a16z: Victory of "Hollywood"

"They step foot in every engagement like crazy."

This quote from the CEO of Google describes a16z, one of the best companies in the world.

The full name of the a16z is Andreessen Horowitz, after the names of the two founders, discovered in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.By managing a total of $ 19.2 billion in cash, he has expanded his investment portfolio with stylish designs. As a well-known software seeker, almost all of the brightest businesses on the internet are closed.Investment strategies like Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb, Octa, GitHub, Stripe, etc. who combine early stage sensitivity and development stage decision making can not only invest in Instagram in the Seed cycle, but also lead to GitHub in the A-turn (micro Soft Acquisition (revenue over $ 1 billion) , Roblox investment of $ 150 million in Tower G.

The forward-looking, bold and daring smart investing style is more clearly reflected in the configuration of the crypto industry., Coinbase, invested in 2013, had a net worth of $ 85.8 billion at the time of listing, making it one of the largest tech companies in tech history. 4.4 billion dollars). Operations such as cryptocurrencies such as OpenSea, Dapper Labs, Uniswap and dYdX are also operational representatives of the crypto fund a16z.

Founded in 2009 compared to Sequoia and KPCB, founded in 1972, Accel Partner, founded in 1983, and Benchmark, founded in 1995, a16z, founded in 2009, is undoubtedly one of the leading venture capital firms in the Silicon Valley.

What draws so much attention to investments isa16z has created a whole new set of playstyles by rewriting the process by some VC startups. a16z is based on the operating standards of CAA, Hollywood's premier brokerage firm.,A large intelligence company designed to provide manufacturers with business, legal, lobbying, support services and more.This will not only strengthen the 16z platform for your network, but also make your project more attractive.The imposition of a new number of competitors increased the initial competitiveness of the overall investment market.

16z is also "a media company that makes money with its investments". Almost all of our employees are very good printers. It also promotes investment strategies and promotes business information tours and learning experiences through self-created advertisements.

This was all done with the previous experience of the developer and the 16z time changer. They started out twice as a dot-com bubble, a decade after the discovery of 16z, which saw the failure of media companies in the ten years since its inception, the breakdown of internet company relationships and many changes. in the crypto industry are so many machines. for cryptographic applications. take a break.

Starmaking Machine : "Hollywood" gagne

Smart grid design and post-investment services

multimedia packaging

Competitive advantage and industry innovation

Creation: In the footsteps of the Internet

Resurrection: leaders in the further process

The era of the mobile Internet: "Software swallows the world"

Web3 era: crypto hurricane

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Star Making Machine:Victory in "Hollywood"

Sand Hill Road in Palo Alto, Calif., Is America's tallest, with photos of oak and eucalyptus trees surrounding a two-mile winding road in the heart of Stanford University.

Thousands of entrepreneurs come here with marketing campaigns in their pockets every day, knocking on the doors of big business. Among them, 16z is one of the most popular companies for dreamers.

Building A16z looks like a library with shelves attached almost from floor to ceiling. Founder Andreessen spent three days reviewing these books. A programming book, a business book and a Hollywood book.Yes, there are a few books out there on Hollywood's early transition, so start with 16z production.

Investment firms often expose past investment problems and come back to attract more investment. Andreessen knows it well: “The top 15 companies represent 98% of the market value of the venture capital firm. If you are in a second business, you will not have any experience. entered the company for the first time.To break that ice, I think companies need to change the process for selecting venture capital firms.

He and Horowitz consulted with former friend Michael Ovitz, founder of the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a Hollywood arts organization.Here is Ovitz's advice: “Treat customers like customers and view the platform from a long-term perspective rather than a perspective of change. Get everyone involved and provide services that no one else has.

That's why CAA has represented 90% of Hollywood's biggest stars in less than 15 years and has finished rewriting the secrets of the industry's rules.

Ovitz's biggest change at CAA isInvestment in consumer goods (time, money, work);And it can affect the value of your investment. The orbits believe:“If a person wants to earn 10% of their income all their life, they have to make the most of their income. "

Before CAA, brokerage firms were informal organizations made up of multiple employees, who worked for the same company but worked with artists on a single line. They are very passive in the way they work, so they alert the client and get 10% of the office costs if the client accepts them.

CAA hopes to break this pattern and strengthen the independent business community of employees so that everyone can find as much time as possible for their clients together. Dedicated employees are responsible for consumers and resources in specialist areas such as music, advertising and international collaboration,Through this profit network, the total trading company will be 100 times that of a broker.This allows CAA to create jobs for more consumers than just advertising.

