After 9 months of putting this together, I'm excited to finally share a project that I've wanted to exist for years now: The State of Adventure Capital

Savage line from Bill Gurley's last appearance on Tim Ferriss: Bill Gurley: So this gets into some of the earlier stuff we talked about, just about how deep you go on investing history and understanding investors. But Silicon Valley, if there was a scale of financial sophistication between one and 10, and you would say a really smart person in New York is an 8.5, the average Silicon Valley person on financial literacy is a 2. ​ And it’s funny because they make fun of Wall Street, but it’s just out of ignorance, they don’t know anything. piped.video/HSVFZ2Qbv3I?t=4602

Excited to share I’ve joined @a16z as a partner investing in American Dynamism! I'm thrilled to work w/ @KTmBoyle, @davidu, @MichelleVolz & @oyhsu as we partner w/ ambitious founders building the future of our country. Here's what Dynamism means to me: grantgregory.substack.com/p/…

Some news: today is my last day @a16z The past few years have been incredible. I’ll always cherish my time with a16z and the American Dynamism team, and be grateful for @davidu & @KTmBoyle taking a chance on me and mentoring me over the past few years. I can’t imagine a better place to start my venture career. I'm really proud of what we accomplished over the last 2 years, and I'm equally excited about the future of AD and a16z. I know the team will continue to push the envelope for the industry, and will further improve the chances of success for all our existing (and future) portcos. a16z is an exceptional place, and I’m confident it will continue to be a beacon for some of the most audacious and ambitious founders in the world. I also want to sincerely thank the many founders who let us partner with them. I wrote this before I joined the AD team, and it absolutely rings true today: “I’m optimistic about the future, because I’ve met the people building it. And they’re devoting their lives to creating new companies that will not only change our country, but the world as well.” I got my offer to join the AD team on May 13th, 2022. I remember because it was Friday the 13th. Now, two years later to the day, I can’t help but reflect on all the ways my life has changed. One thing stands out above all else — my optimism has magnified. But that shouldn't be too surprising given I've spent time with all of you. I'm excited to stay in the American Dynamism Cinematic Universe, and am looking forward to this next chapter. In the meantime, I’ll keep living and following the American Dynamism dream, and keep rooting for and supporting all of you. GG

I’m excited to finally share the big news: I'm joining @Cantos where I'll continue investing in frontier categories at the pre-seed + seed stages. I’m thrilled to join @IanRountree, @AmeeKapadia, & the rest of the team. Definitionally, cantos are sections that provide breaks in an epic poem. They’re the chapters in the story. Our firm is very much founded on this idea. Here at Cantos, we want to be involved in the very first canto in your epic – the first chapter in what we hope will be a marvelous and glorious story. Our team deeply believes in supporting founders, and we specifically want to be the first investors to join you on your quest to greatness. We focus on founders building in the Near Frontier. We want to back startups changing the world.

I always think about the Djokovic quote about playing tennis at an elite level: “I just like hitting the ball” A lot of people don’t really like hitting the ball. They like the endorsements, the clubhouses, the tournaments, the status, and the bright lights They don’t like sitting in 90 degree weather and hitting tennis ball after tennis ball for hours on end. It’s pretty true everywhere, not just venture

Last week, @IanRountree surprised me over dinner with some news: I’ve been promoted to Partner. I’m incredibly excited and grateful, and as I’ve reflected, I decided the best way to share the news was to talk about tennis. I always think about the Djokovic quote: “I just like hitting the ball” A lot of people don’t really like hitting the ball. They like the endorsements, the clubhouses, the tournaments, the status, and the bright lights. They don’t like sitting in 90 degree weather and hitting tennis ball after tennis ball for hours on end. It’s pretty true everywhere, not just venture.

How it started. How it´s going.

Fun story I've never shared: day before I started @ a16z I was walking and came across a baseball field overlooking the mountains. I wanted to go in but realized they had a massive chain on the door of the fence For some reason I decided to push the door anyways, and it turns out the chain wasn't locked. It literally fell off. I wasn't too sure what to make of it then but this tweet reminded me of it. It took me 3 years and over 80+ interviews to get into VC. And I only got one offer. Worked out pretty well. Sometimes the chain isn't locked, you just have to push on it to find out

One of the many highlights from last year's @a16z American Dynamism Summit was when @davidu asked Adam why he decided to get back into the arena and start Flow:

