The Top 10 Venture Capital Bloggers You Should Be Reading
Venture capitalists are not always thought of as prolific bloggers. After all, they tend to spend their time meeting with startups, managing portfolio companies, and negotiating deals rather than writing online. However, many top VCs actively use blogging as a way to share their expertise, promote their personal brands, and offer insights to entrepreneurs.
If you want to stay on top of the latest thinking amongst startup investors, reading VC blogs is a must. I compiled this list of the top 10 bloggers from the venture capital world that provide unmatched perspectives and behind-the-scenes commentary on Silicon Valley.
Fred Wilson | Musings of a VC in NYC | Union Square Ventures -
As one of the most prominent VCs of the last decade with investments in companies like Twitter, Tumblr and Coinbase, Fred Wilson is an undisputed thought leader. His blog AVC is required reading covering everything from blockchain trends to raising venture capital. Wilson offers frank industry analysis from his unique position as a highly-successful investor.
Bill Gurley | Above the Crowd | Benchmark
Staying on top of tech valuations and startup investing risks is no easy task, but Bill Gurley from Benchmark Capital makes it look easy through his always-intriguing blog Above the Crowd. While some posts tackle complex topics like IPO dynamics and margin debt risks, Gurley breaks down issues clearly for any reader.
Chamath Palihapitiya | Social Capital
As the outspoken former Facebook executive turned investor, Chamath Palihapitiya is not afraid to ruffle feathers in Silicon Valley. His newsmaking blog specializes in meticulously-argued posts urging the startup ecosystem to aim higher and fix flaws. Whether you love or hate his bold ideas, Palihapitiya advancing unconventional viewpoints makes him a must-follow.
Chris Dixon | Andreessen Horowitz
Prolific blogger and general partner at one of tech’s highest-profile VC firms Andreessen Horowitz, Chris Dixon provides rare insights into the future of tech. From cryptocurrency to AI to gaming, Dixon’s curiosity drives posts reflecting the breadth of his interests and investments. His blog reads like a written documentary chronicling the constant evolution of the startup landscape.
Elizabeth Yin | 500 Startups
Elizabeth Yin brings a welcome dose of humor and storytelling flair mixed into her blog covering startup lessons learned. She teaches critical fundraising, marketing and company building insights through funny allegories and easy-to-digest parables entrepreneurs love sharing. Yin represents a new generation of VCs crowdsourcing wisdom from their community.
The list continues with Marc Andreessen’s penetrating Tweetstorms, the contrarian musings of cyclic investor Mark Suster, Brad Feld’s founder-friendly advice, Dave McClure’s interactive AMAs, and the behind-the-scenes tales of former VC-turned-founder Jason Lemkin. This group showcases the diversity of writing amongst venture capitalists with a true passion for analyzing business innovation.
While producing content simply for self-promotion has gotten out of control according to some, these top VC bloggers aim to actually spread useful ideas without agenda. Sure, blogging builds their personal brands, but it more importantly establishes their venture firms as go-to hubs for entrepreneurial insight.
The venture capital arena evolves extremely quickly, making it hard to stay current even for full-time investors. This list of elite VC bloggers serves as the perfect tool to bookmark if you want actionable intelligence on startup best practices and tech trends written directly from experienced investors in the field. While they may spend more hours in meetings than writing blog posts, they carve out time to teach us because they believe giving back matters. We all benefit from absorbing their hard-earned wisdom.