One of the crucial entertaining moments in VC this week was a chunk of rage-bait advertising and marketing from Normal Catalyst.
In a now-viral publish on X that parodies the outdated Mac vs. PC commercials, the enterprise agency — higher often known as GC — posted a “VC vs GC” video on Wednesday. The VC was performed by a tall actor in a dishevelled shirt and vest with a distinctly giant, bald head — an obvious dig at Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen. (However the actual Andreessen by no means appears to be like that raveled).
The GC character was performed by a person with a thick head of darkish hair, white kicks and an inclination to stare deeply into the digicam. He was clearly speculated to symbolize actor Justin Lengthy’s cooler, “hipper” Mac character from the unique commercials, in distinction to John Hodgman’s straight-laced “sq.” PC persona.
GC asks VC about his robotic canine.
VC explains “That is Woof AI” after which extols the virtues of the substitute companion (you don’t must stroll it or break the information to the children when it dies!) and declares “you’ll by no means need an actual canine after this.” VC mentions that his agency is main the seed spherical and pitches GC to hitch the cap desk.
GC explains how individuals like actual canines and remarks, “I’d love to listen to extra, however we even have a very excessive bar round accountability for this stuff.”
Then VC kicks the AI canine and the canine chases him off the display. The publish has now been considered 2.4 million occasions with lots of of shares and feedback, and 1000’s of likes.
I would need to learn to this point between the strains that I would be off the web page and peering into one other e book to unpack this, however I will attempt anyway. The message, roughly: different VCs, and a16z specifically, will fund something. GC will not. (I requested about this. GC hasn’t responded.)
It is a pointed argument in that case, and never totally with out foundation. Andreessen’s agency continuously invests in firms which are thought of controversial, just like the surveillance startup Flock Safety, AI notetaker Cluely, and Adam Neumann’s Flow. However the identical measure may simply as simply be utilized to Normal Catalyst. GC’s portfolio contains Anduril, Percepta, and Polymarket.
My very own takeaway is that GC needed to point out an a16z-type character kicking a canine, with out anybody truly kicking an precise canine as a result of that may be a serious drawback.
Most of the feedback on the video appeared to seek out the video, and the selection to publish it, cringe. Lots appreciated and beloved it, too.
Compulsive X person Andreessen himself could not resist responding, many, many occasions. He stated it made GC look “smarmy,” and stated “Keep tuned for our upcoming advert marketing campaign, ‘We’re the VC who doesn’t sneer at your idea.'” He saved going from there. My private favourite was: “The factor they acquired proper is the relative heights.”
As others famous, you realize you have hit the proper rage bait when the goal takes it.
There have been plenty of a16z companions and staffers who got here to Andreessen’s protection, too. A lot in order that their reactions drew lots of comments. My private favourite on this class was from VSC Ventures VC Jay Kapoor: “GC vs. A16Z beef is like Kendrick vs. Drake for individuals who know what a 409A valuation is.”
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