a16z(@a16z):Replit co-founder and CEO Amjad Masad says the job of young people is to be heretics and question society's deeply held beliefs: "What is college, and what is it for? A related question is: What is the utility of young people in society?" "We probably have a blind spot in society. We have a lot of blind spots in Silicon Valley. There are a lot of ideas that don't come out of Silicon Valley because there's a monoculture here." "There's a certain way of thinking. Every culture is somehow a monoculture, even the most radical cultures like Silicon Valley." "What do you need from young people? You need them to experiment. You need to encourage them to try impossible things." "Every now and then, they're going to have a breakthrough that once we thought was impossible, and now it's suddenly possible because the technology changed, something changed." "College ultimately should be about that. Let's get these people with clear minds, Zen mindsets, first-principles mindsets, and encourage them to question the deeply held beliefs." @amasad

2026.09.23 16:12

Replit co-founder and CEO Amjad Masad says the job of young people is to be heretics and question society's deeply held beliefs: "What is college, and what is it for? A related question is: What is the utility of young people in society?" "We probably have a blind spot in society. We have a lot of blind spots in Silicon Valley. There are a lot of ideas that don't come out of Silicon Valley because there's a monoculture here." "There's a certain way of thinking. Every culture is somehow a monoculture, even the most radical cultures like Silicon Valley." "What do you need from young people? You need them to experiment. You need to encourage them to try impossible things." "Every now and then, they're going to have a breakthrough that once we thought was impossible, and now it's suddenly possible because the technology changed, something changed." "College ultimately should be about that. Let's get these people with clear minds, Zen mindsets, first-principles mindsets, and encourage them to question the deeply held beliefs." @amasad

a16z@a16z

2026.09.23 15:05

Amjad Masad with Gagan Biyani and Erik Torenberg on HAA: The Horowitz Andreessen Academy The ideal education today is a place with room to meander, a space to go heads-down when you’re obsessed, alongside unconventional peers. Gagan sees it in every student he meets: the interesting thing they're building is happening outside class, unsupported. Amjad got really into chess and it evolved into a whole product line. The thesis behind HAA is side quests shouldn't be on the side. No grades, no tests. Trust is the design principle - Silicon Valley runs on it, so why not apply it to students? Empower ambitious young people to run with the ideas that have real gravity they can’t avoid. "Young people should be heretics… We respect the past, but we're unapologetically going to change it." 1:03 Why young people should be heretics 5:35 Amjad designs his ideal college 8:45 Side quests deserve more resources 10:55 Don't take a Python class 14:30 College vs. raising money at 18 17:15 Most teen startups are premature optimization 18:30 "I tried not to start Replit" 19:40 How a chess hobby became a Replit product 24:25 The self-driving company 26:30 Respect the past, change it anyway 28:50 What Oakland politics taught Gagan about trust 31:50 Why trust works better than rules 36:35 The positive-sum culture HAA wants to pass on 39:20 Speaking to the world vs. speaking to the in-group 41:05 How Amjad found his moral compass 44:00 What Amjad looks for in young talent YouTube: @amasad @gaganbiyani @eriktorenberg

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