Inside a16z’s Boot Camp for Crypto Startups
In June, on the final day of CSX—demo day—the founders were set to deliver a short pitch to a room full of investors. As the setting, a16z had chosen a flashy basement venue on the edge of Soho, normally for live music and clubbing. A mezzanine balcony overlooks a floor space, flanked by floor-to-ceiling neon lighting. At the front, a cinema-sized screen and sound system frames a stage, on which the founders would present.
I arrived to thumping electronic music. In the back, one of the founders was giving the lo-down on his project to a cloakroom attendant, who returned a polite smile. Those that had left presentation duty to their partners gathered at the bar, some scouting for investors to chat up. A tray of bright green fruit juice had been laid out for anyone abstaining from booze.
An announcement over the speaker signaled time to take a seat. The floor had been arranged like a comedy club, one investor quipped, with chairs grouped around circular tables. After two opening addresses from Dixon and Rosenthal, the procession began.
The founders were each given a handful of minutes. As one presented, the next was mic’d up at the side of the stage, taking a breath to compose themselves. The wait was the worst part, one later said. A few of the youngest stumbled over their too-well-practiced words, but most were assured in their deliveries. They had clearly been instructed to cut through the technobabble with pithy lines more likely to lodge in the memories of prospective investors: “Join us in our mission to bring trust to science and healthcare,” entreated Caspar Barnes, co-founder of AminoChain, at the end of his speech.
As the founders made their pitches, the investors took notes. Some nodded along, or whispered behind the backs of their hands. In the break, they joked about gazumping one another for a stake in the most promising projects. In all, around forty inventors attended in person, from firms like Accel, Foundation Capital, or Amex Ventures.
Many of the founders were aiming to raise funds off the back of demo day. As with previous editions of CSX, a16z expects to further invest in a few of the cohort, says Rosenthal, but the rest will have to look further afield.
The real opportunity for courtship came after the presentations, at a rooftop cocktail lounge fitted in the style of a traditional Chinese courtyard, which by the time I arrived was packed out. The most self-assured of the founders were already shaking hands and making introductions under a set of blossoming cherry trees; others didn’t seem to know quite what to do, either clubbing together or settling for laps of the room with wine glass in hand. I didn’t envy them.
The scene reminded me of something Rosenthal had said at the start of the program: “Most people actually shouldn’t start a company, because it’s hard—it’s painful. Gosh, if there’s a way to get around that, I haven’t found it.”
