Create The Future | Apply to speedrun: https://xitter.twitterapi.xyz/t.co/CDm2GrE97W
San Francisco
Joined February 2024
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SR008 APPS ARE OPEN. Up to $1M + $10M+ in credits. 12 weeks in SF, Feb through April. Built to help you land capital, customers and talent. Apply by Nov 1: speedrun.a16z.com/apply
Congrats to @aaronistan and @angus_fung on their $11M pre-seed round!
@bySyncere is building Lume, a robotic lamp that moves around your home, helps with chores, and blends into your living spaces.
Go check it out - syncere.com/
Excited to share that we've raised $11M in pre-seed funding to bring Lume to more homes.
Our lamp that does your chores, was also recently named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2026!
Grateful to everyone who believed in @bySyncere early. Back to shipping.
we usually go a little quiet on social after applications. this time, we wanted to hear from you:
what would be most helpful to you as you’re building? what do you wish we talked about more?
we’d love to use the time between speedruns to make useful content and point you toward resources that already exist.
drop your questions, ideas, or whatever you’re working through below. we’re all ears.
to everyone who applied to speedrun, and everyone who has supported us over the years: thank you.
behind every application is someone willing to commit years of their life to something they believe should exist. it takes conviction to pursue that. it takes courage to share a vision while you’re still working to make it real.
we’re grateful you chose to share yours with us. whether this was your first application or you’ve shared your progress with us before, we hope this is the beginning of a lasting relationship. many speedrun founders were reapplicants, and getting to know them over time has been a meaningful part of our story.
to everyone turning an idea into something people can use, depend on, and eventually wonder how they lived without: keep building.
thank you for giving us the chance to see what you see.
Last call for SR008.
apply for speedrun if you want to get access to:
> up to $1M in funding
> over $10M in startup credits
> intros to 150+ C-suite execs from the Fortune 500 & the a16z portfolio, plus a full day demoing live to buyers at AI Faire
> hiring support through our Talent Network, with 171K+ engineers, designers & product people and $0 in fees
> office access at our new North Beach HQ
> a 40-person team helping with GTM, talent, marketing & fundraising.
Mega recap of helpful resources below 👇
1. Our investment team (@tkexpress11, @ndrewlee, @seeamshahidnoor, @kenanhsaleh and @emilybenn12) on what they look for in applications, and how to work with us:
xitter.twitterapi.xyz/speedrun/status/211257…
NEW: INVESTOR ADVICE FOR APPLYING TO SPEEDRUN (SR008 EDITION)
Every cohort we sit down with our investors to hear what’s top of mind. This time @ndrewlee got in the booth with @kenanhsaleh, @emilybenn12, @seeamshahidnoor, and @tkexpress11 to talk about:
00:00 - what’s changed in apps this cycle
04:15 - team vs. market vs. traction: how we weigh them
08:14 - hot markets vs. ones that feel inevitable
10:36 - spotting the gaps the frontier models leave
13:35 - where speedrun fits in your founder journey
22:26 - how to make your application stand out
30:05 - common mistakes (AI is not your “why now”)
38:46 - the 10-min interview + co-founder dynamics
45:41 - what you get working with speedrun
SR008 apps close Nov 1. Watch the full roundtable here 👇
we're excited to see what you're building speedrun.a16z.com/apply
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🔊🔉🔊🔉🔊🔉🔊
dropping this here to motivate anyone still on the fence about applying for @speedrun. (headphones required)
credit: @wearetonik
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ready and waiting to help you succeed
Don't Build Alone
As a @speedrun partner, some of my favorite conversations with founders starts with: “here's a thing i'm stuck on...”
Maybe that thing is pricing. Maybe a promising customer has gone quiet. Maybe the founders are hiring their first salesperson and trying to figure out what good looks like.
Working these things through with founders is one of my favorite things about this job.
At Speedrun, we want to be your earliest backers and work alongside you through those decisions. You get our time, our attention, and a team of world class operators who can help you work through what’s blocking you.
Building something great is hard - don't feel like you have to do it alone. Let us work with and support you on the journey ahead.
SR008 applications close this Sunday at midnight.
If you’re building, we'd love to hear from you. Application link below
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NEW: INVESTOR SPOTLIGHT WITH FAREED MOSAVAT
@far33d went from working on blockbuster Pixar hits to leading growth at Slack, and now backs founders at speedrun. He sat down with us to talk about:
00:55 - what a Pixar film teaches you about building a startup
04:13 - films vs. startups: why customers have to be in the loop
06:05 - Slack’s free-to-paid assumption that turned out wrong
07:46 - the app store review that changed Slack’s monetization
10:34 - why he joined speedrun
13:30 - product-market fit and “heat-seeking” founders
14:11 - why he’s bearish on cold email
SR008 apps close Nov 1. Watch the full interview here 👇
Building a generational company?
Better Call Tom.
no one makes a better CEO than a founder
but how do you make a founder a better CEO❓
we'll help you make offers that win candidates 💲
intro advisors with domain expertise you need 👩🔬
navigate immigration to build + hire in America 🇺🇸
speedrun.a16z.com/apply ⬅️ apply by 11/1
Are you a founder fundraising? You want this team in your corner
Every company needs capital to scale and grow. To-date, @speedrun companies have raised nearly $1B.
If you want a deeply experienced team in your corner every single step of the way as you navigate early-stage venture, fundraising, and financing, drop an application!
Can't wait to work together 🚀
apply here by 11.59PM PT on Sunday, Nov 1: speedrun.a16z.com/apply
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it’s not what you feel. it’s what you do.
Ben Horowitz's message to early-stage founders on betting on yourself, the doubts that do the most damage, and why fear means you're doing it right:
"Your job is to make your bet pay off. You believed in yourself enough to do it. There are gonna be many times when you question that bet and you question that belief, but that gets you nothing."
"The doubts are gonna be there. Ignore the doubts. The worst doubts aren't the ones people put on you. It's the ones that you put on yourself. Every entrepreneur has them."
"I spent a lot of time with Mark Zuckerberg when he was 22 years old and he had a tremendous doubt about whether he was gonna make it."
"It's not what you feel. It's what you do. You're gonna feel scared. If your guts aren't boiling, you're not even trying at this thing."
@bhorowitz w/ @speedrun GP @andrewchen
you know what to do: speedrun.a16z.com/apply
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