I’ve reviewed around 30 @a16z CSS applications across the last few days and wanted to share some key mistakes I’m seeing.

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Building @frens | @orangedao | @a16zcrypto CSS

You only get one shot to really help reviewers understand what you’re building, why it matters, and why you’re the right team. This means the most important question is “Describe your project. How will it capture value?”

1 ) Unclear 1-liners 💡 If a reviewer cannot understand what you’re building in the first 1-2 sentence of your answer, they won’t have the right context for everything else. This is where the “Uber for X” or “Stripe for X” model can come in handy.

2 ) Lack of unique insights 🧠 How do you know people need what you’re building? Why are you the right team to build it? Investors get pitched the same idea over and over again, so the founder market fit and unique insights are critical to showing you will win.

These same principles apply to applications for @orangedao Fellowship, @alliance Accelerator, YC, and more!

3 ) Not addressing market size 🤑 “How will you capture value?” is a fancy way of saying how big is this market and how do you think about making money. A lot of protocols and products are not making money so it’s crucial you have a legitimate business model.