Replit CEO Amjad Masad says founder storytelling helped the company survive

amasad · x · 2026-07-21

In a16z's interview, Amjad Masad explains how he went from severe stage fright to becoming one of the most visible CEOs on X.

He argues that building a founder brand and going direct can be a survival strategy for companies that need recruiting, fundraising, and attention.
For Replit, he says the public story mattered even when the business was still early and commercial traction was limited.
He describes practicing public speaking through improv, storytelling classes, and exposure therapy, then using the same repetition to get better at public communication.
His broader advice: founders should default to publishing internal thinking publicly, stay visible rather than retreat under criticism, and choose the platforms that actually compound reach.

The interview also touches on authenticity, how public mistakes can be an asset early on, and why founders should be careful about which audience they try to reach on X, Instagram, or YouTube.

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Replit CEO Amjad Masad says founder storytelling helped the company survive

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