Venture & Tech Resources

Resources for breaking into, understanding, and thriving in venture

Oct 23, 2020

Today, we will diverge from our regularly scheduled programming for a bonus newsletter full of venture-related resources. Based on who I know is in this audience, many of you will likely have seen this information before, but I wanted to compile everything in one place. Feel free to forward to friends, people trying to get into venture, and anyone else who might be interested! The below are general VC resources for breaking into, understanding, and thriving in venture. I’ve been collecting resources in a similar format for design, marketing, and for entrepreneurs. If you find this valuable, I can share those other sets of resources as well.

-Morgan

Newsletters

Shortlist - the ones I get most excited about (sometimes less tactical, but generally interesting for investors).

Check Your Pulse - bi-weekly by Sari Azout
Next Big Thing - weekly by Nikhil Basu Trivedi
For the Love - weekly by Aja Singer
4 Cool Jobs - bi-weekly by Lea Boreland (the How to Startup guide by Lea is also great)

Deals & VC + Tech Updates

Note: asterisk denotes a newsletter with a paid tier.

Pro Rata - daily, by Dan Primack, public and private market deals and analysis
Fortune Term Sheet - daily, by Lucinda Shen, public and private market deals and analysis
Strictly VC - daily by Connie Loizos, commentary and deal activity
John Gannon – weekly, VC careers newsletter
Accelerated - weekly by Justine and Olivia Moore, Charles River Ventures
- Here is their list of Tech & VC Career Resources
Morning Brew - daily, pithy tech and economy commentary
Femstreet* - weekly, tech and investment news with a focus on women
Stratechery* – daily, by Ben Thompson, long-form pieces on tech.
The Profile* - a few times a week, by Polina Marinova, long-form stories on people and companies in business, entertainment, tech, sports, and more.
Exponential View* - a few times a week, by Azeem Azhar, technology plus humanities
Benedict Evans* – weekly, technology updates and analysis
BLCK VC - I run this one! Monthly, lots of great jobs and community commentary.
There are tons of other newsletters out there, check out this list!

Consumer

2PM – weekly, by Web Smith, covers brand, commerce, and media
LeanLuxe - a few times a week, by Paul Mumford, covers D2C and modern luxury
Thingtesting - weekly, by Jenny Gyllander. I’d suggest checking out the IG and website too.
Sarah’s Retail Diary - weekly, by Sarah Shapiro commentary on all things fashion
Consumer Wiki - not a newsletter, but helpful Notion page by Heartcore

Recruiting

Ali Rhode Jobs - Chief of Staff, Business Operations, and VC roles

Venture Finance

Venture Deals - bi-annually, taught by Brad Feld via Kauffman Fellows and Techstars
VC University - NVCA and Berkeley - I took this, it was great!

General Resources: Breaking Into VC or Onboarding

The Many Roles at a Venture Fund - and How to Land Them by Halle Tecco
Playing “fake VC” (or the portfolio approach to getting a job in venture capital) by Matt Turck
You Know Who You Should Talk To? The Art or the Outreach by Kyle Harrison
Accelerated VC Recruiting Guide by Justine Moore breaks down titles, recruiting, types of VCs, and more
Moonlight by Jiarui Wang- scout, fellow, and EIR programs for those seeking to break into VC.
PE & VC Resources - comprehensive list of resources by Jason Heltzer
How to Get a Job in VC - Medium post with resources by Francesca Warner
VC Resources - another great list: podcasts, newsletters, blogs, books. By Lola Wajskop
ExitUp - jobs newsletter by Cody Crook
Breaking into VC by Pietro Invernizzi
Copywriting Tips – Twitter thread
Tech & VC: The Foundation by Paige Doherty
Summer Apprenticeship Onboarding by High Output
The Founder Library
VC Tool Stack Airtable
VC Recruiting Resources - Airtable spreadsheet by Ellie Wheeler
Sourcing Tips - Twitter thread by Anarghya Vardhana. My favorite suggestions from that thread: always be sourcing, source with a prepared mind, and the below:
Sean Forrest Simons: Join community groups & Slack channels. LinkedIn is your best friend (search by year and title). Build relationships with industry experts (not just VCs and founders) .. this creates quality deal flow. Research the company before reaching out (applies to sales too). Be creative
VC Twitter: A Guide - who to follow

Podcasts

Shortlist

How I Built This - weekly, by Guy Raz, and so good, just ordered the book which is great so far!
a16z - wide-ranging podcasts on a variety of interesting investing trends.
Acquired - excellent deep-dives on tech history: influential companies and people.

General VC

Forward Thinking Founders by Mat Sherman
Pro Rata Podcast by Dan Primack
The Twenty Minute VC by Harry Stebbings
Product Hunt Radio
Masters of Scale by Reid Hoffman
The Consumer VC by Mike Gelb
List of VC Podcasts by Matt Snow

Speaking the Language

Sideways Dictionary - to define industry terms
Talk the Talk Tech Glossary by Alec Barrett-Wilsdon

Platform + Community

Components of a VC Platform by Keji Mustapha
The VC Platform Field Guide
Community Building Resources by People & Company

For Women

The Fundery – VC Database for Women Entrepreneurs
Female Founders Resources by 37 Angels, long list of incubators, networks, and more
Women in VC Global Directory