Who should I follow to learn about Venture capital investing?

If your goal is to **learn how to think like a venture capitalist**, rather than just follow startup news, I’d build a small “VC curriculum” around a handful of investors. ## My top people to follow 1. **Fred Wilson - Union Square Ventures** - Probably my #1 recommendation for learning the *craft* of VC. - His writing covers portfolio construction, fund economics, startups, markets, and how investors make decisions. - He has been writing publicly about VC since 2003. [About Fred Wilson - AVC](https://avc.com/about/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - [AVC](https://avc.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com) 2. **Bill Gurley - Benchmark** - Excellent for understanding **valuation, bubbles, market structure, unit economics, and investment discipline**. - Particularly useful when you want to understand *why* a VC thinks an investment is attractive or dangerous. 3. **Paul Graham - Y Combinator** - Essential for understanding **startups, founders, product-market fit, and what makes exceptional companies**. - His essays are less about fund mechanics and more about developing the judgment required to identify great companies. 4. **Tomasz Tunguz - Theory Ventures** - Great if you like **data-driven investing**. - Particularly useful for SaaS, AI, growth metrics, and understanding startup performance quantitatively. Current VC-blog roundups continue to highlight his data-driven approach. [9 Best Venture Capital Blogs to Follow in 2026 | Venture Capital Careers](https://venturecapitalcareers.com/blog/best-venture-capital-blogs?utm_source=chatgpt.com) 5. **Chris Dixon - a16z** - Follow him for **technology theses and emerging categories**, especially crypto, AI, networks, and new computing paradigms. - He's particularly useful for learning how VCs develop a *thesis before the market becomes obvious*. 6. **Elad Gil** - One of the people I'd follow most closely if you're interested in **AI investing**. - His perspective is useful for thinking about markets, distribution, technical moats, and where value accrues in an emerging technology. 7. **Jason Lemkin - SaaStr** - Excellent for learning how to evaluate **B2B/SaaS companies**, particularly sales efficiency, ARR growth, retention, and go-to-market. - Less “VC theory,” more practical company diligence. 8. **Andrew Chen - a16z** - Especially good for **consumer businesses, growth, network effects, and marketplaces**. - His essays are useful for learning to identify the mechanisms behind rapid growth. ## If you want to learn VC *investing*, not just startups I'd also listen to: - **20VC - Harry Stebbings**: lots of conversations with actual GPs about sourcing, deals, fund construction and investment decisions. Recent VC-podcast rankings put it among the strongest resources for investor-level insight. [The best podcasts for venture capital investors in 2026 | PodWire](https://podwire.ai/blog/best-podcasts-venture-capital-investors?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Invest Like the Best - Patrick O'Shaughnessy**: broader investing judgment and capital allocation, which is extremely valuable for becoming a better VC. - **Acquired**: phenomenal for learning how great businesses were built and how markets evolved. - **Venture Unlocked - Samir Kaji**: particularly useful for understanding **how VC funds themselves work** - LPs, GPs, fundraising, fund economics, etc. [10 Best VC Podcasts 2026: 20VC, Acquired, All-In Ranked](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-10-vc-podcasts-actually-worth-your-time-in-2026?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ## My recommended "VC feed" If I were starting from scratch, I'd **not** follow 50 investors. I'd start with: **Fred Wilson + Bill Gurley + Paul Graham + Tomasz Tunguz + Elad Gil + Chris Dixon** Then listen to **20VC + Invest Like the Best + Acquired**. That gives you a pretty good mix of: **VC mechanics → company evaluation → technology → markets → founder judgment → portfolio thinking.** One important caveat: **don't treat any VC's public writing as evidence that they're a great investor.** Publicly visible opinions are not the same thing as fund returns. The goal is to learn *frameworks and judgment*, then develop your own. If you're considering **actually becoming a VC / breaking into VC**, I can also give you a **90-day VC learning curriculum** - what to read, which podcasts/episodes to listen to, how to analyze deals, and the spreadsheets/models you should learn.

