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Four a16z speedrun investors explain what founders commonly worry about before applying and why most of those concerns don't matter. They care about team quality and learning velocity, not polished videos, early traction, or perfect ideas.
- Investors evaluate "slope" — how fast founders learn and improve — not raw numbers. Qualitative progress like customer conversations and advisor recruitment counts as much as revenue.
- Team strength dominates the evaluation. Investors spend 80% of review time on founder bios and co-founder dynamics, looking for grit and shipping ability rather than polished presentation.
- Co-founder fit matters more than how long you've known each other. What counts is continuity of time spent building together, not how quickly you paired up.
- A 10-minute interview is enough because it tests whether you've done the work beforehand — talking to customers daily and understanding your market better than the investor does.
This article explains how a16z’s Speedrun program helps non-US founders handle visas, customs, housing, banking, and workspace when coming to California. It also outlines a peer network of alumni who share their immigration and startup experiences.
- a16z's Speedrun connects founders with immigration attorneys who have 10+ years of startup-specific experience, offering free consultations for O-1A and EB-1A visa petitions
- The program provides practical logistics support: consular interview prep, neighborhood guides for SF and Santa Monica, desk space in both offices, and banking partners who work with founders regardless of visa status
- Alumni network spans 12+ countries with a searchable directory filterable by country and startup stage, letting founders connect with peers who navigated the same visa path
This policy explains what personal data a16z collects when you use the Speedrun site and related services, where it comes from, how cookies and analytics track your activity, and how your information is used, shared, and protected. It also covers your rights under laws like the CCPA and how to manage or opt out of data collection.
- a16z's Speedrun collects broad personal data (contact info, IP, demographics, education/work history) directly from users and from third-party vendors, analytics, and ad partners
- Cookies on the site range from essential login functions to performance/ad-tracking tags, and users can opt out via browser settings or Google Analytics opt-outs, though this may break some features
- Collected data is used not just for site operation but for marketing, fraud detection, career counseling, office access, and combining with outside data sources for personalization
- The policy binds anyone interacting with Speedrun (including portfolio-company reps, partners, vendors) but excludes non-a16z-controlled firms and job applicants/hires