This week, we speak withBenedict Evans of Andreessen Horowitz. (subscribe to his newsletter here).

Evans joined the famed venture capital firm since 2014. A longtime mobile analyst, Evans has been in the media and technology industries for 15 years, working in strategy and business development for NBC Universal, Channel 4 and Orange. He previously worked as a sell-side equity analyst covering European telecoms.

He explains why valuations matter so much less in venture capital then it does in public markets. He discusses some of the controversies around Facebook: its privacy issues, data scraping and how Zuckerberg has pushed these issues to the edge of the envelope. We take a lot of these issues for granted in tech, without thinking about we got to where we are.

Evans observes the ubiquity of technology—robust processing power in the compact, individualized-but-always-connected form of a phone—has made technology no longer a separate industry but an integral element of every industry.

His favorite books are referenced here; our conversation transcript is published here.

You can stream/download the full conversation, including the podcast extras on iTunes, Bloomberg, Overcast, and Soundcloud. Our earlier podcasts can all be found on iTunes, Soundcloud, Overcast and Bloomberg.

Next week, we speak with famed short seller Jim Chanos, President and founder of Kynikos Associates.

Benedict Evans Favorite Books

The Iliad by Homer



Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts: Twelve Journeys into the Medieval World by Christopher de Hamel



How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson

