It's really quite interesting how A16z is playing this. I've been following the types of content that they release -- and I think their vision is that the a16z brand can almost function as a consultancy with (not only) direct channels to the enterprise, but also deep technical knowledge of their problems. In the old world consultancies most of the money went to the partners -- but top engineers didn't get to rake in the profits.

In the modern world, top engineers can band together, raise VC funding, build some stupid app and get acqui-hired for 5-10x the salary. Huge discrepancies in comp.

The natural progression is that VC funds build channels and in-house expertise on technical problems in enterprise. Top engineers raise funding and are guided by partners towards solving these problems.

The new model is not that enterprises pay consultancies to solve problems, but instead, they form long standing trust based relationships with VC's who then fund companies that solve their problems (and profit when the companies profit). A big part of making this differentiation happen is releasing content that educates leaders and implementers within such enterprises.