We’ve been thinking about the landscape of technology and capital — and how they’re increasingly entangled in shaping the future. A recent conversation with the founders of Andreessen Horowitz crystallized something we’ve all been sensing in fragments: real venture capital is about more than finding winners. It’s about long-term belief, cultural intuition, and choosing where to stand in moments of transformation.
One of the most compelling ideas from that discussion was about artificial intelligence as a general-purpose technology. That’s a technical term, but it just means something foundational — like the steam engine or electricity. These are the things you don't just use; you build entire worlds on top of them. AI feels like it's entering that tier. And when a technology like that shows up, the best questions aren’t about valuation multiples or market capture. They're about imagination. What becomes possible now that wasn’t possible before?
At Dellecod, we’ve always believed that meaningful software gets built when curiosity meets commitment. You sense a gap, you explore it, you keep going even when the structure isn’t obvious. The A16Z partners talked about how AI is collapsing the cost of exploration. You can test ideas faster, simulate decisions, even start building the scaffolding of an organization before you bring on a team. That acceleration isn’t just technical — it changes the personality of what it means to be a founder. Increasingly, you’re not waiting for permission to build. You’re already building and inviting capital, support, and community into something that’s alive.
That reality changes how we think about support too. What entrepreneurs often need isn’t just a check — it’s a hand on the shoulder and a mirror held up. A calm sense that "Yes, you’re onto something, and you can keep going." A16Z describes this as providing a “confidence boost” during pivotal moments. It’s a nice phrase, but there's something quietly profound about it. The early stage is fragile. Most of what you see are problems, not clarity. A big part of the job is helping people hold their nerve while things are still foggy.
The conversation also returned often to culture and reputation — two things that can’t be rushed. A16Z requires every team member to sign a document outlining the firm’s culture: no public criticism of founders, no negativity toward frontier technologies, constant support for those trying to push the world forward. It’s a kind of moral stance disguised as operational policy, and we think that’s the right energy. Founders don't need cynics in the arena. They need quiet conviction alongside them.
Another idea that stuck with us was the conversation about supply-side innovation. Often we try to model markets by looking at historical demand — how many dollars were spent? how big is the TAM? But breakthroughs often come not from unmet demand but from new kinds of creators entering the field. Substack wasn’t a reaction to a publisher gap. It was a recognition that there were thousands of powerful voices with something to say and no clean way to say it independently. That supply-side shift is where so many overlooked breakthroughs live — including in AI today. We don’t know yet what kinds of founders will appear now that model-building, simulation, writing, and prototyping all move 10x faster. But they’re coming.
This is also why the discussion around Gen Z founders was so striking. The A16Z view is that Zoomers (many still underestimated) are the first truly AI-native generation. They’re direct, capable, sometimes irreverent but often deadly serious. They aren’t here to decorate existing institutions — they’re building new ones. There’s a kind of pragmatic idealism we admire: if it doesn’t work, drop it. If it does, build around it. The focus isn’t on being liked — it’s on doing something real.
In that context, the old venture bet — find a huge market and then squeeze into it — starts to feel backward. What matters is often the shape of mind behind the idea. Originality isn’t a quirky trait, it’s a signal of untapped terrain. And as A16Z pointed out, the biggest winners in tech often come from under-imagined spaces. Uber wasn’t just a taxi app; it reshaped personal logistics. Salesforce wasn’t just CRM; it introduced an entirely new delivery model for software. What’s coming next will feel similarly odd at first glance — maybe uncomfortably so.
And then there’s reputation. The long tail of every decision, every conversation, every promise kept or broken. A16Z calls it their most important compounding asset. We agree. Metrics shift, liquidity timelines wobble, narratives evolve — what endures is not just what you’ve built but how you went about building it. The tech world moves quickly, but trust moves slowly. That’s not a flaw; in many ways, that’s the point.
All of this leaves us feeling both grounded and energized. Grounded because some things — culture, clarity, courage — remain non-negotiable no matter how fast technology moves. Energized because AI is unlocking forms of creativity and scale we’re only beginning to understand. The future isn’t just arriving — it’s being architected in every incubator, notebook, and keyboard of someone trying to bring a new idea into the world.
