Introducing a16z Build
Dinner series, community, and newsletter for world-class founders, technologists, and operators figuring out their next big thing
Where do great startups come from?
There are certain conditions under which an ambitious, talented person is more likely to start a company, and have a higher chance of going on to be successful.
Some of it is serendipity - the right people in the right room, having the right conversation, at the right time.
But it’s not just chance. Startups emerge where the conditions make them more likely - in spaces where ambitious, talented people collide, swap ideas, and push each other to do more.
Paul Graham captured this perfectly:
“Ambitious people are rare, so if everyone is mixed together randomly… the ambitious ones won’t have many ambitious peers. When you take people like this and put them together with other ambitious people, they bloom like dying plants given water.”
We want to create more of these environments where people bloom.
Time to Build
Today we’re announcing a16z Build - a dinner series and community for experienced founders, technologists, and operators who are figuring out what they want to build next — or who are open to joining something meaningful at the very beginning.
It’s not an accelerator or a structured program. There’s no curriculum, no demo day, no prescribed outcome.
Instead, we focus on one thing: creating small, repeatable environments where people with ambition, ability, and similar timing spend enough time together that trust compounds, decisions get easier, and ambition gets higher.
We’ve been quietly running dinners and retreats for a while, and the magic is real.
Two years ago, Jesse Zhang and Ashwin Sreenivas met at an a16z retreat and then co-founded Decagon to help companies deliver exceptional customer support at scale. Now, Decagon is a leader in conversational AI for customer experience, powering brands like Eventbrite, Rippling, Vanta, and ClassPass - with a $1.5B valuation and $231M in total funding.
Build is our way of formalizing what we’ve learned really works, and cracking the door open for more great people.
Nominate yourself or someone you know below.
Who is this for?
Build works best for people who are between chapters.
Former founders, planning their second or third act
Experienced operators and technologists
High-trajectory people who are exploring what’s next
People who want space for learning, idea-testing, and relationship-building, before the pressure of execution sets in.
If you’ve already raised and are approaching product-market fit, you’re likely a bit past the sweet spot - though you’re welcome to apply, and we’d encourage you to send the boat back by nominating someone you respect who’s a few steps behind you.
We’ll be hosting most gatherings in SF and NYC to start - but participation isn’t limited by geography.
Why join?
1. Be in the room with the right 20 people.
Even if you have a big network, it’s rare to be sitting with the specific people you need - who share your values, your ambition, and your timing. Build brings together exited founders, experienced operators, AI researchers, and ambitious first-timers who are all at an inflection point and ready to move.
2. Extend the dinner into an ongoing network.
We’re spinning up a constellation of WhatsApp groups - big and small - around different themes and stages, and are planning to experiment with curated introductions, sharing under-the-radar jobs, and ongoing “pop-up” sessions around topics that community members gravitate towards.
3. Be there from the beginning.
Five years from now, there will be a company doing something important whose origin story traces back to one of these dinners or group chats. That kind of shared lore is part of the currency of any successful startup ecosystem - and it only exists if people participate early.
Finally, our non-negotiable community values:
Spirit of service. Build only works if people show up to help others first, not just themselves. The most valuable network effects are second- and third-order: the exact person you need may not be in the room, but someone in the room almost certainly knows them. You get the most by giving first.
Sacredness. Everything is off the record. Many participants are between chapters, asking questions they can’t ask publicly, or exploring ideas before they’re ready to share them widely. That vulnerability is what makes these environments powerful - and we treat it as sacred.
We’re excited to hear about and help you find your next big thing.
We’re also launching this newsletter, where we share a weekly roundup of open roles at breakout startups and awesome people to jam with. Subscribe to stay in the loop, and email build@a16z.com to be featured.
Questions? Reach out at build@a16z.com. Let’s go!
This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not investment advice, nor is it intended for use by any investors or prospective investors in any a16z funds. This newsletter may link to other websites or contain other information obtained from third-party sources - a16z has not independently verified nor makes any representations about the current or enduring accuracy of such information. If this content includes third-party advertisements, a16z has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content or related companies contained therein. Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z; visit https://a16z.com/investment-list/ for a full list of investments. Other important information can be found at a16z.com/disclosures. You’re receiving this newsletter since you opted in earlier; if you would like to opt out of future newsletters you may unsubscribe immediately.
 | A guest post by
|