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read my sauce

I build consumer AI companies. This is where I think out loud.

A dotted quest path through five levels, from apply to demo day, on a dark starfield under the title the master quest guide.🔥 latest drophow to get into a16z speedrun: the master quest guide (updated for SR008)Everything I wish I had before our speedrun interview: the questions, the people, the hidden signals and the sauce. Rebuilt for SR008 with the new deal, the real odds and what the partners now say they read.07 Oct 2026 · 15 min read

the archive

  1. 23 Sepyou cannot buy a k factor5 min
  2. 16 Sepflamme's k factor was 0.7. only 0.2 of it counted.6 min
  3. 09 Septhe best acquisitions aren't rescues. they're puzzle pieces.4 min
  4. 26 Augyour personal brand is a distribution channel4 min
  5. 14 AugOrganic or Paid: The Question I Get Asked Most, and Why It's the Wrong One4 min
  6. 12 Augrelationship wellness is about to do what fitness already did4 min
  7. 29 Julhere's what i'm building after flamme4 min
  8. 21 Juli sold my company because i sent a cold dm, with no ask4 min
  9. 20 Jul50 million views didn't get flamme acquired. 50% retention did.3 min
  10. 30 Junoriginality is a tax. and you need to stop paying it.4 min
  11. 30 Junthe barrier to building is gone, but the barrier to distribution is still standing high.4 min
  12. 16 Junmaking content got cheap. distribution didn't.6 min
  13. 12 Juni got 50 million organic views, i still don’t know how to go viral from scratch (and neither should you)12 min
  14. 09 Junthe ai app gold rush is over, now comes the hard part6 min
  15. 08 Juntrump made me go sober, and I thank him for it10 min
  16. 05 Junyou get only eight shots in life12 min