Sam Shank

Loved @bgurley’s Runnin’ Down a Dream - highly recommend. It hit at the right time as I think about my next decade. The biggest takeaway for me: follow fascination, not passion.

@ItsSnibby @Tesla Thx! several of the lights on my way home are completely deterministic and rules based. was thinking the model could build understanding of them over time through observation - which is essentially how I personally have determined the pattern and optimize my route.

@samshank @Tesla this is actually a pretty smart edge case idea, but it gets messy fast in real world intersections because light phases aren’t deterministic enough at scale and you end up optimizing for short bursts instead of global flow. still interesting direction though. followed u g

An idea for @Tesla navigation: optimize routes based on real-time traffic light sequencing. Example: if going left or straight at a traffic light takes the same amount of time to get to your destination, but the left-turn arrow comes before the main green, the car should choose based on the light state. Green main light? Go straight. Red light or Green turn arrow? Take the left.

@StravaSupport I've had a support ticket in with you unresolved for 2 weeks - I've had a few updates that you're still looking into it but 2 weeks is a long time. Would love to be able to access the account I paid for...

@DbauerBR549 @Starlink @united I’m thinking of a higher resolution real time four dimensional model. My flight was bumpy for 90 mins despite the pilot trying different elevations by trial and error that had worked for an earlier flight.

Had @Starlink on a @united flight last week - it's amazing how good it is. One idea is that the hardware should include accelerometers to track flight turbulence and create a real time map of flight conditions to aid other pilots in avoiding turbulent areas.

Really proud of what we are building at @standinsurance. Big vision, exceptional execution, and a mission that matters more every year.

Demo day for @speedrun 006 underway!

@eleelenawa @MaCVentureCap @fcubedvc @speedrun Congrats! Amazing to see what you’re bringing to the world.

Taya is jewelry first. Surveillance never. We just raised $5M led by @MaCVentureCap, @fcubedvc, a16z @speedrun. Directional mics and voice isolation capture just you. Single-player mode. Privacy isn't a feature, it's an architectural decision. TechCrunch exclusive in the comments! 👇

@jrichlive Thanks @jrichlive - we were lucky to have you as investors and your candid and constructive advice during those zags was key to our getting out of them!

Lucky to be an investor with @samshank and HT. I'd argue he's underplaying the complexity of the business he was in - brutally competitive and extremely difficult to scale - but he and the team pulled it off with relentless focus after many zigs and zags. Worth a read...🤞

@JamesTyler___ Yes we did - tens of millions of free cash flow. But it took many years to build the supply and demand sides of the marketplace before we changed focus to ebitda/cash flow.

@samshank The metric you are looking for is called free cash generation. Did HotelTonight ever produce free cash?

Congrats @JeffreyChernick! Was very fun to work with you on a chapter in this book - perhaps the closest I'll ever get to writing my own book!

Hey @jgebbia design idea for you. I had federal court jury duty the past 2 weeks - I was happy to do my part for the judicial process, though I had to login to the website each day at 5pm to check my status. Tedious and easy to forget! I should have been able to sign up for an email or text status alerts.

@tkexpress11 Couldn't agree more. Taking it a step further, I expect to see fully branded robotaxis - like a Starbucks car, or an Amazon Prime car - with built in F&B / vending.

we're about to have Waymo, Uber robotaxi, Tesla Robotaxi and Zoox on the road in SF... increasingly, beyond the table stakes cost and wait time, the battle for consumer $ will come to the best "driver experience" (i.e. comfy seats, leg room, awesome tech/digital displays) this will feel like an embarrassment of riches and that we're living in a tech golden age already. But expect: - wifi on board - foldable tables/desks (once drivers seat removed) - display connected to netflix, youtube TV, etc - cloud streamed gaming - your virtual AI voice assistant auto connected can't wait

@kenanhsaleh I think you’re right and I’m excited for this. One thing that would greatly help is an AI native distribution method. I’m keeping an eye on GEO or GPT app stores

In 2026, I believe we'll see a Consumer AI Renaissance. Consumer spending is the lifeblood of the US economy – representing more than 65% of US GDP. AI is already rapidly transforming how we spend both our money and time. In just the past 3 years, ChatGPT has become the fastest growing consumer product in history – reaching billions of users with engagement levels similar to social media apps like WhatsApp and Instagram. And with recent advancement in AI capabilities, I predict we’ll see a new wave of breakout consumer AI applications. We’ve seen major advances in three key areas: 1. Real-time voice AI - which allows users to engage with AI products in a natural, hands-free way 2. Advanced reasoning models - which improves the complexity of questions AI products can answer 3. Embedded Memory - which allows AI products to remember context between conversations, enabling more personalized responses With these new capabilities, we can now build AI products that are 10x better than before. I’m especially excited about products that use AI to make previously expensive services cheaper and more accessible, sometimes using human-in-the-loop to start. This includes things like AI travel agents, personal assistants, matchmakers, therapists, tutors, and more. We’ve already seen a number of early-stage teams working on these at @a16z @speedrun – and we’re excited to meet more. If you’re building the next generation of consumer AI, we’d love to hear from you! h/t to @Theresa_M_Horne @Avenir_Growth whose excellent research helped inspire some of these insights.

@usmangul @MetalRaise this would have been a huge help in the early days of fundraising for me!

Most founders end up talking to the wrong investors. As a result, they end up getting the wrong feedback from the market. We built @MetalRaise to help founders identify investors that are actually likely to invest, using real historical data. In this video, we explain with examples how it works:

Fun talking with you @kentlind! Covered a lot of territory and lessons learned.

Latest episode with @samshank, who built @HotelTonight the groundbreaking last-minute hotel booking app acquired by @Airbnb . How HotelTonight cracked the App Store rankings, turned perishable hotel inventory into gold, and ultimately became a perfect strategic fit for Airbnb.

@_CallMeMacy Detecting fakes (and finding legit deals and used items on long tail sites) will be key features! We’ll give you credit Macy!

@samshank Uhh Sam… can you intro me to your ai shopping agent plz? 😳

AI is about to change how we buy things. The last generation of marketplaces optimized for search: List the inventory. Add filters. Sort by price. Remove friction. That playbook is exhausted. What comes next are AI-powered marketplaces with agents that work for you - not just showing options, but advocating on your behalf. Key things they will do: • Understand your constraints and preferences • Decide when to buy, not just what • Negotiate across sellers to get the best outcome Instead of scrolling, you’ll delegate. The future of commerce isn’t better discovery. It’s decision-making and execution on your behalf.