzzing when the MC walks out: "Good evening, Rome!" He brings the band on one by one, and each player answers with a lick. Brutus plays bass sitting down, so the chair rattles along with him. Nero drums with nothing but a bare sphincter. Maximus has a slide trombone and Octavius a saxophone, both plugged in where a mouthpiece would never normally go. The camera cuts in close to show how it works: the rectum is the air supply, the sphincter does the job of a trumpet player's lips, and the horn takes it from there.
Then Signora Flatula counts it in ("Five, six, seven, eight!") and the band tears into "When the Saints Go Marching In". She sings the first chorus, the sax takes a solo while the whole amphitheatre claps along on two and four without using its hands, and by the last chorus everyone is singing: the band and the crowd.
It ends the way a concert should, with a held chord, a drum roll and a standing ovation. Nobody uses their hands for that either.
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
i gave this repo to fable 5.2 (via my claude agent fig) and told him to have fun making something interesting...
def feels interesting to me (stay for the turn)
i am continually astounded at the creative choices these advanced models are making
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
how it feels to win the golden cannon🥇
about to give away fifty thousand dollars on stream THE SLOPPIES LIVE
teapaw.org/i/broadcasts/2rJqygvkE…
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
THE SLOPPIES LIVE
teapaw.org/i/broadcasts/2rJqygvkE…
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
about to give away fifty thousand dollars on stream THE SLOPPIES LIVE
teapaw.org/i/broadcasts/2rJqygvkE…
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
Announcing the Round 1 $420.69 winner!
Elon: "Who put your beliefs into your head? It probably wasn’t you."
Round 2 is open now
Announcing a contest! 💸💸
I'll give $420.69 in @XMoney to someone who makes the best Claudia music video by Friday, 10pm EST USA!
$69.42 for runner up
To make it easy: use the Claudia MCP at claudia.gallery
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
Announcing a contest! 💸💸
I'll give $420.69 in @XMoney to someone who makes the best Claudia music video by Friday, 10pm EST USA!
$69.42 for runner up
To make it easy: use the Claudia MCP at claudia.gallery
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
The first episode totally exceeded my expectations. I would watch The Method even if I wasn't at MTS.
There are a small number of people who have a truly disproportionate impact on the world. I can't wait to learn about how more of these people work
Every world-changing company starts with someone who sees things differently.
The Method goes beyond the company to understand the person behind it, how they think, and the future they’re building toward.
A new @MTSlive original mini-doc series by @sophiadew.
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
Every world-changing company starts with someone who sees things differently.
The Method goes beyond the company to understand the person behind it, how they think, and the future they’re building toward.
A new @MTSlive original mini-doc series by @sophiadew.
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
today we launched The Method, an @MTSlive original mini-doc series that tells the story of the founders behind the world’s most important companies.
since joining MTS, I’ve interviewed hundreds of founders. and the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that the best founders are deeply optimistic. when you understand how they think, what motivates them, and why they dedicate their lives to shaping the world, you can’t help but want to do it too.
a lot of the personal ambitions in my life have come from reading memoirs. I remember reading Shoe Dog, and feeling inspired by how Phil Knight relentlessly pursued what he knew to be true, even though the rest of the world didn't see it yet. when Nike was founded, “personal fitness” wasn’t a thing, working out was a fringe subculture, and people would even spit on runners in the street. then Phil came along and changed the world’s relationship to fitness forever.
even if you don’t personally care about running, Phil’s story was a reminder that the future is malleable and every person has agency to shape it.
today, people are launching rockets and curing cancer. there are no limits to what's possible. information is democratized, the cost of building is practically free, and entrepreneurship is on the rise. It's never been a better time to act on your ambitions. and understanding others who have done so, gives us a blueprint on how to do the same.
a big thank you to all the people who brought The Method to life. MTS is expanding beyond a livestream to a full media network and today marks the start of this new era. first episode airs tomorrow!
Every world-changing company starts with someone who sees things differently.
The Method goes beyond the company to understand the person behind it, how they think, and the future they’re building toward.
A new @MTSlive original mini-doc series by @sophiadew.
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
SLOPTOBERFEST winners have been decided!
The First Annual Sloppies will be livestreamed Monday November 9th at 8pm EST with a demo of an exciting new feature we think you will love.
Big thanks to @pmarca for sponsoring the first Golden Cannon d'Or grand prize as well as all judges, sponsors, and participants.
The past two months have been a whirlwind for me. I have no comparable experiences. What started as a bit has become my life's work. It is an honor to be given this slopportunity.
I've seen people change their lives with the cannon. I've watched as they uncork their creative side and pour forth video after video as they adapt to their new powers. These secret creatives stuffed into a box by the world, jaded by their careers, suddenly able to feel the joy of creation again.
It is a blessing to be able to watch this little miracle unfold and it fills me with gratitude everyday. We are doing something important here.
THE SLOPPIES. MONDAY 8PM EST. NEW FEATURE DEBUT. GET IN THE CANNON.
🤖 Made with AI
Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 retweeted
Scott Kupor (@skupor) was the first hire at Andreessen Horowitz. Marc and Ben still joke that if he had said yes sooner, the firm would be called Andreessen, Kupor, Horowitz.
His job description: "We're going to invest, and you need to figure out everything else."
Scott spent 16 years helping grow a16z from 3 people to about 700. Now he runs the Office of Personnel Management, the HR department for 2 million federal employees.
Scott explains how a16z borrowed Michael Ovitz's playbook from CAA, why only 7% of the federal workforce is under 30, and why 400 million pages of retirement records sit in an underground limestone mine in Pennsylvania.
This is a fascinating conversation about incentives, talent, and what it takes to turn a 2.3-million-person oil tanker.
0:00 Quitting HP mid-financial crisis to join a16z
1:37 His first day
4:00 How a16z copied Michael Ovitz's CAA playbook
10:18 After-hours bourbon in Marc Andreessen's office
13:31 The Skype deal that returned half the first fund
18:37 Why VCs thought marketing was beneath them
21:48 Swallowing his ego as a16z grew
27:12 Why he left a16z to run the government's HR
30:37 Why government is afraid to take any risk
33:24 Why 99.7% of federal employees get a passing grade
36:13 Recruiting 1,000 engineers into government
38:37 Only 7% of the federal workforce is under 30
40:31 Why "a job for life" is the wrong pitch
43:09 Why the government would never have hired Big Balls
46:39 Why DOGE had to be a big bang
48:56 The underground mine with 400 million pages of paper
55:28 Why government has to accept some failure
57:14 How young people can join
Includes paid partnerships.