Mark Andreesen from a16z famously proclaimed a decade ago that software is eating the world.His prophesy has proved prescient. Cloud computing enabled the rapid, cost-effective deployment of software, startups flourished, and venture capital returns have been phenomenal.

Venture Capital is a fascinating investment area whose many days in the sun shined brightest this year. Institutional portfolios with large venture allocations soared to their best year in history.

And yet, parts of venture are unique in being both efficient and unactionable. Many believe that Sequoia or Benchmark will produce returns at the top of the pack, but there’s not much action anyone can take to participate.

This mini-series explores the industry, focusing on some favorites of institutional investors who are still investable to those in the loop. Each has a great, differentiated story to share and something to prove. That said, this field moves quickly, so as the disclaimer goes, past accessibility is not a guarantee of future capacity.