David Haber

General partner at Andreessen Horowitz focused on technology investments in B2B software and financial services. He previously worked at Spark Capital, founded SMB lending company Bond Street, and later worked in strategy at Goldman Sachs after Bond Street was acquired.

Culture and Distribution Powered Blackstone’s Rise to Nearly $1 Trillion

Tony James, former president and COO of Blackstone, tells David Haber on the a16z Show that his career at DLJ, Costco and Blackstone was defined less by asset class than by a repeatable operating pattern: enter under-scaled franchises before the opportunity is priced, then use culture, disciplined decision-making and structure to let them compound. He argues Blackstone’s rise from roughly $16bn in assets to near $1tn depended on turning a collection of subscale businesses into a firm-level machine, with investment committees, distribution and succession treated as sources of advantage rather than administrative chores.

a16zMay 7, 202620 min read