# Andrew Chen

> Andrew Chen is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where he leads the Games Fund and the Speedrun accelerator program. He is best known for coining the term 'growth hacker' in a 2012 essay that reshaped how Silicon Valley thinks about product distribution, and for his book 'The Cold Start Problem' (2021), a landmark text on how networked products escape the bootstrapping trap. Before a16z, he led Rider Growth at Uber during the company's most explosive era - expanding from dozens to 800 cities and reaching 100 million active riders. A prolific writer with 650+ essays and a Substack newsletter, he is one of the most-read voices on growth, gaming, and consumer startups.

- **Role:** General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
- **Organizations:** Andreessen Horowitz, a16z Games Fund, a16z Speedrun
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. Applied Mathematics, University of Washington
- **Known for:** Coined the term 'growth hacker' in a 2012 essay that reshaped Silicon Valley's approach to marketing and product distribution, Coined 'The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs' - a foundational principle in digital marketing, Led Uber's rider growth to 800 markets and 100 million active riders

## Career timeline

- **Early 2000s** — Director of Product Marketing at AudienceScience; scaled ad network from $0 to $25M ARR in 18 months; co-authored advertising patent USPTO #7,882,175
- **~2007-2009** — Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Mohr Davidow Ventures ($2B AUM VC); began prolific blogging on startup growth
- **2009-2014** — Co-founded a consumer startup backed by a16z Angel Fund, Index Ventures, and others; reached tens of millions of active users
- **2012** — Published 'Growth Hacker is the New VP Marketing' - the essay that launched the growth hacking movement
- **2015-2018** — Led Rider Growth at Uber; helped expand from dozens to 800 markets globally and grow to 100 million active riders
- **2018** — Joined Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) as General Partner, recruited personally by Ben Horowitz
- **2021** — Published 'The Cold Start Problem: How to Start and Scale Network Effects' (Harper Business)
- **2022** — Helped raise a16z Games Fund One ($600M) dedicated to gaming and emerging computing platforms
- **2023** — Launched a16z Speedrun accelerator; married Emma Waldron in Moab, Utah
- **2024** — Helped raise a16z Games Fund Two ($600M); published widely-read essay 'Every Marketing Channel Sucks Right Now'
- **2025-2026** — Continued leading Speedrun (5th+ cycle, 70+ companies targeted); published 'Why Hollywood and AAA Gaming Can't Embrace AI'

## Achievements

- Coined the term 'growth hacker' in a 2012 essay that reshaped Silicon Valley's approach to marketing and product distribution
- Coined 'The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs' - a foundational principle in digital marketing
- Led Uber's rider growth to 800 markets and 100 million active riders
- Published 'The Cold Start Problem' (2021) - top-50 bestselling audiobook at launch
- Co-authored US patent on personalized advertising (#7,882,175)
- Graduated from University of Washington with BS in Applied Mathematics at age 19
- Wrote 650+ long-form essays on growth and startups at andrewchen.com
- Helped raise two $600M a16z Games Funds
- Founded a16z Speedrun accelerator, investing $30M+ and targeting 70+ companies per cycle
- Angel invested in Dropbox, AngelList, Gusto, Patreon, Substack, Clubhouse, Tinder, and others

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Announced 2026 Speedrun program (July 27 - October 11), targeting 70+ companies with up to $1M each
- **2026-02** — Published 'Why Hollywood and AAA Gaming Can't Embrace AI' identifying 5 structural obstacles for incumbents
- **2025-06** — NY Tech Week appearances and 'AI Meets Culture: What's Next?' panel participation
- **2025-05** — Celebrated 7 years at a16z with reflective Substack post on Games + AI investment focus
- **2024-12** — Published widely-read essay 'Every Marketing Channel Sucks Right Now'
- **2024-03** — Helped raise a16z Games Fund Two ($600M)

## Links

- Website: https://andrewchen.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewchen/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/andrewchen

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/andrew-chen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-24