For a long time, distributed work for VCs resembled a split headquarters between two cities in different parts of the world. Now it may look like ‘the cloud’.
Andreessen Horowitz, a venture firm turned registered investment advisor, says its “headquarters will be in the cloud in the future,” according to a blog post written by co-founder Ben Horowitz. In addition to divesting a centralized headquarters, a16z announced new offices in Miami Beach, New York and Santa Monica, in addition to existing posts in Menlo Park and San Francisco.
A16z declined to comment further the blog post.
The company is prioritizing physical offices around the world rather than one centralized headquarters, which comes as no surprise given the pandemic. Coronavirus kept offices closed, forcing venture capitalists to learn how to do their work remotely and around the world. Now VCs residing in Silicon Valley are feeling quite 2019 as investors migrate to other hot spots, including Austin, Miami and Salt Lake City.
“In our company’s new business model, we will work primarily virtually, but we will use our physical presence to develop our culture, help entrepreneurs and build relationships,” Horowitz wrote in the blog post. Despite the fact that “materializing physically on command” sounds like a phrase straight out of a Marvel movie, it’s an example of how investors are responding to a work culture that works remotely first, but not just remotely.
Distributed VCs are reacting differently to this new normal. For example, Ankur Nagpal, of Vibe Capital, launched his fund with plans to spend one month at a time in the geographic areas in which he planned to invest. Brianne Kimmel of Worklife Ventures creates a community space in Los Angeles. Recently, Index Ventures opened its fourth New York office – its first new office in over a decade.