Quote to ponder: "The Internet commoditized the distribution of facts. The 'news' media responded by pivoting wholesale into opinions and entertainment." - @naval via @david_perell

Every city has a gravitational pull Every time I come to Miami I feel energized and optimistic

Ian and the team deserve an immense amount of credit for being willing to back two <20 year olds who wanted to build a new-age defense prime *after* plenty of other well-funded startups were backed by Sand Hill Road. Neros is a quintessential Cantos company: Outlier individuals tackling huge problems in the physical world. We don't care who else is interested, we just care about the what, how, and why. People like to use the word contrarian, but that's not what we care about. We just want to support amazing people, the rest takes care of itself. Grateful for the opportunity to keep working with the Neros team, as well as all the others around the (cap) table.

Whether through COVID, climate, or geopolitical conflict, it may feel like the world is unraveling But beyond these seemingly grim prospects exists tremendous opportunity. An opportunity to reimagine the world we live in It’s time to Reshore and Restore a16z.com/2022/12/19/reshore-…

The US has more inland navigable waterways than the rest of the world, combined

Link to all 286(!) slides: cantos.docsend.com/v/sx7zh/s…

Always get on the plane!

I love @patrick_oshag's 'Business Card' concept for the @InvestLikeBest podcast snippets. I recreated the template and made a card for one of my favorite episodes: Charlie Songhurst Hard to condense everything down to a single snippet, but like how it turned out

One of the (many) reasons I was so excited to join the Dynamism team was that Katherine has always been so open about her path into the venture It took me 2.5 years and 80+ interviews to get in, and even then I only got one offer. And that was because she and @davidu were willing to take a bet on someone that didn’t check a lot of the standard boxes That’s what makes tech + venture so great imo. Someone will always be there to pull you in, you just have to meet them

I originally met Soren back when I was at a16z, right after @IanRountree and the @cantos team led their preseed. Even back then, I was hard pressed to think of another person better suited to go after such an audacious vision in the defense space. Since then it’s been remarkable to witness the speed @soren_ma, @OHichwa, and the Neros team have executed. We’re excited to continue partnering with a special group of people committed to providing the U.S. and its allies the tools needed to protect and defend its principles and values. They’re just getting started.

Water is Life Partnering with Vital Lyfe Water is life  —  and even with today’s technological marvels, we haven’t made enough progress delivering water to the entire world. 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water, 3.5 billion lack proper sanitation, and 2.3 billion can’t even wash their hands at home. Despite our oceans’ abundance, we don't have enough fresh water — over 90% of it is either trapped in glaciers or stuck underground. Desalination offers the promise of a solution, but progress has been painfully slow. So we set out looking for a team to solve this. Today @Cantos is excited to share that we've partnered with a team who's on a mission to create a decentralized, mobile, and affordable RO solution to solve our water crisis. By designing modular, high-performing RO systems, Vital Lyfe is delivering an immediate, practical solution for regions where building or upgrading traditional infrastructure is prohibitively slow or expensive. This approach bypasses many of the costly, time-consuming steps required to stand up large treatment facilities, enabling faster impact at lower cost. We view this as a definitive Cantos preseed opportunity — two exceptionally well referenced engineers that are tackling a big market with a foundational key insight, and the same rapid hardware playbook we’ve seen many of our other portfolio companies successfully employ. This is a group with massive aspirations, and we believe in what they can accomplish. We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Jon Criss, Andrew Harner, and the rest of the Vital Lyfe team. We’re also excited to be working with our friends at @TheSpaceVC @gen_partners, and @CapitalAlso. Earth has no shortage of water, just a lack of accessible solutions. Vital Lyfe is building the tech to finally change that.

American Dynamism meets the racetrack Great to see all the founders out in LA building the dream! 🏎️💨

People always debate SF vs NYC or LA vs MIA Everyone talks about the energy, tech talent, and food No one talks about how the east coast is 3 hours ahead. It’s the ultimate productivity hack

For those that didn't catch our AGM: Come for the charts, stay for the memes & movie quotes

Organizing a black tie boat cruise next Friday in Fun Island (NYC). Going to be a mix of founders, investors, and other cool people in the city. Have an awesome DJ and an open bar. Lmk if you want to join!

Nothing like a half marathon to cap off LA tech week and the first year on Team Dynamism with @oyhsu and @MichelleVolz! 🚀🇺🇸 Thanks to our resident astronaut (@rmcentush) for the support 🧑‍🚀

Shotput photos are incredible

One of the fun things of meeting founders early in their journey is you get to help them rebuke all the silly pushback most VCs give them

The way I like to describe American Dynamism is that we are solving America’s problems with startups. We're backing the founders building the next great iconic American companies. And we're also focused on rebuilding a movement celebrating people who dare to build great things.

