we're investing $30M over the next 30 days 🚀
I'll be co-hosting our new program kicking off in San Francisco, starting January 2025, alongside folks from the a16z SPEEDRUN team -- with speakers, personalized coaching, and a bunch of funding!
Applications now open. Deadline at end of month, Sep 30. And yes, we're focused on brand new startups that are just getting going.
We'll be hosting a variety of speakers and coaches, including folks like:
- Mark Pincus, cofounder of Zynga
- Spencer Rascoff, cofounder of Zillow
- Sean Rad, cofounder of Tinder
- Nikita Bier, cofounder of Gas
- Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz
- ... and much more
How it'll work:
- $750K Investment for each startup
- 12-week program from 01/06 to 03/21 with IRL speakers, office hours, personalized coaching, and events
- Demo Day in front of 500+ angels/investors
- Applications are open from August 26th through September 30th, 2024
- Referrals appreciated. If a referred company is selected, we’ll send you custom speedrun swag
What kinds of startups are we looking for?
- b2b/infra startups focused on AI, 3D, game engines, etc
- game studios focused on web3, VR, AI, discord, etc
- gamified/playable apps -- the next gen of Duolingo, Tinder, etc, using fun mechanics to drive engagement
- products at the intersection of gaming and health, defense, and other categories
- smart teams figuring out their next idea!
- ... and in general we're open minded!
Social media has changed the game for how fans interact with their favorite athletes and sports teams. @SleeperNan speaks on the trends shaping the future of fan connections and how @SleeperHQ is tackling the next wave of sports and social media.
Fun update:
Today we're open for applications on SPEEDRUN 2024, the second run of our accelerator for Games x Tech, with $75M from the a16z games fund to find the next amazing pre-seed startups.
Applications are now open for SPEEDRUN 2024: https://t.co/VIzPns9gqt
FEATURING: @QueGaskins, president, @theNBPA Think 450, Robin Arzón @RobinNYC VP/head instructor, Peloton and founder, Swagger Society, Brandon Brown @QBCollective assistant general manager, NY Giants, & Nan Wang @SleeperNan cofounder/CEO, @SleeperHQ.
INTRODUCING: Zone of Genius.
A special, 3-part summer series with the a16z Cultural Leadership Fund bringing you exclusive conversations with leaders across sports, music and food to share their insights and how they think about the evolution of their industries. 👇
Congrats to @andrewchen on the release of his book The Cold Start Problem!!! So many amazing case studies and insights for #startup#founders to soak up.
1/4: @sleeperHQ is a company founded to strengthen friendships through sports. Thankful to @a16z and our other incredible investors (we appreciate you all) for supporting this mission. https://t.co/hl8BLf6PH3
Announcement:
A16z is excited to double down on Sleeper 😎. Love working with @sleepernan, Weixi, and team
On the a16z side, @DavidGeorge83 and I tag-teamed to invest via our Growth fund. We love how Sleeper is connecting friends via sports from around the world!
1 / We are excited to lead @SleeperHQ's series C from the @a16z Growth fund! We believe most fans use sports as an excuse to socialize with others, not because of single-person experiences like stats or scores… cc: @andrewchen
https://t.co/tQZ4Fkqlg3