In this way, CAA is able to find leaders, writers and artists good enough to become the most talented and energetic people in the world.

Each consumer has a 10% advantage, and these consumers are also big stars and typically receive 20-30% of movie revenue, so CAA can receive 2-3% of total revenue. For example, the total turnover of "Jurassic Park" is close to one billion dollars, of which CAA represents 3% is significant.

What would Michael Ovitz do if he invested?It will achieve all the benefits of the entire investment.. Consider that the success of tech startups depends on many factors:

Skills and recruitment (must hire good engineers)

Sales and Marketing (requires good distribution)

Good leadership and investment management (requires a good CEO)

As a VC investor, you need to know and train the best engineers, salespeople and investors for VC firms, create layers of capital and submit them to VC firms, experts. what is 16z. .Just as CAA is committed to ensuring the success of its clients, 16z has invested heavily in their team after the investment.

Especially when it comes to promoting CEO growth, most venture capitalists have used it to solve the problem by changing CEOs instead of providing support, but the key idea of ​​a16z is based on two things:

A technology developer is the best candidate to run a technology company. Respectful technology companies with a long history such as HP, Intel, Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook were led by their founders.Specifically, it is a business run by those who pioneered the world.

However, the process for a technology developer to become a CEO is quite difficult. Both of the 16z designers have a deep understanding of this from their own experience, which we'll explain later.

Smart grid design and post-investment services

We have brought together experts from all over the world to provide the best professionalism and service to the companies in which we have invested. When Andreessen and Ben discovered 16z, they hoped to provide developers with better guidance to streamline the learning process. Therefore, the criterion for selecting an investment partner is whether they have started a business or have previous experience as a CEO.

Alex Lampell, Affirm ($ AFRM), FraudEliminator (acquired by McAfee in 2006), Point, TrialPay (acquired by Visa in 2015), TXN (acquired by Envestnest in 2019) and Yub (acquired by coupon). 2013) acquisition .com). After joining a16z, Alex led investments in OpenDoor ($ OPEN), Plaid, Quantopian (acquired by Robinhood) and Rival (acquired by LiveNation).

Bob SwanPrior to joining a16z, Bob was CEO of Intel, managing 110,000 employees during his tenure, generating revenues of $ 78 billion and annual revenues of over $ 20 billion.

David oulevitch, Founder and CEO of OpenDNS, OpenDNS was a cloud-based delivery security service acquired by Cisco in 2015. Today, the service provides services to over 85 million business customers in over 10,000 countries across the world.

pajamas oli, professor of chemistry at Stanford University and professor of structural biology and computer science, pioneered computational methods in medicine and biology (over 300 articles, 2 patents and 2 new drug candidates published). While at Stanford University, Vijay founded Globavir Biosciences, which developed progressive research into a successful start-up to improve treatment for dengue and Ebola.

Chris Dixon, co-founder and CEO of two startups, SiteAdvisor and Hunch. SiteAdvisor is an internet security company acquired by McAfee in 2006. Hunch is a specialty technology company acquired by eBay in 2011. After joining a16z in 2013, Chris Dixon took over Coinbase. , the most astonishing cryptocurrency investment record, and has voted for eight consecutive terms. .

Following the commitment to encryption in 2013, a16z aims to solve governance issues while increasing its vision and competitiveness.When the cryptocurrency market was in its infancy and policies were vague, many companies and seniors were invited to join the group.:

In the presence of Katie Haun, Founder of the United States Department of Justice First Team, Governing Body of Cryptocurrency Government Operations, Anthony Albanese, Former NYSE Regulatory Department and Former Head of the Department of New York State Financial Services. was involved with partners. Former US SEC Treasurer Bill Hinman, Former Crypto Investments CFO Tomicah Tillemann, Former Advisor to President Biden, Assistant Treasurer Brent McIntosh and Coinbase Senior Vice President Rachael Horwitz , total revenue of 16z.

In the 1990s, the Hollywood Brokerage Company was a limited company formed by the merger of several brokers affiliated with the company. These employees work for the same company, but all are solely responsible for some of the artists with a contact line.The modern way of doing things is similar to the business model of the past. Merchants work for the same company, but manage their own networks and consumer information.