That was fun! Thank you to everyone who came out, and a special thanks to @gabi_imarques for the incredible photos The first of many. See you again soon 🗽

We’re capping off Fun Island (NYC) @Techweek_ with a Gatsby-themed sunset rooftop party 🤵‍♂️🥂 Going to be a mix of founders, investors, and other cool people in the city. Have an awesome DJ and a great venue. Lmk if you want to join!

Excited to be doubling down on our partnership w @ShinkeiSystems @Khawajasn, @Reedgins, and the rest of the Shinkei team have continued to execute at a breakneck pace since we invested only a year and a half ago. They exemplify what we look for @Cantos – life's work founders transforming an industry that touches all of our lives. No one else would be bold or passionate enough to try to tackle this. And we're excited to welcome FF and Interlagos onto the voyage. A lot of people ask me why I joined Cantos. Candidly it was one of the harder decisions I've ever made. But it ultimately ended up being pretty easy because it meant that I would work with Saif and the rest of the Shinkei + Cantos team. Honored to be a small part of their journey. Teach a man to fish... and you might just find Atlantis 🔱

People often ask me what it’s like to work at @a16z — I tell them the truth: That I get to spend every day with people who push me to be better, and who embody the traits I strive to have. @davidu is the best example of that. He holds people accountable and also opens his arms to help and support those that need it (whether that’s founders, investors, or friends). Few people are willing to have honest discussions with people they disagree with, and that’s one of the many things that makes him special. (He’s also going to be very annoyed that I post this, because he never wants the story to be about him. Only those that he’s helping)

Mike Moritz on evaluating founders: “I rarely think about big themes. This business is like bird spotting. I don’t try to pick out the flock. Each one is different and I try to find an interestingly complected bird in a flock rather than try to make an observation about the entire flock. For that reason, while other firms may avoid companies because they perceive a certain investment sector as being overplayed or already mature, Sequoia is careful not to redline neighborhoods.”

It's time to build! Here's what the American Dynamism team is excited to see in 2023: 🛰️An Overhauled Space Supply Chain (@rmcentush) ⚡️A Modular Nuclear Renaissance (@MichelleVolz) 🤖Vertically Scaled Industrial Robotics (@oyhsu) 🏭Reshoring and Restoring Core Infrastructure

One of the main investment theses for @cantos is finding “non-target” founders doing exceptional work, taking a bet on them before anyone else will, and watching as them become inevitable

41 percent of US land is used to feed livestock bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-…

Have some extra capacity for our American Dynamism Happy Hour @Techweek_ event Who are some founders in NYC that we should invite?

I have always like Charlie Songhurst’s East Coast and West Coast framework from his @InvestLikeBest episode “Writing a long memo on the drivers of revenue is better than making a DCF model for a startup” I’d argue Gurley did a great job of that with his rebuttal to Aswarh Damodaran abovethecrowd.com/2014/07/11…

Take the leap

I have yet to meet a truly great founder who cannot talk about their business like this

Excited for @Techweek_ to come to Fun Island (NYC)! 🗽 The @a16z American Dynamism team will be there. Let us know if you’ll be in town! cc @davidu @MichelleVolz @rmcentush @ohyhsu @kimberlywtan

“Winning has its own language, and it doesn’t speak bullshit.”

Cool graphic on US city population density. Does a good job illustrating 1) how ~5 states have 40+% of the population, and 2) how much space we still have

My colleague @kimberlywtan is great at so many things (cold emailing, sourcing, diligencing, etc), but what's impressed me the most is her thoughtfulness – everyone that works with her becomes better as a result. All of us @a16z are lucky to learn from her every day

Grateful to our founders and LPs that allow us to continue advancing entrepreneurship, the cornerstone of the American Dynamism Dream. "Dynamism is the feeling of growth, movement, momentum, and opportunity that makes America the country people want to be from, to immigrate to, and to build a life, career, or company in." There is much to build and we want to help you build it. Excited to continue partnering with founders across all stages as we create the future we all want to live in.

