Andreessen Horowitz Gets a New GP, and a New Fund

[7im]

http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/18/andree ... -new-fund/

Andreessen Horowitz is making a big move into biotech, and it’s using a $200 million new fund called the AH Bio Fund – and new general partner, Vijay Pande — to plant its stake in the ground. The fund will be used to invest in mostly early-stage startups at the intersection of computer science and life sciences...

[PS3EdOlkkola]

Apparently, Vijay is moving on. Having spent a good amount of time in a large venture firm, Vijay has it right when he says he'll spend, "a very small percentage" of his time with the research group at Stanford. As a General Partner, the rest of the partnership, and most definitely limited partners in the fund, don't tolerate outside interests all that well. I hope Vijay announces his replacement sometime soon. It would be good for FAH continuity to do so. I wish him well, and I hope he understands what he's getting himself into as a GP in a venture firm. It's nothing like academia, nor anything like the corporate world.

[bruce]

I wouldn't say he's "moving on." He's already been devoting a lot of his time to alternate responsibilities, including this one. His work there is not entirely new so I see his promotion as a good thing.

His time here has been rather limited for some time now but FAH is still "his baby." He has been developing a staff, most of whom have broader responsibilities and when there's something that can only be answered by him, responses have already been delayed about as much as they are today.

[PS3EdOlkkola]

Still, it would be nice to hear from him regarding what he believes his level of involvement will be with FAH going forward. I'm hopeful the staff he is/has been developing brings the same level of passion, but an even greater level of engagement with the FAH community.

The promotion to a GP is a major big-deal in any venture firm, and particularly so with AH, one of the more notable firms. A GP position brings a lot more responsibility and commitment to the Fund than any other position in that you're not only reviewing deals, but assessing management teams for holes and recruiting to fill those holes, managing the associates and principles doing diligence on deals, attending board meetings where some very tough decisions need to be made where you don't make many friends, finding your "voice" inside the firm to carve out an area of specialty to create a brand around your focus to attract future limited partners, and making a (typically) substantial personal financial commitment to the Fund. Once the cash is deployed, you then have to determine how to exit deals at a return the firm expects you to achieve. And then you get to go out to your LPs every 2 or 3 years and "sing for your supper" to raise another fund, on top of everything else you're doing. The dedication required is life-changing. I know - I've been there and done that. I wish him well.

[VijayPande]

Both Bruce and Ed are right. Being a General Partner is a major time commitment. However, FAH is run very differently than it was 15 years ago. At that time, I was doing coding, science, PR, management –– basically everything with the help of a few part time people. Now, there’s a team of 20+ people who have taken those tasks from me and my role is primarily laying out the strategic directions and forming key partnerships. This role is very compatible with my role at Andreessen Horowitz; in fact, it is very synergistic, as I benefit greatly from being at the center of cutting edge research in software eating biology (our primary investment thesis) with Folding@home and FAH benefits from my VC ties. Moreover, it’s common for Silicon Valley VC’s to have these sorts of ties: while I have given up teaching, it’s now become common for top SV VC’s to teach at Stanford or to be heading key non-profit boards, for example. My work with FAH is very much along these lines.

[7im]

Dr. Pande beat me to the punch, too busy yesterday. My comment was going to be that regardless of how you personally interpret that "a very small percentage" comment as positive or negative, it still positions Dr. Pande well to help transition the advances from FAH in to the real world. Anything positive that flows back in to FAH as a result of this position is icing on the cake IMO.