Michael Ovitz brings together independent businesses of traders in a single window, so that everyone can find as much as possible for their customers.A dedicated client can access social media and consumer information from anywhere, including shows, movies, Korean music, and international exchanges. . In this way, the business capacity of the company will be 100 times greater than that of a single employee, and artists will have more options and more business advantages.

With the support of Ovitz, a16z has built a network of around 20,000 people in the following fields, and meets the needs of start-ups in various fields with experts in various fields.

big business.Every start-up must do business with large companies through sales or partnerships.

the leader.Management personnel are the key to success.

technical staff.In the high-tech industry, the more intellectual property the better.

Media staff and analysts.16z has a mantra: "I can sell, I can make money. I am ashamed and I have no food. (Say, sell, hide, keep)".

Investors and buyers.A venture capitalist's job is to invest and raise funds.

The “business philosophy” behind 16z is: instead of spending most of the money on the partner's salary, it is better to use it for work in order to help the client. We have a marketing team (= client), a technical team (= recruitment support), a business development team (= customer support) and a research team (= problem solving).

Therefore, we have introduced a new reward model. Each participant costs around US $ 300,000 per year, better than the industry standard of at least US $ 1 million, and the savings save hundreds of professionals. The costs include leadership, expertise, business development, business development and marketing.

So why would these people be willing to join 16z for less pay?

16z capital group is a complete partner system without hierarchical system, on the one hand it can flatten control and on the other hand.Andreessen believes that employees who work for the company always expect to receive benefits, such as salaries, bonuses, shares, rights and positions. Among them, the cost of labor is the lowest, so you can fix it as high as possible. , so that companies can do a better job of finding expertise.In a16z, the prioritization of “full-time associates” in addition to older members paid for the inadequacy of low wages.

Over 70% of the 326 people in the a16z team are dedicated to investment management and assistance, providing services such as consulting, recruiting, business development, personnel management, external relations and support services to help newbies develop quickly.Andreessen said, “We are using an extensive network of resources to work with entrepreneurs and provide the necessary resources to CEOs as soon as possible. "He considers traders like gods, adhering to the principle of "everything is in the businessman", and even "meet the trader for one minute Delay and fine of $ 10". Staff.

Source Info: a16z official website

A great, dedicated team who can help businesses solve problems along their chain and meet the needs of everything from startup to business development. GitHub has already received $ 100 million in 16z Series A funding.The grant has been dubbed "Silicon Valley's biggest competition in five years."According to Chris Wanstrath, co-founder and CEO of GitHub,The 16z service is his favorite. "It's like a buffet. They serve a lot of good food and we all want to try it."

multimedia packaging

Initially, Andreessen and Horowitz hoped to build momentum for the business by using Outcast as a company run by Margit Wennmachers.The Wennmachers are known as the "kings of the house" in the field of public relations. She is nimble, thoughtful, and plans to help Marc Andreessen appear on the Fortune 2009 cover as Uncle Sam.. The reputation of venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz was damaged, leaving the company with only two excellent executives.

Later, Wennmachers agreed with 16z to establish a marketing network. Wennmachers upgraded to 16z and the company's market share is paramount. He organizes special parties in his house where technical journalists can have a drink with the founders and directors. Following the tradition,Venture capitalists avoided propaganda (this was a tradition left by venture capitalists supporting party battles during the war), and Wennmachers frequently invited the media to listen to a16z.

When building its own power consumption rack, 16z slowly "Anti-institutional, self-organized press xovxwmLike.

16z, who has worked with journalists for more than 10 years, said it was decided the group no longer needed them. It has assembled its own top journalists to deliver crypto, fintech and other content in a better voice.

The controversy between a16z and the media began in 2015 with the "Theranos scam".

Elizabeth Holmes founded the Theranos Blood Society at the age of 19.

He was fined hundreds of millions of dollars and later prosecuted for fraud.

At the time, Theranos, a blood testing company sponsored by Andreessen and others, was seen as a scam in the media, causing chaos across the tech world of Silicon Valley. The consequences of this crisis have been enormous and the attitude of the media towards start-ups has shifted from “praise” to “judgment and questioning”.

Since then, the a16z has been regularly watched in the media. For example, Zenefits, an HR software company he has invested in, has been questioned by the media about his big downfall, and A16z has had to explain that spending to grow is the norm. However, this explanation has not been confirmed by the media, and skepticism remains.

In the eyes of the leaders of 16z, the press agency knows very little about the facts and is always wrong. Journalists have the freedom to report bad news and sometimes to write random articles to gain attention.

