Founders Don’t Just Pick Capital—They Pick the Stories They Want to Belong To
Author: Paul Smalera
Editor: Fan Yang
Today, I am sharing two articles. This one comes from a vertically specialized content creator, Paul Smalera, who has been employed as a ghostwriter by some top venture capital firms. He has unique insights into how investment firms operate their media and content strategies. Just like the concept of compound interest in finance, content also has a compounding effect. Traditionally, venture capital has been a business about access (channels and relationships), but now it is a business about attention (attention and influence). However, in the long run, it is a business about attitude (beliefs and convictions), and the latter two points are the secrets to how a modern media company shapes its brand and succeeds commercially.
Since the new generation of Silicon Valley venture capital firm A16Z quietly took cues from the all-encompassing Hollywood talent agency CAA, the investment industry has increasingly shifted towards sophisticated media-driven strategies. This is no longer an option but has become the core of competition. Although the voices in the media space are becoming more saturated today, unique insights and personal styles remain scarce, and new tools are beginning to mature—artificial intelligence and agents, personalized hardware devices, robotic arms, etc. The toolbox for media creation is becoming richer. The costs and barriers to entry in media have lowered, so what does this mean for investment firms and financial institutions in the new era? Where should they start experimenting and building?
I hope this article inspires you today.
The next top venture capital firm will operate like a media company from day one.
The Next Great VC Firm Will Be Built Like a Media Company From Day One
Founders Don’t Just Pick Capital—They Pick the Stories They Want to Belong To
In the past, venture capital was a business built on access.
Today, venture capital is a business built on attention.
In the next decade, top venture capital firms will not win simply because of better deal flow or broader networks.
Their success will depend on whether they can scale and precisely build belief—just like a media company builds a global brand.
In short:
The next legendary VC firm will operate more like a modern media company than a traditional investment partnership.
The institutions that first recognize this trend will dominate the competition for founders, capital, and mindshare.
Here are the reasons for this shift in model—and how it affects the content strategies of smart institutions today.
The Old Model: Whisper Networks and Reputation
The Old Model: Whisper Networks and Reputation
Traditionally, venture capital has been a relationship business.
Deals were sourced through tight personal networks,
Reputation traveled through private conversations.
The brand of the firm was limited to the evaluations of LPs, founders, and other investors in closed-door meetings.
In that era, public content was merely a nice-to-have, even just a box to check.
The New Model: Always-On Distribution and Narrative Power
The New Model: Always-On Distribution and Narrative Power
Today, founders no longer wait for private recommendations.
They search. They follow. They listen.
Before the first meeting, they already know:
How you view their industry
What type of founders you admire
What kind of partner you will be
Your public content is your reputation now.
It is no longer an accessory to investment work but a core element that determines the success or failure of deals.
In an age of information explosion, founders choose not only capital,
But also the ideas they are willing to bet their careers on.
What a Media-Company VC Firm Actually Looks Like
What a Media-Company VC Firm Actually Looks Like
Building a firm like a media company is far more than just starting a podcast or tweeting more.
It means reshaping the entire platform with a newsroom mentality:
1. You Develop a Sharp Editorial Perspective
Top media companies have unique viewpoints, and top venture capital firms need them too.
Not a vague “we invest in great founders,” but a true editorial stance on how the world is changing—and why you’re betting your time and money accordingly.
Example:
Instead of saying “we invest in fintech,” make a specific argument:
“We believe that by 2028, embedded finance will reshape the unit economics of all SaaS verticals—here’s the data supporting this judgment.”
2. You Build Repeatable Content Machines
Great media companies aren’t guessing what to publish every week.
They rely on standardized columns to build brand consistency.
Example:
Launch an “Insight Series” that regularly dissects early signals of product-market fit in core tracks—publishing a deep analysis each quarter.
Founders start looking forward to your analysis like clockwork.
3. You Prioritize Storytelling Over Announcements
Most venture capital content today resembles corporate PR press releases.
But humans remember stories, not bullet points.
Example:
Investment announcements should not just have templated quotes but should tell the founder's origin story, your market insights, and the key points you see that others overlook.
4. You Treat Founders Like Your Audience, Not Just Deal Flow
Media companies build loyalty through extreme service to their users, and top venture capital firms should center on the needs of founders.
Example:
Invest time in building sector-specific resource libraries, founder playbooks, and micro-communities—not because it’s marketing, but because it makes the right people want to work with you.
5. You Think in Multi-Format, Evergreen Assets
Media companies do not rely on a single channel.
The best firms will create foundational content—research, frameworks, tools—that remain valuable for years.
Example:
Instead of chasing trends, publish an industry benchmark report or a technical hiring guide that founders reference year after year.
Who’s Already Doing It
The most forward-looking investors aren’t just participating in media—they’re treating it as a foundational part of firm-building.
Harry Stebbings has built The Twenty Minute VC into the most influential media brand in venture capital before establishing his own fund.
Hunter Walk of Homebrew has long viewed blogging as central to firm-building, attracting like-minded founders through public writing.
Tom Tunguz of Theory Ventures has spent a decade producing data-driven content that defines the entire SaaS industry's understanding of growth.
Even before their firms were established, emerging voices like Molly O’Shea have accumulated attention and trust through media-first personal branding.
Why This Approach Wins
Attention compounds
The firms investing in media-grade content today are building advantages that will only widen over time:
In Deal Flow: Founders will proactively seek you out before fundraising.
In LP Relationships: Differentiated narrative capabilities make fundraising more efficient.
In Strategic Influence: You’ll shape how entire markets are understood, not just which startups get funded.
In an era where capital is commoditized, those who control the narrative control the future.
Looking Forward
If you were to start a new venture capital firm today, how would you operate like a media company from day one?
What storytelling investments would you prioritize first?
Reply to this email—I’d love to hear your thoughts, and your insights may appear in the next piece of content.
Because in this new era, betting on the next great startup is not enough.
You must tell a story that great founders are eager to join.
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