a16z Podcast

a16z Podcast: Building Affirm, and Why Max Levchin Has Watched Seven Samurai 100-Plus Times

Max Levchin and Angela Strange

Posted February 4, 2016

Max Levchin helped build PayPal. Then he went onto tackle gaming at Slide. Now he’s back in the world of payments and finance with his latest startup Affirm. a16z’s Angela Strange talks with Levchin about Affirm’s opportunity in the world of finance, and how it aims to build trust among a customer base that doesn’t trust banks. Why building models around loans requires making bad loans, and finally, why everyone should start watching Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai — over and over.

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The a16z Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.

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