Thus, a16z decided to make its own program, to know the voice channel and to oppose the organization of the news.

Institutional media such as "The New York Times" and "Fortune" once monopolized the news media, and Silicon Valley tech companies had to rely on them to present their images to the outside world. However, with the rise of the internet and new social media such as Twitter and Facebook, these old models have broken down and businesses have more and more ways to communicate directly with users and share their thoughts.

a16z has been investing in social media such as Twitter and Facebook since childhood, and has always been more confident to “destroy the independence of media companies”. They have also worked extensively in personal advertising, and almost all of their staff are renowned journalists. Today, the a16z has developed its own large distribution matrix,Among them, Marc Andreessen has nearly 870,000 Twitter fans, Ben Horowitz is the best-selling business expert, and Chris Dixon has 740,000 Twitter followers and is a stakeholder on the board's cryptocurrency site.

In June of this year, Future announced a self-developed 16z website, which included books, videos, podcasts, and other content. Create a rising star.

Competitive advantage and industry innovation

a16z has recruited many new partners, government employees, repairers and more with the ability to work effectively and efficiently to provide business, legal, waiting, receiving and business support services. As such, the 16z preference for start-ups has increased significantly, and the potential for investing in the “best winner” has increased.

The only problem is that it all costs a lot of money. The cost of providing and working for these services is very expensive. Does this mean 16z will drop soon?

Welcome. The economist Dror Poleg offers a new translation of the a16z working model in his article "Andreessen Steal Bezos".He thinks the 16z model works the same as Amazon's success.

The famous Jeff Bezos once said, “Your gifts are my time.

This shows that he is willing to significantly reduce the gains in the medium to medium term over the long term. For years, Amazon has worked on a slowdown or near-loss, investing in real estate development, new lines of marketing, and a variety of other products that don't seem to focus on “selling the site”. In the long run, however, these investments will not only benefit Amazon, but will also make Amazon the biggest winner in the competition for e-commerce - Commerce, cloud computing, and third-party companies.

More importantly, not only did Amazon win the competition, but it also transformed the whole of e-commerce, forcing its competitors to set new prices. Other retailers now need to offer more Amazon features or rely on partnerships with companies like Shopify, Facebook, and Stripe.

Poleg believes 16z is doing the same in the investment industry. It goes beyond strategies for getting the best results. It imposes whole new values ​​on its competitors.As a result, the less ethnicity will try to make a huge thing to get caught. Various "boutiques" group's capital simply depends on small plans, and more bonus and holy banks are gone.

Doug Leone of Sequoia Capital said: “The a16z has revolutionized our industrial portfolio. Okta CEO Todd McKinnon said during the fundraiser:“Now an organization will talk to us and say, 'Hey, we can help you with our recruiting process and educate our major clients. Has become the focus of the contract.

The new design of 16z is a turning point in the investment market, and it can be said that it performs better than the developer and the industry is better and improves the market ecosystem.

Creation: In the footsteps of the Internet

Why create a template like this to work as a VC? This is a correlation with the experience of the two designers.

One of its founders, Andreessen, was known as the "founder of the Internet".I was born in New Lisbon, a large small town in the glory of the American Midwest. It seems nothing has happened to the computer. Locals love rugby and Andreessen seems like an outlier. He started to touch the computer. When I was 9, I learned basic vocabulary on my own at the library.

After graduating from the University of Illinois, Andreessen led the development of the first Mosaic Internet browser at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications in the United States.In February 1994, veteran Jim Clark spent $ 4 million to find this talented young man, and the two co-founded Mosaic Communications (CEO of Netscape).

On August 9, 1995, Netscape had an excellent IPO, 16 months after its creation. The product was initially priced at $ 14 per share, but the final decision canceled the initial public offering price. , up to $ 28 per. The first day's stock price hit $ 75, all the time set high. The stock closed at $ 58.25, bringing Netscape's market value to $ 2.9 billion.It was a little different for the company to go public before earnings, but in fact in 1995 Netscape's earnings increased every few months. The success of this IPO inspired the use of the term "Moment Netscape" to describe a profitable IPO that marks the start of a new industry. As a producer, Marc Andreessen also appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine.

