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

by pg 15y ago

Shenglong 15y ago
I know investors tend to stick with the companies they fund and help them out, but since $150k split three ways isn't all that much for each investor, how much commitment have you seen on the angels' part? I mean, even if a quarter of the YC companies take the offer, I imagine they'd have a lot of companies to deal with.
- pg 15y ago
  In the past they've paid about as much attention to the startups as they would have if they'd done a seed investment of the same size a la carte.
- earbitscom 15y ago
  I had the same question when they made the investment. The SV Angel team and Felix from Start Fund have not hesitated once to help when asked, and we've had more than our share of proactive, unprompted introductions to key people from them.
wavephorm 15y ago
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 them. They even said in the article it's just about deal flow.
- pg 15y ago
  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.
  - Kavan 15y ago
    As a SV outsider who recently spent a month there, I totally agree. The only way to get meetings is through your network. Start with people you meet at events and then add to it (co working spaces like www.rocket-space.com are great for this). Eventually you'll be speaking to company founders and they can refer you. Remember that the quality of the referral is also important, so if you have only met someone for 5 mins and then ask them to refer you, their referral email will be rather weak. Spend the time building the relationship and getting them excited about your product. Then when the time comes you will get a solid referral and a near certain meeting.
  - wavephorm 15y ago
    They have a form right on their site for submitting business plans. http://a16z.com/about/contact-us/ http://a16z.com/about/contact-us/
    - pg 15y ago
      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.)
      - wavephorm 15y ago
        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.
        webwright 15y ago
        VCs have a fund (basically a big finite amount of cash). They can make X investments with that cash. They also have a very finite # of hours they can invest to help their companies. The best ones (like these guys) are literally buried in highly qualified deal flow. That means entrepreneurs coming in with great references, working in great markets, often with traction. They have no shortage of deal flow. On the other side of the marketplace, there are literally zillions of entrepreneurs who want their money. All that said, it'd be nice if they had an auto-responder on the site saying, "We try to look over all of these, but can't offer a reply unless something REALLY catches our eye," to set expectations accordingly.
- coffeemug 15y ago
  SV has a culture of getting to investors through trusted sources. Email a few of their portfolio companies that are relevant (but not competitive) with your business, ask to buy them lunch and chat for a bit, then ask for an intro at the end of the meeting if it goes well. From the investor's perspective this a) filters out people with no conviction, b) filters out spray and pray-style emails, c) helps them manage hundreds of emails they receive every day.
- bfe 15y ago
  Since the moment they announced their formation, AH has consistently said they are completely stage-agnostic, and Marc had a previous history of investing personally in very small initial angel deals.
- jasontan 15y ago
  if you can't get an introduction, continue working on your product and gain traction, if you have a million users you definitely won't be ignored.
Hitchhiker 15y ago
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.

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

by pg 15y ago

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

I know investors tend to stick with the companies they fund and help them out, but since $150k split three ways isn't all that much for each investor, how much commitment have you seen on the angels' part? I mean, even if a quarter of the YC companies take the offer, I imagine they'd have a lot of companies to deal with.

pg 15y ago
In the past they've paid about as much attention to the startups as they would have if they'd done a seed investment of the same size a la carte.
earbitscom 15y ago
I had the same question when they made the investment. The SV Angel team and Felix from Start Fund have not hesitated once to help when asked, and we've had more than our share of proactive, unprompted introductions to key people from them.

wavephorm 15y ago

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 them. They even said in the article it's just about deal flow.

pg 15y ago
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.
- Kavan 15y ago
  As a SV outsider who recently spent a month there, I totally agree. The only way to get meetings is through your network. Start with people you meet at events and then add to it (co working spaces like www.rocket-space.com are great for this). Eventually you'll be speaking to company founders and they can refer you. Remember that the quality of the referral is also important, so if you have only met someone for 5 mins and then ask them to refer you, their referral email will be rather weak. Spend the time building the relationship and getting them excited about your product. Then when the time comes you will get a solid referral and a near certain meeting.
- wavephorm 15y ago
  They have a form right on their site for submitting business plans. http://a16z.com/about/contact-us/ http://a16z.com/about/contact-us/
  - pg 15y ago
    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.)
    - wavephorm 15y ago
      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.
      - webwright 15y ago
        VCs have a fund (basically a big finite amount of cash). They can make X investments with that cash. They also have a very finite # of hours they can invest to help their companies. The best ones (like these guys) are literally buried in highly qualified deal flow. That means entrepreneurs coming in with great references, working in great markets, often with traction. They have no shortage of deal flow. On the other side of the marketplace, there are literally zillions of entrepreneurs who want their money. All that said, it'd be nice if they had an auto-responder on the site saying, "We try to look over all of these, but can't offer a reply unless something REALLY catches our eye," to set expectations accordingly.
coffeemug 15y ago
SV has a culture of getting to investors through trusted sources. Email a few of their portfolio companies that are relevant (but not competitive) with your business, ask to buy them lunch and chat for a bit, then ask for an intro at the end of the meeting if it goes well. From the investor's perspective this a) filters out people with no conviction, b) filters out spray and pray-style emails, c) helps them manage hundreds of emails they receive every day.
bfe 15y ago
Since the moment they announced their formation, AH has consistently said they are completely stage-agnostic, and Marc had a previous history of investing personally in very small initial angel deals.
jasontan 15y ago
if you can't get an introduction, continue working on your product and gain traction, if you have a million users you definitely won't be ignored.

Hitchhiker 15y ago

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.