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Andreessen Horowitz Joins The Start Fund To Seed YC Companies

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Re: Andreessen Horowitz Joins The Start Fund To Seed YC Companies

#31

Post by [deleted] »

siong1987 wrote: post #27
wavephorm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have a form right on their site for submitting business plans. http://a16z.com/about/contact-us/

See, the form is used to submit your business plan. If your email is something along the following line like: "Hi, I have an 'amazing' opportunity for you to invest 'early' in a new startup. I am willing to meet at time XXX or you can call me at XXX." It is very likely that you will get ignored. In fact, I did send an email with a rough business plan about my previous startup to the above email before. And, someone f…

[deleted]

Re: Andreessen Horowitz Joins The Start Fund To Seed YC Companies

#32

Post by dan_manges »

pg wrote: post #12
wavephorm wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I emailed a16z to ask for a meeting or phone interview about an "amazing" opportunity to invest "early" in a new startup. They did not respond or ask any questions, I was completely ignored. All their deals seem like big money and late stage. Do they know a good startup when they see it? Seems like instead of finding startup investment opportunities by themselves they're going to let YC filter out the good deals for…

Don't you do the same thing when you get emails offering you amazing business opportunities? As a general rule, no VC firm will respond to a cold email. You need an intro from someone they know. Your best bet is to try to get an intro from someone at a company they've invested in.

Regarding vendors or business opportunities, I usually respond and politely tell the person that I'm not interested. It only takes a few seconds.

Re: Andreessen Horowitz Joins The Start Fund To Seed YC Companies

#33

Post by wavephorm »

pg wrote: post #19
wavephorm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have a form right on their site for submitting business plans. http://a16z.com/about/contact-us/

Even if a VC offered an email address to send business plans to, I'd try to get an intro instead. (Also, the instructions on the form say it is for "other inquiries." You're supposed to send business plans to one of the email addresses on the right. So if you used the form that may be why you didn't hear back.)

Yes as I said I emailed them. I sent everything, my business plan, my site, everything. Now maybe they didn't like my application. Maybe it was no good. But from my perspective, the only interaction I have with this VC is being stonewalled by them after spending time applying and dropping (what I believe) to be a great oppurtunity right in their laps.

Re: Andreessen Horowitz Joins The Start Fund To Seed YC Companies

#34

Post by Hitchhiker »

pg wrote: post #2

Like Ron and Yuri, Andreessen Horowitz are real pros. I think founders will like them.

As always, yC pulls off another caper. 150K split three ways between AH, RC and YM is akin to having 15M worth of cred.

PG == the new patron saint of start-ups.

Re: Andreessen Horowitz Joins The Start Fund To Seed YC Companies

#35

Post by pbreit »

bfe wrote: post #13

Interesting that both SVA and AH responded to the success of YC not by setting up separate programs to emulate it, but by coalescing around it. This clearly made sense for Milner as a relative newcomer but the other two groups had no shortage of connections and capabilities in place and could easily have taken either route. YC keeps increasing the margin by which it is the top program of its kind.

"easily"

Creating and running YC is not in the least bit easy.

Re: Andreessen Horowitz Joins The Start Fund To Seed YC Companies

#36

Post by Hitchhiker »

pg wrote: post #19
wavephorm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have a form right on their site for submitting business plans. http://a16z.com/about/contact-us/

Even if a VC offered an email address to send business plans to, I'd try to get an intro instead. (Also, the instructions on the form say it is for "other inquiries." You're supposed to send business plans to one of the email addresses on the right. So if you used the form that may be why you didn't hear back.)

Let me be a little less polite than PG

VC public e-mail addresses == /dev/null .. they exist purely to appease the raging masses of entrepreneurs hanging outside their walls, reading Venturebeat ( fill in another 10 top " blogs " of your choice ) more than mails from their mum.

Cold calling any of them will not work. Heck even intros from the highest level are not treated that nicely if you're a first time guy.

Best place to be in, acquire unfair advantages like a yC tag and learn everything you can from insiders. Make a product that even in its most seed form shows a pathway to an entire industry. Get traction.

"If you're in a fair fight, you didn't plan it properly." - Nick Lappos, Chief R&D Pilot, Sikorsky Aircraft

Re: Andreessen Horowitz Joins The Start Fund To Seed YC Companies

#38

Post by samstave »

pg wrote: post #12
wavephorm wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I emailed a16z to ask for a meeting or phone interview about an "amazing" opportunity to invest "early" in a new startup. They did not respond or ask any questions, I was completely ignored. All their deals seem like big money and late stage. Do they know a good startup when they see it? Seems like instead of finding startup investment opportunities by themselves they're going to let YC filter out the good deals for…

Don't you do the same thing when you get emails offering you amazing business opportunities? As a general rule, no VC firm will respond to a cold email. You need an intro from someone they know. Your best bet is to try to get an intro from someone at a company they've invested in.

>Don't you do the same thing when you get emails offering you amazing business opportunities?

Isn't this the exact business that VCs are in? Identifying amazing offers?

You make the claim as if VCs are not in the business of looking for amazing deals, vs everyone else who is in infinite other businesses...

Yeah, there is the rule that intros are best - but still, why try to architect vision and innovation out of the VC market?

Re: Andreessen Horowitz Joins The Start Fund To Seed YC Companies

#39

Post by samstave »

Hitchhiker wrote: post #36
pg wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if a VC offered an email address to send business plans to, I'd try to get an intro instead. (Also, the instructions on the form say it is for "other inquiries." You're supposed to send business plans to one of the email addresses on the right. So if you used the form that may be why you didn't hear back.)

Let me be a little less polite than PG VC public e-mail addresses == /dev/null .. they exist purely to appease the raging masses of entrepreneurs hanging outside their walls, reading Venturebeat ( fill in another 10 top " blogs " of your choice ) more than mails from their mum. Cold calling any of them will not work. Heck even intros from the highest level are not treated that nicely if you're a first time guy. Best…

>VC public e-mail addresses == /dev/null .. they exist purely to appease the raging masses of entrepreneurs hanging outside their walls, reading Venturebeat ( fill in another 10 top " blogs " of your choice ) more than mails from their mum.

Doesn't this sound like an opportunity then?

Why have a blackhole at all? Why be so un-innovative? Sure, it will cost you money - but if you claim that this is the reason for NOT doing it - you admit that innovation is not your goal, but profit only, thus it will go against so many supposed charters of VCs out there...

Let's be honest here. What is the bottom line?

Either VCs only want a "sure thing" or they actually want to foster innovation and progress, and receive profit as a result.

If you are in the former, not the latter, then - sorry - but I have no respect for you. Regardless of your success.

Paradigm shift, we need it.

Re: Andreessen Horowitz Joins The Start Fund To Seed YC Companies

#40

Post by wavephorm »

betterlabs wrote: post #18

This is awesome for YC / YC startups as well as AH as they get to be in the YC companies at the very early stage. However, I am not able to understand why VC firms would go so broad and fund such a large number of startups with amounts that are insignificant for their fund sizes. Would it not be distracting? Would it not leave them with too broad a portfolio to be able to truly make significant contributions to the c…

They are buying 60 lotto tickets for $50,000 each, because it's cheaper than the opportunity cost of missing out on the next big one.

I wonder if $50,000 even gets you an in-person meeting.

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