End of 1998,Microsoft has used all the advantages of its monopoly in operating space to fund all the free products with which Netscape competes. Netscape is not licensed to sell to AOL.In the short term, this is a big win for Microsoft. For the greatest threat is repelled and thrown into the arms of an uncompetitive opponent. But in the long run, Netscape will force developers who write new features on their computers to stop giving the platform to Microsoft's member platforms, and instead start the process of disrupting the process on the Internet and the World Wide Web. . Over the years, many modern internet technologies have been developed by Netscape, including JavaScript (a programming language), SSL, and cookies (a data system).

Another 16z creator, Ben Horowitz, was born in London, England, and raised in California, United States. He received a computer science degree from Columbia University in 1988 and a master's degree in computer science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1990. In 1995, Ben Horowitz joined Netscape as CEO.Following the acquisition of Netscape in 1999, the two companies merged with Loudcloud, a cloud computing and storage service provider. However, when the Internet bubble burst in 2000, unfortunately followed and it was difficult to make money.

Later, the two decided to leave the Loudcloud industry and formed a new company called Opsware, which specializes in data management and retention. In 2017, Opsware was acquired by HP for $ 1.65 billion.

Yes No,People think Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz are the best business partners. Andreessen had vision and planning ability, while Ben Horowitz was able to maintain good management and made Andreessen unprofessional as an intellectual. However, the business of the two together for 20 years is more difficult than we would like, and the path to glory is strewn with many wounds and suffering.

As Horowitz described in "The Startup Problem" (now to be read as the best-selling business model), he and Andreessen encountered Microsoft's hard work and inexperience when it came to being safe. they were working on Netscape, which they eventually had to sell. business.Netscape is a star in the history of the industry.Then Loudcloud developed and dove into design too early in history and got it by HP at a very low price. Price ..

Andreessen sees each time a model for the future, but whether his opponent is very strong or at the wrong time .... These two companies succeed him on which he relied.It makes him think he won't be a good manager or a good businessman.

And Horowitz also thinks behind the difficulties and inefficiencies of the business.Why is the art of marketing so deep? Do all CEOs have the same problem? So why isn't anyone writing these problems down? Why do startup consultants and venture capitalists have little experience setting up their own businesses?

He never forgot that he met investors as CEO after Loudcloud Finance's first venture, when David Beirne, head of the design department at the time, asked him before anyone else:“When do you plan to hire a real CEO? Large companies need to find creative people, have a strong network, and have clients who are ready to become CEOs. "Horowitz has always suffered from this problem. He can't do that. He's not a professional CEO, he's the founding CEO. He was still wondering. How Can I Become a Qualified CEO?

So Horowitz sent Andreessen a message like this:“You have to start an investment business. The goal of choosing a partner is to provide information to people who are considering starting a business and to help them become successful CEOs. "Andreessen replied: "I think the same."

They believe the 16z developer will fix the error made by Andreasen and Horowitz. In their opinion, some of these errors occur with Benchmark. At the time, the boutique business had only five employees and no backend professionals to provide the services they needed.

“We always take defensive action. Our design is not what they do,” Horowitz said.The conditions they themselves encountered have met the critical needs of investors and rewrote the rules of venture capital.

Resurrection: leaders in the further process

According to Pitchbook data, there were 1,218 16z investments, which left 299 jobs. According to the official 16z website,Of these, 18 positions were issued by IPO and 4 by DPO.

Note: Direct Listing (DPO) is the difference between an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to increase external capital, but company employees and investors transfer members to joint ventures and then to the public on the stock exchange. When products are made public, instead of the usual closing IPOs (DPOs do not have a close time), the public can buy existing products and investors have been paid at any time.

a16z, the largest publicly traded transaction is Coinbase, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange using DPO this year. Coinbase had a net worth of $ 85.8 billion at the time of listing, with A16z owning 25% of class A shares and 14.8% of class B shares, with a return on investment of over $ 7 billion. .Lyft, Slack and Pinterest are other public markets holding more than 5% of the capital of a16z. In addition, the eight investment firms received over $ 1 billion, including:

GitHub (Access to Tower A, acquired by Microsoft for $ 7.5 billion), Oculus (Access to Tower B, acquired by Zuckberg for $ 2 billion), Instagram (Access to Boot Tower, acquired by de Zuckerberg for $ 1 billion), the Dollar Shave Club (It goes in the seed round, was acquired by Unilever for $ 1 billion.

Currently, a16z has 58 unicorn companies in the first store., Stripe (a16z has invested in the seed environment), the United States' most valued private tech company ($ 95 billion).

