a16z’s Grand Narratives: Connecting Venture Capital’s Storytelling with Taiwan

a16z is today’s venture capital firm most adept at media promotion and grand narratives. Earlier VCs such as Sequoia and KPCB focused on investing in successful companies, leaving the applause to entrepreneurs while quietly applauding from the audience themselves. But with newcomer a16z, an era began in which the spotlight shone not only on portfolio companies and their founders, but on VCs too. Venture capital practitioners published enormous numbers of articles to explain how they viewed and evaluated opportunities, and to communicate to entrepreneurs and the public what the future might look like. When it comes to defining the future, a16z’s proposition that ‘software is eating the world’ stands out. It ushered in the software era, and a16z’s era as well. On the subject of grand narratives, remind me to share something about narrative economics in relation to Bitcoin. If you are interested in a16z’s rise, look for VK Technology Reading Time. A recent episode discusses a16z’s emergence and the idea that it is fundamentally a media and public relations company. Next, let me think about how grand narratives and venture capital work could be connected more effectively in Taiwan.