In third grade, Grant LaFontaine sold a Pokemon card online. The buyer mailed a money order; Grant cashed it at the post office and shipped the card. Today he's co-founder and CEO of @Whatnot, where the largest businesses do over $100 million a year at up to 40% margins. In this conversation, Grant joins a16z's David George to discuss how that first transaction became a platform that did $8 billion in sales last year, why live commerce is a third of all commerce in China yet still emerging in the US, how Whatnot stays reliable at scale, and more. Intro The Pokemon card and the money order Half a Bitcoin for a domain Why not knowing the market was an advantage Customers don't care about your market Most people don't buy anything Why the eBay comparison misses 95 minutes a day on a shopping app Sellers doing $100M with 40% margins Fresh fish from the San Diego dock Running a police force for two New York Cities Why Whatnot won't do AI avatars Cars on Whatnot @GrantLaFontaine @DavidGeorge83(a16z)