The first 16z investment has already doubled cash flow for investors, and the demand for second and fourth quarter cash returns has been predicted to increase as well. All of this used force to refute a famous Wall Street Journal article that questioned the true profitability of 16z.

The era of the mobile Internet: "Software swallows the world""Software catcher"

Launched in 2009, a16z has only invested in select positions in the software sector, including product management company Asana (listed on the market, maintaining market value of US $ 12.7 billion) and calls in line. Skype software (purchased from eBay for US $ 50 million), part of the partnership) and social games company Zynga (registered, currently valued at US $ 7 billion).

In May 2011, Microsoft bought Skype for $ 8.5 billion, the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history at the time, which sparked global speculation and led to the a16z, which only had two years old, famous. Taking advantage of this moment, Andreessen published his famous “Why Software Has Been Globally” in the Wall Street Journal. "

He predicted, “We are in the midst of technological change and a massive industry. New software innovations will lead to an increase in the number of new Silicon Valley-style startups that will not impact industrial design. The next ten years will see a battle between the "president and opponents of software pilots."Estimated investment and visual, this line has been widely read, establishing Andreessen's reputation as a Silicon Valley pioneer and developing the a16z as a "software sensor."

In fact, a16z paved the way for investments in software re-injection in the early stages of its development, according to Scott Kupor, a16z No.1 CEO, explaining why Quora is called a16z:“The real reason is that we are the software people. A16z means there are 16 versions of Andreessen's A and Horowitz's Z. People with training will remember that the international market is called i18n and that the location is called i18n. Will. I10n. "

In addition to the software sector, it also offers a wide range of configurations in other industries.

Data source: Pitchbook

Data source: Pitchbook

According to Pitchbook data, a16z currently has 842 investments in the software sector (including information technology and service industries), accounting for 69.25% of its total investment. This is provided by five technology ideas presented by a16z in early 2019: biomedical, digital currency, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and financial technology.

Unlimited "all-weather" money

Annual investment

a16z does not limit the growth seed capital layer, covering the entire cycle of the first operation. a16z went from 2 strokes in the first year of development, from 25 patients in the second year, and from 59 patients in the third year to 95 cases in 2012.According to PitchBook data, there have been no less than 60 investments in a single year since 2011.They also say that it is "all weather" and not "winter in the capital".

Data source: Pitchbook

Data source: Pitchbook

Note: Investment commitments refer to investments before cycle A, early investments refer to investments from cycles A and B, and intermediate investments refer to investments before cycle C.

Overall, the capitalization of a16z has been achieved through short and medium term investments, with a base investment of 45.57%, a medium term investment of 29.64%, and seed investments which represent 22 , 82%.

impressive information

Data source: Pitchbook

Data source: Pitchbook

There are 221 public broadcasts reported by a16z, the main broadcasts are nominative or M&A, and the most popular are spoken via Skype and GitHub.Although Skype only owns a 2% stake, a16z played a key role in persuading Microsoft to acquire Skype for $ 8.5 billion. With this order, the a16z has a net worth of $ 100 million. a16z invested $ 100 million in the GitHub code-sharing developer community in 2015, and in 2018 Microsoft acquired GitHub for $ 7.5 billion, generating $ 1 billion in revenue.

Phase 3 financial investment

According to data from Pitchbook, in the phase 3 investment portfolio of the a16z fund, there are 6 companies with returns of 50 times or more, 5 companies with returns of 20 to 50 and 2 companies with 10 times. 20 ~ 20 times, 5 ~ 10 times 6 pieces, 1 ~ 5 times 13 pieces, 0 ~ 1 times 3 pieces. The primary investment has been doubled for investors, and the demand for second and fourth quarter fund recovery is expected to triple as well. For schools established over 12 years ago, these perks have been excellent, making 16z one of the best companies in Silicon Valley.

Web3 era: crypto hurricane

In 2019, a16z reached the transition point ---

Four of the top companies in their portfolio - Lyft, Pinterest, Slack, and PagerDuty - have been in decline since their IPO, when a16z gained significantly, but the mobile momentum confirmed there was the internet.

16z is starting to make the transition to find new areas worth investing in in the next few years. They were passionate about encryption.

The Internet is the quintessential software network, and encrypted networks are built on the Internet. a16z The value of encryption is based on its prior understanding of software domains.

