# How a16z ended up investing in us

> Founder story on raising $2M from a16z through product traction, not pitching

A candid essay by Farza Majeed detailing how he raised a $2M seed round from Andreessen Horowitz without a formal pitch deck or fundraising network. He explains how publicly building and launching ZipHomeschool led to inbound investor interest, regular progress updates, and a subsequent pivot to buildspace. It highlights the value of focusing on shipping and customer momentum over fundraising games.

Website: https://farza.com/a16z

## How it works

Rather than spending time perfecting pitches or networking with investors, focus all energy on shipping a real product and acquiring early paying customers. If the product demonstrates genuine interest and traction (as with ZipHomeschool reaching 50 customers in 4 months), venture investors may reach out directly.

## What it is for

- Learn an alternative fundraising approach based on shipping publicly rather than traditional pitch meetings
- Structure weekly progress updates with interested venture investors instead of running an artificial bidding process
- Understand how early customer traction and transparent communication attract inbound investor interest

## Features

- Overview of launching an MVP and securing 50 paying customers in 4 months
- Screenshots of actual cold correspondence and honest email communications with a16z partners
- Explanation of doing weekly 30-minute progress update calls with investors while building
- Story of pivoting from homeschool compliance software to live-streamed classes based on viral traction
- Practical takeaways on avoiding fundraising distractions to focus entirely on product execution

## Pricing

Free to read

## Details

- Type: other
- Category: [Business & Money](https://xiry.app/topics/business-money.md)
- Open source: no
- Platforms: Web
- For: Early-stage founders, solo creators, and engineers curious about raising venture capital without traditional pitching.
- Tags: fundraising, venture capital, startups, founder story, buildspace, a16z

## Why it was saved

- [@_buildspace, 5 December 2023](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0dEkNrrOtE/): Demonstrates that early-stage founders can attract top VC firms like a16z through inbound interest simply by building useful products and achieving customer traction.

## Related

- [Active Emerging VC Funds, 2025–26](https://xiry.app/resources/active-emerging-vc-funds-2025-26): Directory of emerging venture capital funds actively deploying fresh 2025–26 capital. (List, Free)
- [Startup Accelerators and Investment Terms Reference List](https://xiry.app/resources/startup-accelerators-and-investment-terms-reference-list): Curated reference list comparing startup accelerator funding amounts and equity terms. (List, Free)
- [10-Slide Investor Pitch Deck Framework](https://xiry.app/resources/10-slide-investor-pitch-deck-framework): A structured 10-slide outline for building a concise startup pitch deck. (Tip, Free)
- [67 Best VCs for Seed Rounds](https://xiry.app/resources/67-best-vcs-for-seed-rounds): Curated directory of top venture capital firms investing in seed stages (List, Free)
- [Ben Lang's Accelerator Shortlist](https://xiry.app/resources/ben-lang-s-accelerator-shortlist): Curated directory of top startup accelerators and residencies for early-stage founders. (List, Free)
- [CapitalReach AI](https://xiry.app/resources/capitalreach-ai): AI investor matching, funding discovery, and cold outreach CRM for founders. (Web app, Freemium)

Updated 3 October 2026. Page: https://xiry.app/resources/how-a16z-ended-up-investing-in-us

Make your own library: Xiry takes your saved reels, tweets, Reddit bookmarks and Watch Later videos, makes them searchable and pulls the useful stuff out, like this library. It's invite-only for now; join the waitlist at https://xiry.app/#waitlist.