Jonathan Swanson has built two rare successes: Thumbtack, the home-services marketplace, and Athena, the fast-growing platform that pairs ambitious people with world-class personal assistants. Today he runs a 4,000-person company, invests on the side, and raises four kids — all by designing his life around leverage.a16z General Partner, Erik Torenberg, sits down with Jonathan to unpack what that actually looks like. They discuss how elite assistant culture shaped his philosophy, why delegation is a skill most founders never truly learn, and how the combination of humans and AI is redefining personal productivity. Jonathan explains why he believes ambition grows with leverage, not the other way around, and breaks down how he delegates everything from scheduling to search processes to entire life systems.They also get into the future of work, the rise of machine-generated delegation, the expanding role of chiefs of staff, and how founders can design their time around the few things that matter most. It’s a conversation about work, life, and the systems that allow people to operate at scale. Resources:Follow Jonathan on X: <a href="https://x.com/swaaanson">https://x.com/swaaanson</a>Follow our host: <a href="https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg">https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg</a> Stay Updated:If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z">https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z</a>Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX](https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX">https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX</a>Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711</a>Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see <a href="http://a16z.com/disclosures](http://a16z.com/disclosures)">http://a16z.com/disclosures</a>.
Stay Updated:Find a16z on <a href="https://x.com/a16z">X</a>Find a16z on<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z"> LinkedIn</a>Listen to the a16z Show on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX?si=3E8B3qT9TyiwAHJ7JnaKbg">Spotify</a>Listen to the a16z Show on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711">Apple Podcasts</a>Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg&nbsp;Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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