Andreesen Horowitz partner Alex Rampell on startup conundrum of growing vs. raising cash

 

Those who follow fintech closely know Rex Salisbury is an investor in startups who came from Andreesen Horowitz (a16z), then founded his own firm Cambrian to focus on early stage investments. He also puts out lots of great content, including this quick video interview with his former colleague and a16z partner Alex Rampell.

Beyond Alex’s A-list VC job, he co-founded buy now, pay later leader Affirm and home finance startup Point that co-invests with home buyers and owners rather than making traditional mortgages.

This video isn’t about Alex’s conquests. It’s about his biggest challenges, including how to deal with the chicken-or-egg conundrum most startup founders face:

“How do we grow without raising cash, and how to we raise cash without growth?”

He also addresses what happens when you hit roadblocks and your key talent no longer thinks your startup is the place to be.

Good stuff from Rex and Alex linked below, worth your 12 minutes.

Also here are 3 other related links:

(1) What Rex is up to with Cambrian (here, and here).

(2) Since Rex long ago worked for a mortgage startup called Sindeo, here’s my post-mortem analysis after Sindeo failed. It holds up well as a case study on how hard startups really are, and includes a bonus George Clooney angle.

(3) Another archive piece explaining how Point is tackling home financing differently than traditional mortgages.

Reach out with questions and comments.