How to Get Accepted to a16z Speedrun: A Founder First Guide

a16z Speedrun is often grouped with accelerators, but its philosophy is different.

Traditional accelerators focus on teaching. Speedrun is built to amplify founders who are already executing. It assumes the hardest part of building a company today is not access to knowledge, but access to leverage in capital, distribution, recruiting, and pattern recognition.

The program is designed for teams that have already shown motion. If you are still searching for an idea, it is too early. If you are building, shipping, and seeing early user or customer response, Speedrun is designed for your stage.

Speedrun exists for one reason. In a world where software, distribution, and AI have lowered the cost of building, the rare remaining advantage is velocity. Founders who win ship faster, learn faster, recruit faster, and raise capital faster. The program is structured to multiply that speed.

Unlike traditional accelerators, Speedrun does not fund individuals before companies exist. It backs early stage teams that demonstrate execution ability. This guide explains how to approach the process with the right expectations.

What a16z Speedrun Actually Offers

Speedrun is a twelve week in person execution program run by Andreessen Horowitz.

Cohorts are hosted twice per year, primarily in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Founders are expected to relocate for the duration and commit full time to building their company during the program.

The program combines three elements that rarely exist in one place at this stage:

1. Meaningful capital

2. Hands on operating support

3. Immediate access to an elite founder and investor network

   
   

Accepted companies receive up to one million dollars in direct investment from a16z Speedrun. This investment is wired before the program begins, allowing founders to cover relocation, living costs, salaries, and product development without distraction. Speedrun generally does not take board seats at this stage, allowing founders to retain full operational control.

In parallel, founders gain access to more than five million dollars in infrastructure and software credits through partners such as AWS, Google Cloud, OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Stripe, Deel, and others. For AI and software companies in particular, this removes a significant early cost burden.

The operating team inside Speedrun is as important as the capital. Each company works closely with a dedicated partner who acts as a quarterback. Founders also receive direct support from experts in business development, marketing, recruiting, people operations, and finance. These are not occasional mentor sessions. They are embedded working relationships focused on solving real problems as they arise.

Finally, Speedrun founders become part of a tightly connected community. More than five hundred founders have already graduated from the program. Many describe the peer network as one of the most enduring advantages of participation.

Who Speedrun Is Designed For

Speedrun is built for early stage companies that are already moving, even if only slightly.

You do not need revenue to apply. You do not need a polished brand or a finished product. What you do need is evidence that you are actively building and testing something in the real world.

Strong applicants often have:

• A working prototype or early product

• A demo or functional proof of concept

• User or customer conversations underway

• Early engagement or retention signals

• Letters of intent or pilot customers

• A waitlist or growing community

  
  

Solo founders are welcome, though teams with complementary skill sets tend to progress faster inside the program. Non technical founders are encouraged to partner with technical cofounders, since Speedrun expects teams to build and iterate internally.

Speedrun does not restrict industry focus. AI, consumer, B2B, gaming, creator tools, infrastructure, and hardware companies have all been funded. What matters is the ambition to build something that can reach venture scale.

Founders from anywhere in the world can apply. Speedrun provides relocation recommendations, visa guidance, and access to curated immigration attorneys for international participants.

How Speedrun Evaluates Applicants

Speedrun partners have been unusually transparent about how they review applications.

Their internal evaluation consistently comes down to three major signals:

1. Traction

2. Founder fit

3. Market potential

   
   

Traction is the strongest signal. Revenue is ideal, but not required. What matters is external validation that people outside your team want what you are building. This can take many forms. Early paying users. Growth in active usage. Strong retention. Pilot customers. Letters of intent. Viral waitlists that convert into real users. Even thin traction is valuable, because it demonstrates that you are already learning from the market.

Founder fit is the second core signal. Speedrun looks for founders who can operate across multiple domains. Building product, selling to users, recruiting talent, and making decisions under uncertainty. Relevant experience matters, but only when paired with action. Prestige without execution does not help. The team also pays close attention to cofounder dynamics. Complementary skill sets and mutual trust are important indicators of long term success.

Market potential is the third pillar. Speedrun looks for problems that support venture scale outcomes. That can mean large mainstream markets, or deep niche markets with credible expansion paths. Crowded markets are acceptable if your differentiation is real and defensible.

Coachability and velocity act as cross cutting signals. Founders who listen carefully, make fast decisions, and execute quickly tend to thrive inside the program.

The Application Process

The application process is direct, but competitive. Every application is reviewed by at least two human partners. There is no automated screening layer.

Applicants submit through the official Speedrun portal. Each cohort has a published deadline, though the portal typically remains open to capture interest for upcoming batches.

