Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Jack Altman is the Managing Partner of Alt Capital, a $275 million early-stage fund, and the co-founder and chairman of Lattice, which is used by more than 5,000 companies. In this interview, Jack talks about the pressure founders face to chase revenue early, how customer demands can pull teams off course on their roadmap, and how to avoid traps that stall real growth.
00:00 - Introduction
01:19 - From Operator to Founder
04:44 - Developing Lattice & Finding Product-Market Fit
07:20 - Balancing Customer Requests & Company Roadmap
09:28 - Selling the Product & Raising the Bar
13:48 - Co-Founder Dynamics & Early Team
16:26 - Lessons Learned from Startup Accelerators
18:05 - Managing Hirings & Investors at an Early Stage
23:19 - Building the Machine as CEO
26:27 - What's Different from Then to Now
💡 Are you a founder building the next big thing? Join Speedrun, the startup accelerator designed to help founders move fast with capital, mentorship, and top investors.
👉 Apply now: speedrun.a16z.com
📲 Follow us for more insights:
X (Twitter): https://x.com/speedrun
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/school/a16zspeedrun
#a16z #speedrun #altcapital #startup
Jack Altman is the Managing Partner of Alt Capital, a $275 million early-stage fund, and the co-founder and chairman of Lattice, which is used by more than 5,000 companies. In this interview, Jack talks about the pressure founders face to chase revenue early, how customer demands can pull teams off course on their roadmap, and how to avoid traps that stall real growth.
00:00 - Introduction
01:19 - From Operator to Founder
04:44 - Developing Lattice & Finding Product-Market Fit
07:20 - Balancing Customer Requests & Company Roadmap
09:28 - Selling the Product & Raising the Bar
13:48 - Co-Founder Dynamics & Early Team
16:26 - Lessons Learned from Startup Accelerators
18:05 - Managing Hirings & Investors at an Early Stage
23:19 - Building the Machine as CEO
26:27 - What's Different from Then to Now
💡 Are you a founder building the next big thing? Join Speedrun, the startup accelerator designed to help founders move fast with capital, mentorship, and top investors.
👉 Apply now: speedrun.a16z.com
📲 Follow us for more insights:
X (Twitter): https://x.com/speedrun
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/school/a16zspeedrun
#a16z #speedrun #altcapital #startup
