Worrying that your startup will be eaten by the model companies is like worrying that your life will be constrained after you become a movie star. You're far more likely simply to fail.
a16z @speedrun request for startups: GUIs for Agents
we’re still in the MS-DOS era of agents today - CLI, terminal sessions, file directories deleted by openclaw etc. while a small slice of silicon valley are power users, we're SO early for the rest of the world
at Speedrun, we’re looking for bold founders excited to bring the power of agents to normies everywhere. there's a whole slew of products to be built here - from agent builders to marketplaces to managed infrastructure
one broad idea we’re excited about are visual abstraction layers for agents. if you don't know exactly what you want, a command line / chat interface is paralyzing - you need to see options
1 example - think of a GUI or visual command center inspired by strategy games (ex. Factorio) where agents and workflows are represented graphically. skills, tools, MCP connections, background processes, etc could all be configured and shown visually in a workspace
on UX, strategy games have long perfected agent management. zoom to get a birds-eye view of your agents, batch and queue orders via shortcuts, assign agents in multiplayer etc. a well-designed agent command center would make multi-agent orchestration for normies feel easy & intuitive
most folks today still haven't moved beyond ChatGPT. the potential is enormous - just as Windows unlocked mass-market use of personal computers, the right visual abstraction layer could unlock agentic work for everyone - from individuals to enterprise teams
if you share our vision, we'd love to chat!
you SHOULD NOT drop out to start a company.
i get this question every day where some random student who has never built shit in his life asks if he should drop his classes and chase the sf dream.
this might sound counterintuitive coming from me, but there is a simple reason why you can or can’t.
you need to have a clear reason why and what you are going to do in the next 3 to 6 months. for me, it was getting into the best program in europe (as i thought at the time) called ef and raising $1m from arguably the best eu fund plus a couple other angels.
i didn’t drop out because i wanted to start a company. i did it because i literally had to, to continue further. otherwise i would have just stayed in my AP classes, which i would have failed anyway.
do not be blinded by some twitter chuds telling you to drop out on day one.
just build shit and do it if it becomes inevitable.