This remains the most insane story from Skunk Works: "Vito felt his throat go dry as he approached Moscow for the first time—who could blame him? So he fished in his pocket for a cough drop and grabbed the cyanide pill instead and popped it into his mouth. He started to suck on it. Luckily he realized his mistake in a split second and spit it out in horror before it could take effect... Had he bit down he would have died instantly and crashed right into Red Square. Just imagine the international uproar!"

Announcing Shinkei The fishing industry hasn’t really changed much since the invention of the fishing rod, the net, and the motor engine. In fact, the motor engine's introduction in the 1890s was the last major change to the “fishing stack”. The result is a litany of issues plaguing one of the largest agriculture sectors in the world: overfishing, pollution, bycatch, spoilage, and even slavery comprise a few of the most rampant problems here. These are massive issues, which is why we @Cantos are excited to partner with @ShinkeiSystems. Shinkei is a vertically-integrated robotic fish processing company. They’re using robots to process fish more efficiently and humanely, which makes the fish taste better and last up to 3x as long.

I spent the better part of 3 years trying to get into venture. By far, the most helpful thing I did was apply to the @SusaVentures Fellowship. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for them If you’re on the fence, apply! You get to learn from the best in the business

Introducing the American Dynamism 50 🇺🇸 A list of companies that embrace and embody the American Dynamism vision a16z.com/american-dynamism-5…

So excited for my former colleague, marathon runner, world record holder, and friend Michelle to take the leap! The American Dynamism Cinematic Universe is in great hands thanks to all her hard work. From, Geoff.

The calm before the storm See everyone tomorrow! 🗽

If you’re an ambitious founder there’s a huge opportunity to fix this Maritime has massive blue space to build

The name is Dynamism, British Dynamism. Innovation is boundless – excited to see our firm's global presence grow accordingly 🇬🇧

This is the same thing as “no one gets fired for buying IBM” Follow the rules, and you won’t get fired. Every industry is getting IBMified. And at the expense of true artists that just want a chance to share their genius with the world Applies to movies, sports, venture, etc.

The bar for excellence is so much lower than you think Putting a little bit more time and effort into something puts you ahead of 90% of everyone else, in any endeavor Applies to everything from dining to company building

People underestimate the power they have in a country like America. If you use that power, you’d be blown away with what you can achieve. Accomplishing anything great takes time and hard work. We've forgotten that. But that's how this audacious American experiment came to be.

*Everyone* likes to talk about vertical integration, very few founders embrace the hardest parts of the stack Shinkei is a great example of the latter – they tackle the messy (fishy) parts of the business head on. It's substantially more work but the upside is much higher *(See @IanRountree's original post coining Full Stack Deep Tech)

Hammad and I had a blast talking to @DStrachman & @William_Blake on @MotionBlurFM about 1517, the Thiel Fellowship, and finding outliers There are perhaps *the* best duo in the world at identifying and supporting young, exceptional talent We learned a ton. Excited for others to hear it for themselves

Last year I hosted a @SusaVentures fireside chat with the inimitable @honam. So much of what he shared that day directly contributed to me ultimately joining @a16z Now, almost to the day, I get to be on the other side of the table talking to the next generation of Susa Fellows!

The factory: where bits meet atoms and atoms meets bits h/t: @summit_pcb

You can't solve these Big Problems alone. But you don’t have to — we’re here to help you achieve your dreams. Isn't that what this country is supposed to be? A place where you can realize the American Dream. That’s what American Dynamism means to me. grantgregory.substack.com/p/…

I do this walk almost every day and it never gets old

AI is not just for APIs. It's being deployed in energy, agriculture, public safety, manufacturing, and robotics That's why we at a16z are thrilled to publish the second annual American Dynamism 50 - AI Edition 🇺🇸 Here are 50 companies using AI to build a better future for the US, her allies, and the world more broadly

I’m officially leaving Fun Island. To celebrate we're capping off NYC @Techweek_ with a final Fun Island extravaganza. This one is a summer solstice-themed sunset rooftop soirée 🌇🥂 I’m sad to be leaving but am excited to have another night with the people that have made the past few years here so fun. If you’re a founder, investor, or someone that just wants to spend time with other awesome people in NYC, feel free to reach out!

