Scenes from SR006 Kickoff Week • Founders from 70+ startups convened in San Francisco last week for the official kickoff of SR006. Here's an inside look at what speedrun looks like from the inside.

The Idiot Index for Code • Why building is no longer the hard part - a guest post by The Leverage’s Evan Armstrong

The Number One Tool Early Stage Founders Overlook • The minimum financial model every seed-stage founder needs,

The Future of AI Creative Tools • a16z GP Jon Lai and FLORA founder Weber Wong discuss AI-powered creative workflows and why taste matters more than ever

What We Look for In Applications • a16z speedrun investors sat down to discuss the positive signals that set founders apart, common mistakes, and other advice for founders.

The Growth Meta: How to Build a Waitlist • Three examples of founders nailing their waitlist strategy

14 Big Ideas for 2026 • The a16z speedrun team shares their ideas for how tech could change the world next year

8 Takeaways from Carta’s State of Seed Report • Our friends at Carta put together a fascinating report on the trends they’re seeing in the markets for seed stage startups. Here's our top takeaways.

Loud Isn't Enough • How Marc Benioff’s most infamous early Salesforce campaign put a knife into software itself. A guest post by The Leverage’s Evan Armstrong

Make ARR Useful Again • What's the right way to track and report ARR and MRR? The speedrun team weighs in.

5 Tips for Making Your First Hires • Among the most important decisions founders make are their very earliest hires. This week, Jordan Mazer and Tom Hammer share their tips for getting hiring right.

The Growth Meta: X Frees the Links • A new mini-series highlighting trends in marketing and growth that can give you an edge.

Andrew Chen on the Lost Art of Designing Viral Loops • Andrew Chen has been writing "brain dumps" on X about the lost Web 2.0 art of designing viral loops for software. This week, we're bringing you the first in the essay series.

How to Find Your Wedge • When pitching a startup, how big should your initial product vision be? a16z speedrun General Partner Jon Lai has some tips.

Ben Horowitz's 5 Lessons for Founders and CEOs • Takeaways from a recent talk given by a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz at a gathering of speedrun founders

The surprising new growth channel used by the smartest founders • One of the biggest open-source conference in all of tech is coming to SF this week and LA next. Tech Week's creators say some are using the platform to build an entirely new type of owned channel.

On Dealing With Rejection as a Founder • Some advice on what to do when you run into barriers.

Andrew Chen's “Dinner Party Jerk” Test — Why Founders Need to Pitch Themselves Harder • This week we're sharing Andrew Chen's classic essay about how to more effectively pitch your early stage startup

The Hardest Game in the World: Founding a Startup • Four successful a16z speedrun alumni share advice—and warnings—for others considering the path of the startup founder.

How to Pitch Your Startup In Under 2 Minutes • An exclusive look behind the scenes at a16z speedrun SR005's Progress Day

How 40 Leading Startups Found Their Cofounders • ...and how you can find yours. Guest author Palle Broe brings the receipts.

The Founder's Guide to Effective Social Media Use • Your next investor is on X. Should you be?

How to Make a Viral Launch Video • For early-stage startups, a killer launch video can change everything. We asked six founders how they pulled off their viral video debuts.

Inside Google DeepMind's Quest to Build Infinite Digital Worlds • Genie 3 co-lead Jack Parker-Holder on the journey that led to Google's latest world model

Scenes from SR Kickoff Week • Founders from 60+ startups convened in Los Angeles last week for the official kickoff of SR005. Here's an inside look at our startup program.

Advice for the Next Generation of Startup Founders • Advice for the class of SR005, from SR004 alumni

Why Every International Founder Should Spend Three Months in the U.S. • A guest post by investor and writer Guillermo Flor

SR005 Apps Reviewed: The 3 Signals That Get Startups In • In a roundtable conversation, a16z speedrun investors share the signals they value most, common mistakes, and plans to improve the application process for founders