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Caroline Horn

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  1. a16z30 min

    a16z Podcast | How Founders Hire a VP of Product

    Caroline Horn, Vijay Balasubramaniyan, Shishir Mehrotra, Gokul Rajaram, Alan Schaaf, Martin Casado, Shashir Mahotra

    This framework outlines the critical responsibilities and hiring criteria for a VP of Product, defining the ideal candidate as a strategic leader who combines engineering logic, design empathy, and diplomatic communication. Organizations are advised to appoint this role once their engineering team reaches 25–30 members, shifting from founder-led execution to a structured, product-centric model that emphasizes data analysis and long-term strategy. Successful onboarding requires a rigorous 60-day protocol involving a listening tour, organizational diagnosis, and decisive personnel changes to ensure the new leader establishes credibility and drives immediate impact.

  2. a16z20 min

    a16z Podcast | Hiring is Hard -- Here’s How to Do it Right

    Caroline Horn, Matt Oberhardt, Michael Copeland

    This session details how startup leaders can optimize executive hiring by establishing robust internal processes that leverage LinkedIn without overwhelming their workflow, particularly through CEO-led alignment and defined role scopes. It outlines critical retention strategies, including the use of pre-employment strategy sessions and clear 100-day plans to prevent the priority misalignments that frequently cause early-stage failures. The discussion further advises founders to engage retained search firms in parallel with their own networks and to reframe their talent approach as "Always Be Networking" to ensure continuous readiness for fluid organizational needs.