#008 a16z: Five Questions

Last week, we looked into why a16z invested in Instagram (Burbn), Okta, and Slack (Tiny Speck), why they passed on Uber, Square, and FTX, how they won the deals, what Kleiner Perkins' general investment thesis is, and how you, as a founder, can position yourself to get funding from a16z. After reviewing many of my notes and direct quotes from current and former a16z partners, I decided I would elaborate on five questions I'd ask founders if I were a partner at a16z debating an investment decision. I think this will be a helpful thought exercise for founders who intend to raise to think about your answers to some of these questions as I believe they are questions an investor would ask whether a16z or not, so It’d be good to think about. For investors, it’s good to think about the questions you like to ask founders and why and read some of these quotes from a16z partners, who are certainly some of the best investors in the world, so it’s worth reading this information and maybe adding some of these questions to your list if you think they’re effective. More All Things VC: To read this podcast in an abbreviated format, check out the substack: All Things VC. It has the same content as the podcast, just a little more direct with less improv. To read more about a16z and many other companies they invested in that we didn’t discuss, more on their general investment theses, what makes a good VC, what they look for in founders, and general advice for founders, head to allthingsvc.blog to read more. You can also follow me on X at Justin_Pryor_ for more information I post throughout the week based on what I discussed in this episode. Likewise, you can find All Things VC on YouTube to see clips of these episodes separated by each major topic I discuss. Chapters: 1. Why are you the person to solve this problem? 02:05 2. How big can this company get? 12:40 3. How are you reducing friction for the user? 24:05 4. How are you tackling the cold start problem? 32:14 5. What's the mission? 42:58