Henry Blodget on AI, Dot-Coms, and What's Changed In 25 Years
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Who is Henry Blodgett and how did he become the founder of Business Insider?
Next week on Leaders with me, Francine Lacqua, I speak with Harvard Business School Professor Linda Hill about what CEOs need to know to be successful.
It really is not about them. It is about the organization.
About how to lead in the age of AI.
That requires a lot of confidence.
And why great leaders embrace conflict. You need to amplify difference. Listen and watch Leaders the Podcast with me, Francine Lacqua, on Bloomberg TV or wherever you get your podcasts. Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Oddlots Podcast. I'm Jill Weisenthal.
And I'm Tracy Alloway.
Tracy, you know I can never get enough talking about late 90s.com stuff.
I know, you're just gifting episodes to yourself at this point. But that's fine. I'm into it.
That's always been the case and for the all the years we've done this podcast, I've made that comment here and there. But you know, recently it has a particular salience because people are trying to understand AI. We had that conversation down in DC several weeks ago with Blair Levin, talking about some of the similarities and dissimilarities between AI and telecoms. So at least we have an excuse for these conversations.
There is definitely a news peg. I'm looking at a chart of Supermicro right now. They just put out results that I guess were disappointing because the shares are down about twenty percent. We're recording this on April thirtieth at ten oh four AM. And Joe, can I just say we can labor this intro as much as you want about like similarities with the early two thousands tech bubble, but I'm just excited to speak to your old boss. That's all I want to get out of this conversation, just Joe stories.
Okay, that's fine. So this is an episode that I've wanted to make happen for a very, very long time, and the timing is suddenly working out. I don't even know what we're really gonna talk about, but we'll have a good conversation. Yes, we are speaking to my old boss. So a couple of major caveats or disclaimers, etc., I owe this guest a huge Chunk for my own career and the success and the good fortune that I've had in my career. We're going to be speaking, of course, to Henry Blodgett. He's the editor of a new publication called Regenerator, which is going to be focused on innovation and business and news and tech and stuff like that. Of course, the connection to me is that he is the founder of Insider when I joined, I think it was called Silicon Alley.
Yeah.
Oh that's a blast for the bigger. And then
Business Insider and then Insider. I'm not exactly sure what the final iteration of the name was. And of course, prior to that, several years earlier, he had been a tech analyst at Merrill Lynch, one of the most famous analysts of the sort of tech sector. And of course, have to acknowledge the second caveat or disclaimer here, which was he was famously or infamously prevented afterwards from working on Wall Street. Mentioned it, maybe it'll uh come up, but with all of this throat clearing out of the way, Henry, thrilled to have you on the podcast. Finally, I am this is a little weird. I'm actually a little nervous. If I'm being totally honest, I'm actually I don't usually get anxious ever in any setting anymore.
I'm a little anxious talking to my old boss.
Well, it is great to be here. It's a privilege. You guys do an amazing job, and I would say the student has become the master.
No, but for real. Thank you so much for coming on Odlots. Really excited. I'm trying to think
Oh, this is very sweet.
I know no, I'm like actually a little bit like a reclempt.
I'll ask a
question. Yeah, Tracy can ask
the first question while I collect myself.
How did you find Joe? Oh
I wonder if he remembers.
I was aware of Joe at another publication. I can't remember what it was. And I can't remember whether I hired Joe or Julie Hansen hired Joe or somebody else, but there he was. And we were in an environment where I was surrounded by a newsroom full of very eager, excited folks. And again and again and again. The one who differentiated himself by his incredible fascination with and mastery of all things, and his ability to write with an internet metabolism, which is somewhere between talk radio and magazines, whereas a lot of other folks wanted to come in and basically recreate the New Yorker.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Henry Blodgett and how did he become the founder of Business Insider?
0:00–6:35
2
How did Henry first meet Joe and what stories did they share about their early days at Silicon Alley?
6:35–13:39
3
What parallels does Henry draw between the current AI boom and the late‑1990s dot‑com era?
13:39–20:59
4
When did the warning signs appear that the AI surge might be turning into a bubble?
20:59–27:14
5
Why are valuations like OpenAI’s $300 billion price tag considered extraordinary, and what could cause them to fall?
27:14–33:54
6
How have politics, trade wars, and U.S.–China relations reshaped the tech landscape over the past 25 years?
33:54–40:21
7
What has changed in media distribution since the rise of Business Insider, and why would the old model struggle today?
40:21–45:35
8
What final lessons does Henry share about navigating hype cycles, building companies, and the future of AI?
45:35–56:44
Speakers
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