How To Build The Future: Paul Graham & Amjad Masad
Paul Graham talks with Replit founder Amjad Masad about how Replit got to AI coding agents first, why it now sells to big companies, and how to adapt when AI keeps changing everything.
The gist
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Masad says Replit's agent grew from watching non-coders paste code and errors between ChatGPT and Replit, so it loops until the program actually works.
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Graham's rule from first backing Replit: make something 10% easier for consumers and you get twice as many users, not 10% more.
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Masad says one company scoped a project at $10 million but spent $250,000 on Replit, and he thinks outsourcing is sort of dead.
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Masad argues against giving every employee a flat $100 monthly token budget, since one person can produce 100 times the value of another.
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To live in the future, Masad keeps making and revising predictions, trusts Kurzweil's steady compute curve, and urges people to keep their identity small.
"Your users, like to the extent anybody can see the future and be protected against bad things happening, your users are it cuz they're all using AI. Like if you want to use AI, Replit is the way to use it, right?"
▶ Play at 37:2012 creators recommend it, including Jason Lemkin, Chris Koerner, and 20VC with Harry Stebbings.
See all on the Replit page"I think most people, they're sort of rigid about 'this is my identity, this is what I do.' I mean, they should read Keep Your Identity Small, one of your essays."
▶ Play at 36:37What they recommend · 2 picks
"I think most people, they're sort of rigid about 'this is my identity, this is what I do.' I mean, they should read Keep Your Identity Small, one of your essays."
"Your users, like to the extent anybody can see the future and be protected against bad things happening, your users are it cuz they're all using AI. Like if you want to use AI, ..."
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See what they all swear by Or pick your own peopleAmjad Masad
1 pick · guest
"I think most people, they're sort of rigid about 'this is my identity, this is what I do.' I mean, they should read Keep Your Identity Small, one of your essays."
Paul Graham
1 pick · guest
"Your users, like to the extent anybody can see the future and be protected against bad things happening, your users are it cuz they're all using AI. Like if you want to use AI, ..."
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