Scott Kupor, managing partner of Andreessen Horowitz — one of Silicon Valley's most influential and controversial venture capital firms — wrote this comprehensive guide to demystify the venture capital industry from the perspective of someone who has seen thousands of pitches and made hundreds of investments. The book covers the full venture capital ecosystem: how venture funds are structured and how VCs make money (explaining the economics of the typical 2/20 fee structure and why fund size matters enormously to a firm's strategic focus), how to approach and build relationships with VCs, what makes a compelling pitch and what common mistakes founders make, the mechanics of term sheets and which provisions actually matter, and how to manage the investor-founder relationship after investment. Kupor is notably transparent about the inherent conflicts of interest in venture capital — between different portfolio companies competing for the same market, between the fund's interests and individual founders' interests, between early and late investors in the same company — and provides practical guidance on navigating these tensions. The book also covers later-stage considerations including the decision to raise growth equity, the IPO process, and the increasing role of direct listings and SPACs as alternatives. While naturally reflecting the A16Z perspective on what makes a fundable company and a good investor relationship, the guide is comprehensive and remarkably candid about how the sausage is made.