In August 2022, Andreessen Horowitz (A16z) announced its newest investment: It would put $350 million into a company called Flow, which "aims to create a superior living environment that enhances the lives of our residents and communities" — in other words, rental real estate. The company was founded by a charismatic Israeli-American named Adam Neumann. If the name sounds familiar, it's because Neumann was also the founder of WeWork — a company that was once worth an estimated $47 billion before imploding spectacularly amid accusations that Neumann had, among other things, taken a "sizable chunk" of weed across international borders on a private jet, fired a pregnant employee, and — most importantly — expanded far too quickly, leading to enormous annual losses.
Was this ever addressed by anyone at YC directly? I've heard Andreeson talk about it but never answer the simple question: this guy was extremely irresponsible and unethical, why would you trust him again?
I can't help but feel it worsened their reputation, at least to the normie. Just makes it look like VC is just a big game where if you're in, it doesn't matter much what you do.
As long as you can consistently get enough bag holders through the door for your buddies to cash out with a tidy profit before everything peters out, they won't care that you're a serial flim-flam man. An uncomfortably large amount of alleged VC business acumen in tech is just being a gifted corporate hypeman without that many scrouples.
Anyway, I don't blame you for being skeptical, the Flow Monorail is really more of a Shelbyville idea...
Comments
Was this ever addressed by anyone at YC directly? I've heard Andreeson talk about it but never answer the simple question: this guy was extremely irresponsible and unethical, why would you trust him again?
I can't help but feel it worsened their reputation, at least to the normie. Just makes it look like VC is just a big game where if you're in, it doesn't matter much what you do.
As long as you can consistently get enough bag holders through the door for your buddies to cash out with a tidy profit before everything peters out, they won't care that you're a serial flim-flam man. An uncomfortably large amount of alleged VC business acumen in tech is just being a gifted corporate hypeman without that many scrouples.
Anyway, I don't blame you for being skeptical, the Flow Monorail is really more of a Shelbyville idea...
As long as the normie is not writing huge checks or meaningfully influencing actual public policy, their opinion is not exactly that important is it?
Why? YC never invested in Adam Neumann's companies.
What does YC have to address?
Maybe this: https://venturebeat.com/entrepreneur/andreessen-horowitz-to-... ?
Its a very indirect link to Neumann though.
A16Z are the ultimate crypto bros and you expected better of them?
Also they never cheerleaded anyone so hard about making a paradigm shift like they did Clubhouse audio app...