NEA VC Fellowship - Thoughts?

I would think of it not only as the brands but as the investors themselves. You see some people like Mary Meeker who are in and of themselves brands more than their firms (Bond, and by the way, Mary Meeker about is as good as it gets though more growthy). There are firms like Benchmark, which are great, but people like Bill Gurley precede their firms. Here is a great article illustrating how I would think about it: https://a16z.com/2010/04/06/ron-conway-explained/

To quickly rattle off your question though, I would consider A level brands (with no dispute) to be Lightspeed, Benchmark, Sequoia, Bond (though again they are later venture/growth). I personally see USV as an A level brand but others may not. I used to get lunch with the GGV guys and their returns are absolutely insane so I might put them as A as well.

I think a lot of people would also say A16Z, Accel, and Founders Fund. I personally consider Bessemer and NEA a step below because of how their firm works, culture, returns, etc.,