If you’re working on the Future of Food reach out to us on the American Dynamism team! DMs are open

The Return to Fun Island

Deterrence through strength. Thrilled that we @a16z are partnering with the @castelion team as they look to advance our nation's defensive capabilities by offering rapid, affordable, overmatch hardware at scale. It's time to build! 🚀🇺🇸

On the flip side: if you’re voluntarily playing on hard mode the American Dynamism wants to talk to you! DMs always open

It's time to build! 💪🇺🇸⚡️

"I lost 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜." Regardless of what you think of @PalmerLuckey, these 30 seconds are so raw. It takes a ton of bravery to be this vulnerable. After watching this, I'm thankful that people like Palmer stand up for what they believe in piped.video/nK0NfL2M5L4?t=1522

If you want to accomplish anything consequential in life, you need help. Sometimes it can be difficult to find it. In my case, it was a long and arduous path to break into venture. Which is why I’ll always be grateful to @SusaVentures and @a16z. Susa accepted me into their Venture Fellowship Program, welcoming me into the venture ecosystem and advocating for me. @KTmBoyle & @davidu at a16z took this further; they brought me onto the American Dynamism team, mentored me, and helped me become a better partner to amazing founders. All because they were willing to take a chance on me. The reason I bring all this up is because this is what I strive to do for founders. Many people just need a chance. Once they get it, they’ll almost undoubtedly be successful. All it takes is someone saying yes. I’m now in a position to do that, and I don’t take it lightly. We believe, before others understand. And belief, more than anything, is often all someone needs to get that momentum started. When that momentum snowballs, we’ll be able to look back together and reflect on how far you’ve come. If you’re a founder, find me at ggfounderdoc.com The Cantos team is excited to meet you. “But you, brave and adept from this day on, there’s hope that you will reach your goal, the journey that stirs you now is not far off.” – The Odyssey

“Life is a use it or lose it proposition” — ⁦@bgurley⁩

Relevant :)

That was fun! Thank you to everyone who came out for Fun Island @Techweek_, and for dressing up for Gatsby. Once again a special thanks to @gabi_imarques for the wonderful photos See you again soon🗽

Resiliencies and Redundancies All of our core infrastructure is being rebuilt + reimagined. Just the beginning of what will be a massive wave

One more day to apply to the best venture training program in the industry You build a great network, learn how venture actually works, and work directly with @chadbyers, @lpolovets, @SethGB, Courtney, & the rest of the @SusaVentures team. Nothing else comes close to this IMO

Had a great time talking about all things American Dynamism! (Also: cold emails work!)

The pizza is also really good

Best metaphor for what founders do They ride the big waves that no one else can If they’re really special, they become the wave

Back on Fun Island after traveling between SF, Tahoe, and Boston the last few weeks Never gets old

Like watching Picasso paint

My dad sent this to our family group chat yesterday and I keep thinking about it: “If you woke up every morning and I told you that you suck at what you did, that you don’t belong, that you shouldn’t be here, that you haven’t earned this… and then someone comes in and tells you, ‘You are the best fit for this, you can be great.’ How would that make you feel?” @Tua on the differences between his old and new coach. He went from getting texts from Flores saying “don’t blow it tomorrow” to McDaniel truly believing in him. He went from getting pulled in the 4th quarter of games to leading the NFL in passing yards Sometimes all it takes is surrounding yourself with people that see your potential and have your back. They believe in you

Guys will see this and go: hell yeah

The optimism from founders, operators, and public servants in DC reminded me of a relevant quote: "All the resources we need are in the mind." — Pres. Teddy Roosevelt

“But every now and again, a scrappy little country wins.” The quote actually says “company” but the fact that you can swap the words demonstrates why it’s worth betting on America, and it’s founders We’re the underdog that won. And @a16z is partnering w/ founders doing the same

West side highway walking meetings are undefeated

You can learn a lot by visiting startup offices in person

Ariana is one of those special founders that we’re thrilled to partner with at Cantos. MoldCo has already helped one of my family members, and I’m excited for even more people to get the care they always deserved (and sometimes didn’t even know they needed). They’ve assembled an amazing team and this is just the beginning. Can’t wait for everyone to see steps 2, 3, and beyond from their master plan

Thanks to all the fans who came out tonight. Couldn't have asked for a better group of seniors to lead us through the year. We'll be back

In a brilliant move, one of my brothers strategically sold my college lacrosse gear after I moved out I truly admire the hustle. And now I need to find a new stick for alumni weekend

Guys will see this and just think "hell yeah"

“Always more audacity” — Senra

One of my favorite passages from @polina_marinova’s Hidden Genius Reminds me of this line from @BrentBeshore: “Books don’t change lives, sentences do”

The newest addition to the American Dynamism team! So excited to be working with @rmcentush 💪🇺🇸🚀

Amazing thread. My rec: