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Copycats can drown
Summary
This article discusses the shutdown of Future, a venture firm's foray into tech media, and the importance of the medium being the message. It also discusses executive turnover, red flags, and good news, such as the announcement of IIT > MIT and Elon Musk suspending Kanye West's Twitter account. The article concludes with the author suggesting readers forward the newsletter, follow her on Twitter, and come back next week.
Q&As
What prompted Natasha Mascarenhas to write about how Y Combinator, Product Hunt and Andreessen Horowitz are intertwining?
Natasha Mascarenhas was prompted to write about how Y Combinator, Product Hunt and Andreessen Horowitz are intertwining due to the top institutions trying to be accelerators, discovery engines, content marketers and check-writers all in one.
What may have led to Andreessen Horowitz’s formal foray into tech media, Future, shutting down?
The shutdown of Future may have been due to the difficulty of finding an audience that trusts the content, the lack of impact the venture firm was hoping for, and the difficulty of consistently packaging content in a compelling way.
What is the consequence of tech’s labor market?
The consequence of tech’s labor market is frequent executive turnover, both voluntary and involuntary.
What did Karla Monterroso have to say about turnover in the tech industry?
Karla Monterroso said that the turnovers that are happening in the tech industry are creating homogeneity in companies because the new leaders do not have the range to manage a multicultural organization or company.
What are some of the red flags that Bill Gurley lists for investors when investing in startups?
Bill Gurley lists red flags such as a lack of product-market fit, a lack of customer traction, a lack of a clear path to profitability, and a lack of a clear competitive advantage.
AI Comments
đź‘Ť Natasha Mascarenhas provides an interesting and nuanced take on this week's startup news and trends in her Startups Weekly article.
đź‘Ž The article does not provide much insight into what the future of venture capital may look like in the coming years.
AI Discussion
Me: It's about how venture capital firms are trying to be all things to all people by offering multiple services, such as being an accelerator, discovery engine, content marketer, and check-writer. It talks about how Andreessen Horowitz's media venture, Future, shut down recently and how it highlights the difficulty of having a successful media venture. It also talks about executive turnover and the implications of that, and the importance of recognizing and managing conflict.
Friend: Interesting. So what are the implications of this article?
Me: I think the article highlights the importance of recognizing and managing conflict, especially in a multicultural organization. It also shows that having a venture firm fund a media venture doesn't necessarily guarantee success, and that it's difficult to package content in a way that resonates with audiences. Lastly, it emphasizes how the web of venture capital can shift as priorities shift.
Action items
- Follow Natasha Mascarenhas on Twitter, Substack, and Instagram to stay up to date on her work.
- Research the second-order consequences of executive turnover and the art of conflict in tech's labor market.
- Read Bill Gurley's blog post on red flags to look out for when investing in startups and consider how to create an environment where conflict is prioritized over groupthink.
Technical terms
- Copycats
- Companies that imitate the products or services of another company.
- Y Combinator
- A startup accelerator that provides seed funding, advice, and connections to entrepreneurs.
- Product Hunt
- A website that allows users to discover and share new products.
- Andreessen Horowitz
- A venture capital firm that invests in technology companies.
- Future
- A tech media platform launched by Andreessen Horowitz.
- Second-order consequences
- The indirect or delayed effects of an event or action.
- Multicultural institutions
- Organizations that are composed of people from different cultures.
- Red flags
- Signs or warnings that indicate a potential problem or danger.
- Pitch Deck
- A presentation used to explain a company’s business plan to potential investors.
- CES
- The Consumer Electronics Show, an annual trade show for consumer technology.
- AWS
- Amazon Web Services, a cloud computing platform.
- FTX
- A cryptocurrency exchange.
- BlockFi
- A cryptocurrency lending and borrowing platform.