The a16z Show · Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Gary Tan observed a growing trend of sole founders in the startup world, noting that while co-founders are generally beneficial, the legitimacy of solo entrepreneurship is increasing. He reiterated the critical role of a supportive, authentic community for these founders.
“For the longest time, we really, really believed that you needed co-founders. And I think that everything else being equal, having co-founders is net really, really good.”
“But I think that actually what we're seeing now is the rise of the sole founder, like that's becoming very legitimate.”
“And then, uh, what makes that legitimate is that you can find a community of people who you can be super real with.”