There’s enormous power in getting behind those people at the right time, in the right way — not with hype, but with commitment. That’s what we’re here to do.
One of the most compelling ideas from that discussion was about artificial intelligence as a general-purpose technology. That’s a technical term, but it just means something foundational — like the steam engine or electricity. These are the things you don't just use; you build entire worlds on top of them. AI feels like it's entering that tier. And when a technology like that shows up, the best questions aren’t about valuation multiples or market capture. They're about imagination. What becomes possible now that wasn’t possible before?
At Dellecod, we’ve always believed that meaningful software gets built when curiosity meets commitment. You sense a gap, you explore it, you keep going even when the structure isn’t obvious. The A16Z partners talked about how AI is collapsing the cost of exploration. You can test ideas faster, simulate decisions, even start building the scaffolding of an organization before you bring on a team. That acceleration isn’t just technical — it changes the personality of what it means to be a founder. Increasingly, you’re not waiting for permission to build. You’re already building and inviting capital, support, and community into something that’s alive.
That reality changes how we think about support too. What entrepreneurs often need isn’t just a check — it’s a hand on the shoulder and a mirror held up. A calm sense that "Yes, you’re onto something, and you can keep going." A16Z describes this as providing a “confidence boost” during pivotal moments. It’s a nice phrase, but there's something quietly profound about it. The early stage is fragile. Most of what you see are problems, not clarity. A big part of the job is helping people hold their nerve while things are still foggy.
The conversation also returned often to culture and reputation — two things that can’t be rushed. A16Z requires every team member to sign a document outlining the firm’s culture: no public criticism of founders, no negativity toward frontier technologies, constant support for those trying to push the world forward. It’s a kind of moral stance disguised as operational policy, and we think that’s the right energy. Founders don't need cynics in the arena. They need quiet conviction alongside them.
Another idea that stuck with us was the conversation about supply-side innovation. Often we try to model markets by looking at historical demand — how many dollars were spent? how big is the TAM? But breakthroughs often come not from unmet demand but from new kinds of creators entering the field. Substack wasn’t a reaction to a publisher gap. It was a recognition that there were thousands of powerful voices with something to say and no clean way to say it independently. That supply-side shift is where so many overlooked breakthroughs live — including in AI today. We don’t know yet what kinds of founders will appear now that model-building, simulation, writing, and prototyping all move 10x faster. But they’re coming.
This is also why the discussion around Gen Z founders was so striking. The A16Z view is that Zoomers (many still underestimated) are the first truly AI-native generation. They’re direct, capable, sometimes irreverent but often deadly serious. They aren’t here to decorate existing institutions — they’re building new ones. There’s a kind of pragmatic idealism we admire: if it doesn’t work, drop it. If it does, build around it. The focus isn’t on being liked — it’s on doing something real.
In that context, the old venture bet — find a huge market and then squeeze into it — starts to feel backward. What matters is often the shape of mind behind the idea. Originality isn’t a quirky trait, it’s a signal of untapped terrain. And as A16Z pointed out, the biggest winners in tech often come from under-imagined spaces. Uber wasn’t just a taxi app; it reshaped personal logistics. Salesforce wasn’t just CRM; it introduced an entirely new delivery model for software. What’s coming next will feel similarly odd at first glance — maybe uncomfortably so.
And then there’s reputation. The long tail of every decision, every conversation, every promise kept or broken. A16Z calls it their most important compounding asset. We agree. Metrics shift, liquidity timelines wobble, narratives evolve — what endures is not just what you’ve built but how you went about building it. The tech world moves quickly, but trust moves slowly. That’s not a flaw; in many ways, that’s the point.
All of this leaves us feeling both grounded and energized. Grounded because some things — culture, clarity, courage — remain non-negotiable no matter how fast technology moves. Energized because AI is unlocking forms of creativity and scale we’re only beginning to understand. The future isn’t just arriving — it’s being architected in every incubator, notebook, and keyboard of someone trying to bring a new idea into the world.
There’s enormous power in getting behind those people at the right time, in the right way — not with hype, but with commitment. That’s what we’re here to do.