I want to be clear that I don't know any VC, Angel Investor, entrepreneur (at least not in the US) or tech journalist that could actually help me get a job at a16z . Still, I wanted to work at Andreessen Horowitz. Why?
I have thought about it and there’s 3 reasons why:
1- I came to the U.S. because I wanted to study/work with the best minds and be challenge everyday.
2- I love to help people build their ideas/products and invest in my time/money on creating something new to this world.
3- I believe VC (a16z especially) can be a tool for social change.
You will say that there are too many VC funds, Angel Investors, Accelerators, Syndicates, so why would I choose a16z? Because of the answers to my 3 questions.
Andreessen Horowitz is like 1989 49ers team. It has a the best team it could be. You have a Benedict Evans making magic with numbers and charts as if he was Mike Cofer , a Chris Dixon with amazing post as if he received a ball like Jerry Rice, a Balaji.S.Srinivasan, both founders Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. I should also mention Sonal Chokshi, Steve Sinofsky and many others.
This team will challenge anyones critical thinking pushing their bar higher and higher. It reminds me to one of Ayrton Senna quotes, that I run into in a EchoVC blog post :
“On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this limit and you touch this limit, and you think, ‘Okay, this is the limit’. And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further.”
Add this to the fact that they have a great brand now and they get to be pitch but some of the best entrepreneurs. I have always wanted to help people and build/create stuff. The first one was many years ago distributing packages and letters with 20 of my friends and later on by “consulting” on startups (and investing) or by volunteering with a social cause. Also I have always loved to build/create things for myself. From a bag for my surfboard, to excel sheets that automatized functions of accounting, I have always been fascinated about improving something or building it from scratch.
The third reason that I mention before could be the tricky one.Why would I think a16z would be interested in social change and wealth distribution? The commitment from both co-founders Ben and Marc towards helping the underrepresented (minorities and women) has been incredible: from Code2040 or the Arrillaga-Andreessen foundation to every founder or employee that is part of a16z.
The idea comes from my belief that it’s necessary to focus on start ups as the tool to help minorities to overcome their struggles. I know there’s been a revolution in this area but I believe there more to do. There is an unexplored unleashed creativity in the low-income class which if its empower/encourage it will create a never seen amount of wealth that could be distribute to everyone.
Today we have the vehicles of communication (Whatapp, Facebook, Skype,Viber, Slack) to teamwork and share the knowledge but we are lacking of motivation, encouraging, and empowering people into create & build solutions for the problems they face daily. Part of this change would come from universities and online courses (MOCCS) and its already here. But we need the financial support as also the mentoring from those who are leading the change to be able to distribute this energy of innovation into all parts of our society.
I’m happy about this new venture and want to thank everyone that have supported me so far. Thanks for reading this and happy April’s fool day.
Now read a more interesting post: “Build to last, not to Exit” on startups