Step 1. Written application submission

Partners begin the review process with the written application. They first read the company description and traction section. They then review the team background, LinkedIn profiles, and any deck or demo links provided. Clear writing and accessible links matter more than design polish.

Step 2. Shortlisting

Shortlisted teams are invited to the next step. This can be a brief video introduction or a short interview, typically around fifteen minutes.

These conversations focus on:

• How clearly you explain your product

• How deeply you understand your users

• How you think under pressure

• Whether you demonstrate genuine founder conviction

Step 3. Final decision

Final decisions are made quickly after interviews. Every applicant receives a response.

If your product evolves significantly after applying, Speedrun encourages submitting a fresh application. If you build new demos or achieve traction, updates can be sent directly to the application team.

Warm introductions from Speedrun alumni or a16z portfolio founders help, but are not required. Confidentiality of submitted materials is respected.

Presenting a Strong Application

The written company description carries more weight than many founders expect. Speedrun partners often make early pass decisions based on whether they understand what you are building, why it matters, and who wants it within the first read.

Core application elements

Effective applications describe the problem clearly, define the user, explain the solution, and show what has been built so far. Specific examples beat general claims. Clear sentences beat ambitious buzzwords.

Pitch decks are not mandatory, but most interview invitations involve reviewing a deck. The strongest decks are concise and focused. They show the product, the market, early traction, the team, and the long term vision. Long autobiographical storytelling tends to dilute the message.

If you have a working product, include a demo link or video walkthrough. Showing functionality builds immediate credibility. Screenshots or recordings are acceptable if the product is not yet publicly accessible.

Founder profiles matter. Including LinkedIn profiles, highlighting relevant experience, and clarifying cofounder status helps reviewers understand team composition quickly.

Common Reasons Applications Are Rejected

Speedrun partners have shared frequent mistakes that hurt otherwise promising teams.

Applications with no external validation struggle. Completely pre product and pre user ideas are rarely accepted. Inflated or dishonest traction claims are quickly spotted.

Confusing or overly long product descriptions reduce clarity. Missing or private deck links slow down review. Omitting cofounder information raises uncertainty. Submitting multiple unrelated ideas in parallel signals lack of conviction.

Most rejections happen not because an idea is bad, but because the team has not yet converted potential into evidence.

What Happens Inside Speedrun

Once accepted, the program begins with onboarding and goal alignment. Founders work with partners to define near term milestones and success metrics.

The twelve week execution cycle

The twelve weeks are structured around rapid execution. Founders build product, ship updates, test user acquisition strategies, refine pricing and business models, and recruit early team members.

Operator led sessions provide targeted support in:

• Marketing

• Business development

• Recruiting

• Fundraising preparation

• Operational scaling

Regular office hours create accountability loops. Peer feedback from other founders helps surface blind spots quickly. Keynote sessions with experienced founders and operators provide additional pattern recognition.

Demo Day

The program culminates in Demo Day. Founders present their progress, traction, and long term vision to a curated group of top global investors. Many Speedrun companies raise larger seed rounds shortly after Demo Day, using the momentum built inside the program.

Capital Use and Fundraising

Speedrun wires its investment before the program starts. This allows founders to focus fully on building rather than fundraising during the twelve weeks.

Most founders allocate capital toward:

• Product development

• Engineering

• Founder salaries

• Early hires

• Growth experiments

Infrastructure costs are reduced through partner credits.

Speedrun typically does not take board seats at this stage. Founders retain control while gaining strong investor alignment. After Demo Day, companies commonly raise larger seed rounds to continue scaling.

Support After Graduation

Speedrun does not disappear after the program ends. Alumni retain access to the founder network, recruiting pipelines, operator support, and investor introductions. The intensity decreases, but the relationship remains active as companies grow.

Build Leverage Before You Apply

a16z Speedrun is designed for teams that have already shown motion. Founders who succeed inside the program usually arrive with something real in the world, even if it is early. A working prototype, a demo in circulation, early users, or customer conversations that signal genuine demand.

Many capable founders are rejected not because they lack ambition, but because they apply before converting potential into evidence. Speedrun does not help you search for an idea. It accelerates teams that are already executing and ready to scale their learning and velocity.

If you are still refining your problem space, testing demand, or deciding what to build, the right preparation can materially improve both your application and your experience inside Speedrun.

Ellenox partners with early stage teams to validate ideas with real users, design and build investor ready MVPs, and develop the execution signals that programs like Speedrun consistently select for.

If your goal is to apply to a16z Speedrun from a position of strength rather than optionality, Ellenox can help you close that gap deliberately.