Workflow
Personal Productivity
icon
Search documents
He Built a $3B+ Company. This is his next BIG IDEA.
a16z· 2025-12-10 15:57
Company Overview & Strategy - Jonathan Swanson built Thumbtack, a home-services marketplace, and Athena, a fast-growing platform that pairs ambitious people with world-class personal assistants [1] - Jonathan Swanson runs a 4,000-person company, invests, and raises four kids by designing his life around leverage [1] - The discussion revolves around work, life, and systems that enable people to operate at scale [1] Delegation & Productivity - The conversation explores how elite assistant culture shaped Jonathan Swanson's philosophy and why delegation is a skill most founders never truly learn [1] - The report highlights the combination of humans and AI in redefining personal productivity [1] - Jonathan Swanson believes ambition grows with leverage and delegates everything from scheduling to search processes to entire life systems [1] - The report touches on the future of work, the rise of machine-generated delegation, and the expanding role of chiefs of staff [1] Talent & Team Management - The discussion includes global talent and scaling teams [1] - The report covers hiring and managing executives [1] - The report also covers co-founder dynamics and taking the leap [1] Future Trends - The future of Athena is discussed, along with final advice [1]