The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch 20VC: a16z's $15BN Fundraise with Alex Rampell | The Best Companies Have Hostages Not Customers | The Best Founders Materialise Capital, Customers and Labour | Mid-Sized Funds with Die and The Future of Venture Capital
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Jan 12, 2026 
Alex Rampell, a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and leading investor in tech giants like Plaid and Opendoor, dives into venture capital's evolving landscape. He reveals why companies should aim to have 'hostages, not customers' and the critical traits of successful founders. Rampell discusses the importance of founder-capital fit and how too much funding can lead to moral hazard. He also shares insights on the future of VC, emphasizing the potential of software and AI to reshape the market.
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Death Of The Middle In Venture
- Venture is polarizing: large generalists or small specialists win while mid-sized generalists die.
- LPs prefer bigger total dollar returns even at lower multiples, so fund scale matters for dollar returns.
Invest In Founders Who Materialize
- Invest in founders who can materialize labor, capital, and customers.
- Prefer founders who deeply study the history of the space and have relentless motivation.
Hostages Not Customers
- The best startups win by targeting greenfield markets where new companies choose the best product.
- Hostage customers (systems of record) are far stickier than easily switchable enterprise customers.
