3 ms·

A16Z gets wrongly categorized as a "VC" company. I'd argue they are actually a media company, who makes investments in what they want to promote.

flybrand 4y ago
There’s precedent for that in illiquid alternatives - several publishers had internal investment arms that grew into distinct GPs.
CharlesW 4y ago
It'd sure be interesting to see what they spend on marketing and PR vs. other VC firms. Only because I think of their product being "successful exits", I lean toward a framing of "VC with an emphasis on content and brand marketing".
jjtheblunt 4y ago
totally agree and know many who recognize exactly that
we_never_see_it 4y ago
That was my hunch with Clubhouse. Clubhouse would've never got the reach if it was not for A16Z hyping them up.
- boringg 4y ago
  Probably - Clubhouse had a lot of action before they really started hyping them. That failure probably hurts a bit since there was a lot of literal time spent speaking on platform which I think they truly thought Clubhouse was going to be a lasting change. I think the discovery aspect and the spammy, vapid conversations on platform once you reached scale tanked that product. That said that if there was an audience for their efforts still functionally valuable for the time spent on platform.
czbond 4y ago
One could argue YC is close to that too. But instead of having them in house - their relationships with TechCrunch, HN, etc are a broad megaphone to their desired audience.
- tiffanyh 4y ago
  I'd say YC is more organic. A16Z is more direct. A16Z made investments directly in actual media outlets like BuzzFeed, ProductHunt, Future.com, etc.
nick4780167 4y ago
If you run the media and investment efforts into a company does that make it insider trading?
boringg 4y ago
The media side is the sell side the VC side is the buy side. You trumpet your companies and people so you have more brand around them. Other people buy into those companies and brands which increases the value of those items. Rinse and repeat until you go to the public markets or found an exit worthwhile. They realized that buy having strong promotion that increases the perceived value of their people, companies and founders. It also makes getting LPs easier. Look to Elon for a core example of this phenom. Arguing if they are a media company or a VC is irrelevant - it serves the same purpose.

flybrand 4y ago

There’s precedent for that in illiquid alternatives - several publishers had internal investment arms that grew into distinct GPs.

CharlesW 4y ago

It'd sure be interesting to see what they spend on marketing and PR vs. other VC firms. Only because I think of their product being "successful exits", I lean toward a framing of "VC with an emphasis on content and brand marketing".

jjtheblunt 4y ago

totally agree and know many who recognize exactly that

we_never_see_it 4y ago

That was my hunch with Clubhouse. Clubhouse would've never got the reach if it was not for A16Z hyping them up.

boringg 4y ago
Probably - Clubhouse had a lot of action before they really started hyping them. That failure probably hurts a bit since there was a lot of literal time spent speaking on platform which I think they truly thought Clubhouse was going to be a lasting change. I think the discovery aspect and the spammy, vapid conversations on platform once you reached scale tanked that product. That said that if there was an audience for their efforts still functionally valuable for the time spent on platform.

czbond 4y ago

One could argue YC is close to that too. But instead of having them in house - their relationships with TechCrunch, HN, etc are a broad megaphone to their desired audience.

tiffanyh 4y ago
I'd say YC is more organic. A16Z is more direct. A16Z made investments directly in actual media outlets like BuzzFeed, ProductHunt, Future.com, etc.

nick4780167 4y ago

If you run the media and investment efforts into a company does that make it insider trading?

boringg 4y ago

The media side is the sell side the VC side is the buy side. You trumpet your companies and people so you have more brand around them. Other people buy into those companies and brands which increases the value of those items. Rinse and repeat until you go to the public markets or found an exit worthwhile. They realized that buy having strong promotion that increases the perceived value of their people, companies and founders. It also makes getting LPs easier. Look to Elon for a core example of this phenom. Arguing if they are a media company or a VC is irrelevant - it serves the same purpose.