@a16z: Gagan Biyani on why the best way to learn people skills is to build something you can't do alone, and how HAA is design…

Gagan Biyani on why the best way to learn people skills is to build something you can’t do alone, and how HAA is designed around it:

“One of the most important things we want is to develop people skills. And one of the core tenets of developing a skill like that is osmosis. You need to immerse the student in the social environment in which the humans are.”

“I think it’s a challenge if you go off to college, you only interact with people your same year. You finally maybe have a friend who’s one or two years above you or below you.”

“We’re gonna try and cohabitate you, especially in the office, with other companies and individuals and projects and co-ops and internships that are with the, quote unquote, ‘adult world.’”

“Let’s say you’re trying to build a new type of robot dog, and the only way to do it is to get a specific type of chip, and you don’t know how to write a cold email. You’re gonna have to learn. And you’re gonna have all these people around you who are experts at this.”

“The combination of the osmosis of Silicon Valley, a peer network that’s supportive, and the project-based curriculum will dramatically accelerate people skill development.”

“Over something like, let me sit in a lecture talking about negotiations. That’s not how you develop people skills. You develop people skills because you’re doing something you really care about and you need to get everyone on board.”

@gaganbiyani

a16z (@a16z): Gagan Biyani with Erik Torenberg and Ben Horowitz on HAA: The Horowitz Andreessen Academy

HAA is a private, full-time, in-person school in San Francisco for young people coming out of high school. Its mission is to nurture the best young people in the world, and equip them with