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Video · 2026-07-17 · 26m · 6 moments

Amjad Masad on Memes, Media, and Building Replit in Public | a16z

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GUEST Amjad Masad

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01
Anecdote◆

Repl.it would probably have died if Amjad hadn't told a story bigger than the company itself, using public storytelling to sustain fundraising and recruiting before the company was commercially successful.

Amjad credits his public storytelling and 'going direct' efforts with keeping Repl.it alive for years before it became commercially successful, by fueling fundraising and recruiting.

transcript

Amjad Masad: I I think Repl would have probably died if uh if I wasn't telling a story that is larger than the company itself. Like the company wasn't successful commercially, but we've been very successful at like fundraising, recruiting, uh and I I think if if you build a company that's successful right out of the gate commercially, like you might not need to do all of that.

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02
Anecdote

Amjad overcame severe stage fright by taking improv and storytelling classes in New York and using repeated public exposure to desensitize himself, which let him build his public speaking skills gradually while his profile was still small.

Amjad describes overcoming stage fright through improv classes and 'exposure therapy,' benefiting from Repl.it's slow early growth which let him make mistakes at low stakes before the audience got big.

transcript

Amjad Masad: I went and took improv classes in New York and then took a storytelling class and I'm like a big fan of exposure therapy. Anything you're afraid of, just go and do more of it until you're desensitized and like the best way to get desensitized is to just make a fool of yourself every day doing improv.

03
Claim◆

If you stay visible and don't retreat after controversy, the haters eventually give up and move on.

Amjad argues that being canceled is a choice — those who keep showing up publicly outlast the backlash, while only those who retreat are truly canceled.

transcript

Amjad Masad: Being canceled is a choice. Uh so you can you can choose to get canceled and retreat from the public eye, but I think if you're still out there, then at some point honestly the haters kind of give up. They're like, all right, I guess I can't we can't do anything to this guy. Let's go to the next guy.

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04
Example◆

During the Replit Agent database-deletion incident with Jason Lemkin, owning the mistake publicly and announcing a fix generated more positive response than defending the company would have.

Amjad recounts the viral incident where Replit Agent deleted Jason Lemkin's production database; rather than deflect blame, he publicly admitted the fault, which drew a positive reaction and preceded a fast fix.

transcript

Amjad Masad: I think the right thing to do was to own own up to it, the fact that we didn't have development production separation is a bad thing. And 2 days later we rolled out that fixed. And so my my response got a lot of positive interaction and and got a lot of airplay because I started with, "Hey, we messed up. And this is what what we could have done better."

05
Claim

X/Twitter drives elite, in-group influence and is where news stories originate, but Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube are where you reach the early majority of a broader audience.

Amjad breaks down platform strategy along the diffusion-of-innovation curve: X for Silicon Valley/early adopters and story origination, Instagram/YouTube/Facebook for reaching the early majority.

transcript

Amjad Masad: Twitter's influence is amazing, but it tends to be elite kind of inside group influence. I think Instagram, Facebook still, you know, YouTube is where you get to the early majority.

06
Mechanism◆

Going viral requires understanding the broader ongoing conversation ('the meta') and framing your argument within it, not just the act of posting itself, which is why some posts get zero views while others take off.

Amjad argues that understanding the 'meta' — the larger debate of the moment — and dressing up your argument within it is what drives virality, citing Elon Musk's essay as an example, far more than the act of posting itself.

transcript

Amjad Masad: You have to understand the meta. And I think that's the thing that's more time consuming than posting. Posting is not time consuming. The thing that's time consuming is understanding what is the larger debate because the way to go viral is to couch or dress up your argument, your worldview in the current conversation.

Highlight slides
Storytelling Kept Repl.it Alive✦ from: Repl.it would probably have died if Amjad hadn't told a story bigger than the company itself, using public storytelling to sustain fundraising and recruiting before the company was commercially successful.Why It Mattered✦ from: Repl.it would probably have died if Amjad hadn't told a story bigger than the company itself, using public storytelling to sustain fundraising and recruiting before the company was commercially successful.Cancellation Is a Choice✦ from: If you stay visible and don't retreat after controversy, the haters eventually give up and move on.Haters Eventually Move On✦ from: If you stay visible and don't retreat after controversy, the haters eventually give up and move on.Replit Agent Deleted a Production Database✦ from: During the Replit Agent database-deletion incident with Jason Lemkin, owning the mistake publicly and announcing a fix generated more positive response than defending the company would have.Owning It Beat Defending It✦ from: During the Replit Agent database-deletion incident with Jason Lemkin, owning the mistake publicly and announcing a fix generated more positive response than defending the company would have.Virality Isn't About Posting✦ from: Going viral requires understanding the broader ongoing conversation ('the meta') and framing your argument within it, not just the act of posting itself, which is why some posts get zero views while others take off.How It Works✦ from: Going viral requires understanding the broader ongoing conversation ('the meta') and framing your argument within it, not just the act of posting itself, which is why some posts get zero views while others take off.
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