**To learn about venture capital investing, follow top investors and thought leaders like Vinod Khosla, Marc Andreessen, Mary Meeker, Naval Ravikant, Fred Wilson, Chamath Palihapitiya, and Bill Gurley. These figures consistently shape industry trends and share insights through blogs, podcasts, and social media.** ## 📌 Key Venture Capital Figures to Follow Name| Role / Firm| Why Follow Them| Platforms ---|---|---|--- **Vinod Khosla**| Founder, Khosla Ventures| Early backer of OpenAI, long-term Midas List leader| Interviews, essays, Forbes features [Forbes 2026 Midas List: Top Venture Capital Investors Ranked](https://www.forbes.com/lists/midas/) **Marc Andreessen**| Co-founder, Andreessen Horowitz| Famous for “Software Is Eating the World,” strong views on tech & society| Twitter (@pmarca), essays [Top 10 VC Thought Leaders: Andreessen, Wilson, Meeker, Naval](https://easyvc.ai/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-vc-thought-leaders/)[Discover Top Venture Funds | Venture Capital Archive](https://venturecapitalarchive.com/blogs/top-25-vc-startup-influencers-you-should-be-following) **Mary Meeker**| Founder, Bond Capital| Known for Internet Trends & AI reports| Bond Capital reports, presentations [Top 10 VC Thought Leaders: Andreessen, Wilson, Meeker, Naval](https://easyvc.ai/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-vc-thought-leaders/) **Naval Ravikant**| AngelList co-founder| Philosophical frameworks on wealth & startups| Twitter (@naval), podcasts [Top 10 VC Thought Leaders: Andreessen, Wilson, Meeker, Naval](https://easyvc.ai/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-vc-thought-leaders/)[Discover Top Venture Funds | Venture Capital Archive](https://venturecapitalarchive.com/blogs/top-25-vc-startup-influencers-you-should-be-following) **Fred Wilson**| Union Square Ventures| Daily blog AVC.com on VC dynamics| Blog, Twitter (@fredwilson) [Top 10 VC Thought Leaders: Andreessen, Wilson, Meeker, Naval](https://easyvc.ai/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-vc-thought-leaders/) **Chamath Palihapitiya**| Founder, Social Capital| Macro insights, co-host of _All-In Podcast_| Twitter (@chamath), podcast [Top 10 VC Thought Leaders: Andreessen, Wilson, Meeker, Naval](https://easyvc.ai/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-vc-thought-leaders/)[Discover Top Venture Funds | Venture Capital Archive](https://venturecapitalarchive.com/blogs/top-25-vc-startup-influencers-you-should-be-following) **Bill Gurley**| Partner, Benchmark| Deep analysis of business models (Uber, etc.)| Blog _Above the Crowd_, Twitter (@bgurley) [Top 10 VC Thought Leaders: Andreessen, Wilson, Meeker, Naval](https://easyvc.ai/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-vc-thought-leaders/) **Paul Graham**| Co-founder, Y Combinator| Essays shaping startup philosophy| Essays, Twitter (@paulg) [Discover Top Venture Funds | Venture Capital Archive](https://venturecapitalarchive.com/blogs/top-25-vc-startup-influencers-you-should-be-following)[Top 20 Venture Capital Influencers in 2026 [🏆Rating] - Favikon](https://www.favikon.com/blog/top-venture-capital-influencers) **Reid Hoffman**| Greylock, LinkedIn co-founder| _Masters of Scale_ podcast, author of _Blitzscaling_| Podcast, books [Top 10 VC Thought Leaders: Andreessen, Wilson, Meeker, Naval](https://easyvc.ai/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-vc-thought-leaders/) **David Sacks**| Craft Ventures| Strong voice on tech & investing, _All-In Podcast_ co-host| Twitter (@DavidSacks), podcast [Top 20 Venture Capital Influencers in 2026 [🏆Rating] - Favikon](https://www.favikon.com/blog/top-venture-capital-influencers) ## 🎧 Where to Learn from Them * **Blogs** : AVC.com (Fred Wilson), Above the Crowd (Bill Gurley), cdixon.org (Chris Dixon). * **Podcasts** : _All-In_ (Chamath, David Sacks), _Masters of Scale_ (Reid Hoffman). * **Reports** : Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital AI & Internet Trends reports. * **Twitter/X** : Marc Andreessen, Naval Ravikant, Chamath Palihapitiya, Fred Wilson. ## ⚠️ Risks & Considerations * **Bias & Hype**: Many VCs promote their own portfolio companies - always separate insight from marketing. * **Macro vs. Micro**: Some (Chamath, Andreessen) focus on big-picture tech shifts, while others (Wilson, Gurley) dive into startup operations. * **Volatility** : Venture capital is cyclical; following thought leaders helps spot trends but doesn’t guarantee investment success. 👉 If you want a practical starting point, I’d suggest **Fred Wilson’s AVC blog for daily VC insights**, **Mary Meeker’s reports for data-driven analysis**, and **Chamath’s All-In Podcast for macro trends**. Would you like me to organize these into a **“starter learning path”** (e.g., blogs → podcasts → reports) so you can build your knowledge step by step?