In terms of 16z,Since software is the law of the human mind, it has an almost infinite conception. Encryption is the only software that does not depend on physical measures (the Internet requires the laying of cables and the design of stations). It represents the changing nature of technology and globalization, leaving many wary. The ability to build relationships and trust among network participants is more important than the positive impact of cryptographic technology.

Chris Dixon's participation in 2013 officially opened the curtains for the 16z crypto investment layout. He thinks:“Blockchain is an innovative and revolutionary form of the Internet, this change gives every participant on the Internet the possibility of owning a part of the Internet. aspects of our lives and lead the next wave of computer engineering. "

A16z Encrypt was the first investment in Ripple, a cross-border solution, and in the same year it also invested in the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange.Currently, Ripple is valued at $ 10 billion and Coinbase listed on the Nasdaq in April of this year, with revenue of $ 85.8 billion, making it one of the largest trading companies in the world. history of technology.When asked why he invested in Coinbase, Chris Dixon explained:"Bitcoin solves a big problem with traditional payments that rely on intermediary services to implement exchanges, but killer apps must make Bitcoin more secure. Where there is a web browser over HTTP and an email client over SMTP . I need it. This is. Coinbase. "

In June 2018, a16z created a $ 350 million cryptocurrency fund that typically deals with five investment strategies.

One is longevity, which can last for more than 10 years after the investment.

The second consists of "all-weather" investments that are not affected by the "cold winter" of the market.

The third is to provide employment support for entrepreneurs. Our team of 80+ provides support for recruiting, marketing, management and more.

The fourth is the change of scene, heritage and place.

The fifth is to focus on non-speculative projects.

This investment strategy allows a16z to see as many high performance projects as possible based on the characteristics of the crypto industry and project, and to use its rich resources to support the growth of the project. .

In April 2020, a16z generated a second round of cryptocurrency worth $ 505 million, and in June of this year, created a third tier cryptocurrency fund worth $ 2.2 billion dollars, making it the second largest cryptocurrency in the world. (Paradigm announced in November of this year) Creation of $ 2.6 billion cryptocurrency fund). a16z manages a total of $ 3 billion in cryptocurrency, and its future investments will focus on the following five areas:

One is the next generation payment method, the encrypted payment method can reduce friction and provide better customer experience.

The second is the value market, and Bitcoin is accepted and accepted around the world.

The third is DeFi, which opens the door to the financial side, using programmable reliability, low cost, and the cost of a new home.

The fourth is a new way for people to make money. Instead of attracting middle-of-the-road visitors who pay high rents, the designers used a token design to lead their fans to their success.

Fifth, Web3, the most programmable blockchain that facilitates the integration of integration.

until now,These investment indicators are similar to topics such as the rise in the value of Bitcoin, the rise of several public chains, the rise of DeFi and NFT markets, the rise of typical token platforms, and industry trends.

first position

Currently the best 16z ROI is Coinbase. In 2013, a16z led Coinbase's $ 20 million Series B funding. Despite the turbulence in the cryptocurrency market, a16z is still involved with every Coinbase financial institution, making a total of eight investments.

According to Coinbase's investment prospectus, a16z became the second-largest investor by acquiring 3.52 million shares of Union Square Ventures, the venture capitalist of Coinbase Round A in 2019. Since Coinbase went public this year, 16z has lost approximately $ 4.375 billion in Stock.Currently holding 7% stake, the company is the biggest winner outside of the Coinbase list.

“We are very excited to continue investing.Coinbase represents the best of the completely different world, not only using Silicon Valley product and design information, but also complying with laws and regulations. "16z partner Katie Haun said.

In addition, a16z invested in projects such as Filecoin in 2017, invested in companies such as Chia, Dfinity, MakerDAO in 2018, Compound and Dapper in 19 Labs, Arweave and other companies, now almost all of them have become operators. major blockchain companies, and the giveaways are generous.

The general look of the 16z investment portfolio is favored by the industry as it is motivated by investment.In August 2020, when DeFi had just exploded, a16z quickly invested in the DEX Uniswap project manager, and at the end of the year invested in the NFT lead company Dapper Labs and the Layer2 lead project. Optimism. After Solana Ecology's rapid expansion this year, the previously forgotten a16z immediately led to a $ 314 million funding round from Solana Labs.

construction industry

In addition to supporting the growth of good jobs in the industry through investment,a16z also pays special attention to disseminating popular business ideas and knowledge in various ways, supporting the development of expertise, investment and supervision related to the blockchain industry.

For example, legitimate 16z websites are more educational websites than other organizations which are informational websites.

