In a new episode of My First 16, a16z partner Seema Amble talks with Zach Perret, the co-founder and CEO of Plaid, about how Plaid built a community in the early days to acquire customers, how they tracked “free radicals,” and how to orient your first customers around speed. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. Its ambition is to facilitate a more inclusive, competitive, and mutually beneficial financial system by simplifying payments, revolutionizing lending, and leading the fight against fraud. Plaid works with over 8,000 companies including popular consumer fintech apps, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to empower people with more choice and control over how they manage their money. Headquartered in San Francisco, Plaid’s network spans over 12,000 institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. My First 16, a new video podcast from a16z, features interviews with founders and CEOs of fintech companies about how they acquired their initial customers and the hard lessons they learned along the way. Stay tuned to a16z’s YouTube channel (and this dedicated playlist, My First 16) for more episodes, coming soon! Stay connected with a16z for more updates from the Fintech team and beyond: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Find a16z on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a16z/ The views expressed here are those of the individual personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any a16z funds. PLEASE SEE MORE HERE: https://a16z.com/disclosures/