Marc Andreessen explains why warm referrals to venture capitalists are important As Marc explains in the clip below: “The way the top-end venture capitalist firms work is they’ll basically take you seriously if you come in introduced by somebody they’ve worked with before, and they won’t take you seriously if you don’t.” While this may seem unfair, Marc explains that securing a warm referral should be viewed as your first test: “It’s the first test of your ability to network your way to the investor… If you can’t figure out a way to network your way to a VC firm—which of course is in the business of meeting founders—then you’re unlikely to be able to network your way into hiring a great team or selling your product to customers.” He concludes: “The role of the warm referral is misinterpreted. I think you just need to view it as the first test, and it’s a test that you just want to pass.”