Since 2014, partner a16z has written numerous articles on their website to promote the concept of blockchain and cryptocurrency and discuss topics like crypto industry, blockchain management, etc. Today and Tomorrow: From Collaboration to Collaboration ”and more.

At the same time, a16z also invited celebrities from inside and outside the industry to discuss the use of high-tech encryption and create audio podcasts to promote its concept of interviewing the world. outside. a16z is also known for bringing in the best readers by industry and incorporating the best articles in this area for readers to submit across topics, and has created great content.

In early 2020, a16z invited over 20 entrepreneurs to launch an online video course called "Crypto Entrepreneurship School" which includes technology, management, business, fundraising, compliance, and others that need to be monitored. Entrepreneurs in the crypto industry provide information on assistance in setting up a crypto business.

In June 2020, a16z announced the “Talent x Opportunity Fund”, which aims to invest in talented and thoughtful entrepreneurs with limited training and resources. Direction.

Prior to May 2019, a16z established a cryptocurrency holding company with Washington leadership to explain the potential of blockchain as an early technology for the high-level government agencies involved. CFTC President J. Christopher Giancarlo and many others.

The above actions have made a16z one of the most profitable companies and manufacturers in the crypto world, linked to the future of the crypto industry. .At the same time, it attracts good industry ideas and skills to the environment and creates a solid foundation for capturing long-term value.

model deformation

On April 2, 2019 (US time), Forbes reported on a long-standing report that a16z, a well-known Silicon Valley company, had submitted an Investment Advisory Request (RIA) package.

Cryptocurrency investing activities are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is the “yoke” 16z has abandoned as a private equity firm.

No longer a venture capital firm, the A16z is not subject to SEC investment regulations, allowing them to evade oversight and pose greater risk to investors. .After the conversion, a16z removed the large capital limit in cryptocurrencies, digital assets, etc., which the SEC considered a high risk investment (not exceeding 20% ​​of large investments). Now you can run 1. You can buy an unlimited number of participants in any public company or other trader including $ 1 billion in cryptocurrency.

This change also poses a number of problems. First, a16z will hire compliance experts to inspect the company's current 150 employees, including co-workers, parents and children, and inspect the equipment. The behavior of assets and investments is that the "business model" and potential customers are affected. . It's an expensive and time-consuming start-up, and venture capital groups are not allowed to release any information or resources to the public, including on the popular 16z podcast.

The second is the "chaos" of the LP. What is the purpose of converting to a16z? On which investment site is the 16z update affected? 16z doesn't seem to have given it much thought, and in a TechCrunch report, the company declined to answer these questions.

However, it is recommended to increase the volume over the long term.

16z partner, Chris DixonThe resurrected pirate flag in Silicon Valley invites everyone to join in the expansion, some danger and destruction.“Now the a16z market and investments with more money are more and more the rudder of the pirate ship, and new opportunities will slowly open up.

xaus

From the constant search for software in the Internet age of cellphones to the major investments in encryption today, the bet on new standards is always smart and decisive. Founder Andreessen has always been its leader, even though he brought the Internet to millions of families, first only available to the government and the military, or later by investing in dialogue and everyday without SaaS, biotechnology sectors. , encryption, etc. the data does not solve the problem.

Always bet on the next time around and always looking for the next big time to 'bore the world'."Looking to the Future" is confidential.

The famous Silicon Valley LP commented on the a16z: “I am excited about the strengths of the a16z.Learning and borrowing well from others thanks to the development of 16z is a great success, especially in terms of network sharing. The Hollywood Talent CAA industry standard not only made it stand out, but it also reversed the industry standard, creating new models of enemy value and making it easier for everyone to train. ecosystem of investment firms. .

Andreessen said: “A good job is always different.

“The world has been suffering for a long time., The decentralized creator of the economy, which is booming from the era of institutional media to the era of self-media, is also grappling with the era of platform-driven self-media. and algorithms, and the power of sound is slowly being replaced by the hands of others. 'a hand.

a16z is the first venture capital firm to establish major media freedom, holding invaluable tools as well as the strength of public relations, communication and innovation.This strong impact has been particularly visible in the crypto space over the past couple of years, and almost all of the shine in the crypto space has been associated with 16z.

a16z has become the main trading arm of global investment firms using its own media to develop its own valuable assets. It is also worth learning from all companies. Mastering the basics of description is another important issue for technology companies..