To learn about venture capital (VC) investing, following the right practitioners, academics, and newsletters can give you a behind-the-scenes look at how deals are sourced, evaluated, and scaled. The top experts, writers, and thought leaders to follow are organized by category below: ### 1\. Top Venture Capitalists & Investors (Substack & X/Twitter) * **Fred Wilson (Union Square Ventures):** A legendary venture capitalist who writes _AVC (avc.com)_ , a long-running, incredibly transparent daily blog on venture capital, tech, and web3. * **Bill Gurley (Benchmark):** Famous for his insights on marketplaces and business strategy. Following him on X or reading his classic blog posts (_Above the Crowd_) is a masterclass in valuation and market dynamics. * **Elad Gil:** An angel investor, serial entrepreneur, and author of the _High Growth Handbook_. His blog and newsletter cover tactical advice on scaling startups and early-stage investing. * **Semil Shah (Haystack):** Known for his sharp, concise commentary on seed-stage investing and tech trends through his publication _The Operating System_. ### 2\. Academics & Industry Researchers * **Ilya Strebulaev (Stanford Graduate School of Business):** Director of the Stanford Venture Capital Initiative. He shares data-driven insights, research, and frameworks on how the VC industry actually operates behind closed doors. [Quick Study: How to Think Like a Venture Capitalist](https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/quick-study-how-think-venture-capitalist?utm_source=gemini#:~:text=Full%20Transcript.%20Ilya%20Strebulaev%3A%20My%20name%20is,and%20director%20of%20our%20venture%20capital%20initiative.) ### 3\. Essential Newsletters & Platforms * **GoingVC:** An exceptional platform and community providing deep-dive articles, career guides, and frameworks on valuation models and investment theses. [The Top 5 Resources to Learn about Venture Capital Investing](https://medium.com/vcdium/the-top-5-resources-to-learn-about-venture-capital-investing-591805b77b77?utm_source=gemini#:~:text=Get%20Giuseppe%20Leonello%2C%20Msc's%20stories%20in%20your,ranging%20from%20valuation%20models%20to%20investment%20guides.) * **StrictlyVC (Constance Loizos):** A must-read daily newsletter covering venture capital deals, fundraises, and ecosystem trends, primarily focused on Silicon Valley and beyond. * **PitchBook News & Analysis:** While PitchBook is a data platform, their public research reports and newsletters provide unmatched quantitative breakdowns of VC dry powder, valuations, and exit markets. ### 4\. Top Podcasts for VC Learning * **The Twenty Minute VC (20VC) hosted by Harry Stebbings:** One of the most popular podcasts globally for hearing directly from top-tier general partners and founders about how venture decisions are made. * **The Full Ratchet:** Hosted by Nick Moran, this podcast specifically breaks down angel investing and early-stage venture capital with active practitioners. ### Suggested Next Steps To tailor these recommendations, what is your primary goal with venture capital? 1. **Breaking into the industry** as an analyst or associate? 2. **Learning to angel invest** or back startups yourself? 3. **Understanding how to raise VC funding** for your own business?

To learn venture capital (VC) investing, you should follow prominent investors who publicly share their frameworks, deal memos, and market breakdowns through blogs, newsletters, and podcasts. Top Voices and Newsletters to Follow * * * ** _Fred Wilson_** (Union Square Ventures): A legendary early-stage investor who wrote the classic [AVC Blog](https://avc.com/) for nearly two decades, offering timeless insights into tech investing, economics, and building portfolios. * * * **_Packy McCormick_** : Author of the [Not Boring](https://www.notboring.co/) Substack, which breaks down complex tech trends, business strategies, and startup mechanics in an exceptionally clear and engaging way. * * * **_Harry Stebbings_** : Host of the [20VC](https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/) podcast and newsletter, where he interviews the world's leading venture capitalists and decodes how top-tier funds operate. * * * **_Jason Calacanis_** : Angel investor and host of [This Week in Startups](https://thisweekinstartups.com/), great for learning how early-stage seed investing and startup pitching work in practice. [The 15 VC Twitter Accounts Worth Following in 2026 - Capitaly](https://www.capitaly.vc/blog/15-vc-twitter-accounts-worth-following-2026) Essential Media and Platforms for Structured Learning Resource Name| Type| Focus Area ---|---|--- [StrictlyVC](https://www.strictlyvc.com/)| Daily Newsletter| Venture capital deals, funding rounds, and Silicon Valley ecosystem news [PitchBook News & Analysis](https://pitchbook.com/news)| Research/Data| Macro VC data, exit environments, and valuation metrics Femstreet| Newsletter| Community-driven insights on tech, startup growth, and early-stage VC _NFX Essays_| Article Library| Deep mathematical and behavioral frameworks for network effects and startup investing If you want to narrow this down, let me know: * * Are you trying to learn VC to **become an investor** or to **raise capital for a startup**? * Do you prefer learning via **podcasts, long-form essays, or daily news**? *