Interesting approach: Ideas are easy to describe on paper. People are not. That’s why VCs value referrals from people they trust over unsolicited emails to “info@venturefirm.com.” Introductions work extremely well for us, and we’ll continue to rely on them. But we also know that incredible founders and ideas can come from anywhere. That’s why we’re launching this Open App -- a new experiment that asks founders to submit a video interview (basically a virtual pitch) that will give us insight into their companies and the teams behind them.

Here's more context on why First Round is trying out an Open Application right now: https://medium.com/@firstround/i...