---
title: "(6) Should You Be Token-Maxxing? - a16z speedrun"
source: "https://speedrun.substack.com/p/should-you-be-token-maxxing?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1810714&post_id=196064222&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=6iwre1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email"
domain: "speedrun.substack.com"
type: "article"
summarized_at: "2026-05-05"
canonical: "https://tl-dr.cc/s/6-should-you-be-token-maxxing-a16z-speedrun-zJgw"
---

# (6) Should You Be Token-Maxxing? - a16z speedrun

**Source:** [speedrun.substack.com](https://speedrun.substack.com/p/should-you-be-token-maxxing?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1810714&post_id=196064222&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=6iwre1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email)  
**Summarized:** 2026-05-05  

- **SR007 applications close in two weeks** — five-minute application process open now
- **Boston and New York Tech Week calendars live** — 1,500+ events across both cities; Boston May 26–31, NYC June 1–7
- **Token-maxxing case:** AI agents scale linearly with throughput, offer pure variable costs with no equity dilution, and enable 5–10x productivity gains; founders shipping enterprise products in months
- **Hiring case:** AI failures are hard to debug and fix compared to managing people; token costs are volatile and vendor-dependent; hiring provides predictable salary modeling
- **False binary identified:** Founders doing both token spending and hiring simultaneously; real question is which work categories should be automated versus require human accountability
- **Key insight from founders:** Clear planning and precision matter more than raw token burn; automation success depends on understanding the work being done, not just spending more on agents
- **Recommendation:** Stop asking "tokens or people" and start asking "what kind of work am I actually trying to get done"

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*AI summary by [tl;dr](https://tl-dr.cc) · [View full page](https://tl-dr.cc/s/6-should-you-be-token-maxxing-a16z-speedrun-zJgw)*