“Analytics and instincts are inputs. Data is an input. My instinct that something is off or this could be cool is an input. You want to get as many inputs as possible within reason. But I don't think there's ever any case in life where you should be deciding with anything other than logic and rationality. I don't think there's ever a good reason to say, 'we'll do this because I feel like it,' unless we're talking leisure, which is all about feeling a certain way.”
a16z Podcast · Startups & Venture · November 2026
Context
Asked when instinct-led decisions have beaten analytics-led ones, given that LLMs can create false precision, Luca says both are only inputs to a rational decision.
Transcript
…written by AI two years ago. We're now, last time I checked at 94%. Some companies, you know, depending on how aggressive you want to be, you could be, if you're a good company, you could be at 70 and 99, but no good company should be, I don't know, below 70 right now, in my view. There's no point.
…should be able to make with maximum rationality, but that doesn't necessarily mean always being led by data and analytics. And LLMs can also often create a sort of false precision. Is there a type of decision where you found being instincts-led versus analytics-led has led to better outcomes?
So I think analytics and instincts are inputs. So data is an input. My instinct that something is off or this could be cool is an input. You want to get as many inputs as possible within reason. But then I don't think there's ever any case in life where you should be deciding with anything other than logic and rationality. Again, it doesn't mean that simply because an analysis shows that people in France are more likely to buy this than we do that and we do it in France. It's just, again, one input in a broader discussion. But I don't think there's ever a good reason to say, we'll do this because I feel like it. Unless we're talking leisure, which is all about feeling a certain way. Even if you are the most, you want to be as creative and imaginative as possible. But again, those are just inputs. Those were produce ideas or options that you wouldn't otherwise have considered. But you don't pick those simply because you got them in the spur of a moment and you're super excited about them. You want to ponder them and determine whether that excitement is justified. And if so, yeah, go for it. Absolutely.
That makes sense. So maybe one question on behalf of founders who feel like they're stuck. You know, the definition of hell is never winning and never quitting. How should founders know when it's time to kind of move on versus, and of course this is a difficult question versus, hey, maybe you're…
Yeah, I wish I had a good answer. You know, I'm probably awful at that because my startup before Bending Spoons Built, we worked at it for three years. And you know how we failed? So it clearly wasn't working. We were trying to use AI way too early, clearly, to write diaries for people…
Bureaucracy created bending spoons. Yeah. You heard it here first. Okay, final question. Look at the next rate technology company that comes from Italy or even from the region, what do you think they should learn from bending spoons? And what do you think that they should think about for
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