VC Blog Analysis: Themes & Specializations
- Jordan Wolf
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
I’ve benefited substantially from the entrepreneurs and venture capitalists sharing their experiences and knowledge as I developed as an entrepreneur. I intend to write another blog post giving more detailed credit to those who I believe have had the most impact on me. Until then, I did some research to see how Gen AI would determine the best ones for entrepreneurs at this point in time. Note: this is not a ranking.
Below is an analysis of the top 20 VC blogs and newsletters, categorized by their primary themes and unique specializations.
Overall Themes (The Macro View)
Operational Playbooks: A move away from "advice" toward "manuals"—detailed instructions on hiring, go-to-market (GTM), and scaling.
Sector Deep-Dives: Increased focus on specific tech frontiers: AI, Biotech, Crypto, and "American Dynamism" (defense/industrial tech).
Data-Driven Investing: Using massive datasets to explain valuation trends, burn rates, and market multiples rather than relying solely on intuition.
The "Founder-Investor" Bridge: Content written to demystify the "black box" of how VCs make decisions.
Individual Summaries & Specializations
1. First Round Review (First Round Capital)
Theme: The "Harvard Business Review" of startups.
Known For: Deeply researched, long-form profiles and "playbooks" from operators at companies like Stripe, Uber, and Slack. It is widely considered the best resource for early-stage tactics.
2. a16z Blog (Andreessen Horowitz)
Theme: Future-casting and tech optimism.
Known For: Intellectual "White Papers" on emerging tech. They are the leaders in defining the narrative around Web3, AI, and the "Passion Economy."
3. AVC (Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures)
Theme: Daily reflection and the "human" side of VC.
Known For: Being the most consistent blog in history (daily posts since 2003). It focuses on the ethics of investing, market cycles, and the New York tech scene.
4. Tomasz Tunguz (Redpoint Ventures)
Theme: Data science applied to SaaS.
Known For: Highly technical, data-heavy posts. If you want to know the exact "benchmark" for a Series A revenue multiple or churn rate, this is the source.
5. Paul Graham’s Essays (Y Combinator)
Theme: Philosophy of startups and wealth creation.
Known For: Timeless, counter-intuitive advice (e.g., "Do Things That Don't Scale"). These essays are considered "the Bible" for first-time founders.
6. Both Sides of the Table (Mark Suster, Upfront Ventures)
Theme: Transparency in the fundraising process.
Known For: Direct, no-nonsense advice on how to pitch, manage a board, and handle the "psychology" of being a founder.
7. Above the Crowd (Bill Gurley, Benchmark)
Theme: High-level market dynamics.
Known For: Deep analysis of marketplaces and "unit economics." Gurley is famous for warning against "burn rate" excesses and "dirty" term sheets.
8. StrictlyVC (Connie Loizos)
Theme: The daily pulse of Silicon Valley.
Known For: Being the industry’s most respected daily news aggregator. It is "must-read" for keeping up with who raised what and who moved where.
9. NFX Blog (James Currier et al.)
Theme: Network Effects.
Known For: Specifically analyzing how products gain value as more people use them. They offer the most comprehensive framework for "defensibility."
10. Hunter Walk (Homebrew)
Theme: Seed-stage investing and workplace culture.
Known For: Candid, often humorous takes on the lifestyle of an investor and the nuances of the "pre-product" stage.
11. Benedict Evans
Theme: Strategic analysis of the mobile/tech ecosystem.
Known For: His "Sunday Newsletter," which connects the dots between tech giants (Apple, Google, Meta) and where the next "big thing" is hiding.
12. SaaStr (Jason Lemkin)
Theme: Scaling B2B Software.
Known For: Being the definitive community for "0 to $100M ARR." It focuses heavily on sales hiring and customer success.
Theme: Institutional market data.
Known For: Macro reports on VC exit environments, IPO outlooks, and private equity trends.
14. Feld Thoughts (Brad Feld, Foundry Group)
Theme: Founder mental health and ecosystem building.
Known For: His work on "Startup Communities" and being one of the first VCs to openly discuss depression and the stresses of the founder life.
15. Femstreet (Sarah Noeckel)
Theme: Diversity and female-led innovation.
Known For: Highlighting female founders and investors. It has become the premier community for diversity-focused venture news.
Comments