Acharya: VC culture lionizes hyper-growth over long-term defensibility
Anish Acharya · a16z, Anish Acharya: Is SaaS Dead? Do Margins Still Matter? Why We Are Not in an AI Bubble? · 20VC with Harry Stebbings · Feb 9, 2026 · at 46:10
Anish Acharya, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), contrasts fast-growing startups with 'area under the curve' companies that spend years quietly building deep defensibility before becoming massive long-term successes.
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“So it has its own idiosyncrasies and difficulties, but I think often some of the most significant companies are these area under the curve companies and they're, look, they're these like 20 year overnight success stories. And those are, I think that those are underestimated in venture lore. The like one to a hundred companies are extraordinary and we all love to be a part of them, but we may talk about those and lionize those perhaps sometimes at the expense of the area under the curve companies.”
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