A look at a16z's communication efforts over the years, as the firm expands its own media operations and has largely stopped cooperating with reporters
Why media whisperer Margit Wennmachers is going direct. — Benedict Evans, Andreessen Horowitz's former in-house analyst … Tweets: @mdudas , @ajs , @jason , @jeffjohnroberts , @ajs , @sarthakgh , @sarah_cone , @sarahcuda , @edzitron , @claytonacollins , and @kateclarktweets See also Mediagazer Tweets: Mike Dudas / @mdudas : “10% of the 200-person @a16z works on its marketing team. The company is expanding its editorial operation... @smc90's in-house media strategy is the future of the firm. One communications person remarked to me, 'They've become a media company basically.'” https://www.newcomer.co/... Alyson Shontell / @ajs : I'm still thinking about @EricNewcomer's article about how a16z has strategically blocked out press so the firm can build its own media operation. Startup puff may be what VCs crave, but it won't be a credible authority without critical self reflection https://www.newcomer.co/... @jason : .@EricNewcomer “I talked to Wennmachers for over an hour for this story on the condition that I wouldn't quote her. She asked me to write that she strenuously disagreed with many of this story's characterizations and facts” https://www.newcomer.co/... Jeff Roberts / @jeffjohnroberts : This is one of the smartest pieces on media and the tech industry I've ever read. Bravo @EricNewcomer https://www.newcomer.co/... Alyson Shontell / @ajs : You know a story is great when you're jealous you didn't publish it. Bravo, @EricNewcomer. Fantastic and important reporting here. Very curious to watch this a16z strategy play out. https://twitter.com/... Sar Haribhakti / @sarthakgh : “Today, roughly 10% of the 200-person firm works on its marketing team. The company is expanding its editorial operation. Talk to anyone around the firm and Chokshi's in-house media strategy is the future of the firm.” https://www.newcomer.co/... Sarah Cone / @sarah_cone : I say this as someone that loves journalism and journalists: there is almost no good reporting on tech anymore. Everyone covering it doesn't understand it or hates it. You have to go direct. https://twitter.com/... Sarah Lacy / @sarahcuda : The Unauthorized Story of Andreessen Horowitz by @EricNewcomer https://www.newcomer.co/... <- stunning must read. Sad IMHO, but I'm biased. (mostly a big reminder of why I'm very happy no longer to be a journalist) Ed Zitron / @edzitron : Love watching people acting as if transformative PR is being able to connect a guy who everyone wants to talk to with everyone else lol https://www.newcomer.co/... @claytonacollins : “This is the story of how Andreessen Horowitz disrupted the world of venture capital by cozying up to the media and then, how they purposefully threw that relationship away. Let me tell you the story from the beginning.” @EricNewcomer https://twitter.com/... Kate Clark / @kateclarktweets : “Margit is really a hidden founder of this firm,” a startup founder who has raised money from the firm told me. “The power dynamics there is, Marc, Ben, and Margit.” Great read on a16z's image maker: https://www.newcomer.co/... @EricNewcomer See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Andreessen Horowitz had already built a substantial portfolio of media and podcasts led by Sonal Chokshi, with more than 500 episodes across its programming. The firm is now pairing that owned distribution with reduced cooperation with outside reporters.
The strategy is broadening beyond company-produced programming: related coverage reports plans for an opinion section featuring outside contributors and a separate media property focused on “the future.”
First-order effects
- Andreessen Horowitz shifts more of its public narrative into channels it operates, while reporters lose routine access to a prominent venture firm.
- Its marketing and editorial staff become a more central interface for portfolio companies, founders, and the wider technology audience.
Second-order effects
- Technology reporters covering Andreessen Horowitz must rely more heavily on independent sourcing and public material, while the firm can publish viewpoints without editorial mediation.
- Outside contributors to a16z’s planned opinion section gain a new technology-business distribution outlet, extending the firm’s reach beyond its own staff voices.
Third-order effects
- If other large venture firms adopt the same model, access to investors and the ability to distribute analysis become increasingly bundled inside investment platforms rather than mediated by independent press.
- The resulting tension between technology figures and industry journalists is likely to make direct publishing and public disputes more important to how venture firms manage reputation.
The trend: Large venture firms are evolving from capital providers into owned-media operators that seek greater control over audience, analysis, and public narrative.