Staying updated is not an option for those working in technology or venture capital; it is a requirement. With so much noise out there, determining which newsletters are genuinely worth your time can be challenging. Here are some of the greatest newsletters for those interested in learning more about startups and venture capital.
CB Insights
CB Insights is a market intelligence tool that tracks private companies, venture capital firms, startups, and new technological trends. Their newsletter is one of the most frequently read in the technology and business communities. They have a morning and a weekly briefing. In the newsletters, rather than just presenting data and reports, they offer an opinionated perspective. They recognise patterns and trends early on before they become mainstream.
Strictly VC
Strictly VC is a newsletter that gives a journalist-led approach to its content. It was founded by Connie Loizos and recently acquired by Yahoo. They give in-depth interviews with top venture capitalists. In the newsletter, you get candid responses from them, which you can rarely see anywhere.
Benedict Evans
The Benedict Evans newsletter is one of the most respected in the technology strategy space. He was a former venture capitalist who transitioned into a tech analyst. The newsletter focuses on the current trends and how they will impact the industry in the future. He explains complex ideas clearly, without dumbing them down or drowning them in buzzwords. It’s great for people who don’t want to just be updated, and rather know the impact of certain things.
Axios Pro Rata
Axios Pro Rata is one of the most well-respected newsletters. It covers funding rounds, buyouts, IPOs, and mergers, focusing on what transpired in markets rather than big-picture theory. It’s a must-read for venture capitalists, private equity experts, investment bankers, and business development teams.
Letters by Evernomic
Letters by Evernomic does a great job at explaining what works, and what doesn’t. It gives meaningful insight on skills that every founder should know and do. It also has not-so-typical interviews with founders, investors, and CEOs from a ton of renowned companies, that give you a deeper understanding of their day-to-day life. It also gives a lot of expert advice on various topics that will surely catch your attention.
The Generalist
The Generalist is recognized for well-researched descriptions of private and public companies, which are more similar to journalist articles than standard newsletter updates. Each piece often delves deeper than anything seen in a daily briefing. It examines a company's history, business model, competitive landscape, and future prospects in great depth. The Generalist has a way of making difficult business and technology stories approachable and fascinating, and the writing style is more polished and sophisticated than other newsletters.
Newcomer
Newcomer focuses on venture capital, startups, and the people and power dynamics that drive the technology industry. The Newcomer is great when you want to know the latest trends, without overcomplicated analysis, just simple facts. It’s known for its breaking news segment and having candid on-the-record interviews with prominent VCs and founders that other media sources struggle to secure.
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Andreessen Horowitz is one of the world's most well-known venture capital firms, and its newsletter offers opinionated content on the current happenings from their point of view. Rather than a single newsletter, a16z publishes a diverse content ecosystem of essays, podcasts, research articles, and market analysis covering the technological sectors in which it invests, such as AI, crypto, bio, fintech, and consumer tech. The content is created by a16z network partners, operators, and specialists, providing an insider's perspective on the trends and enterprises that shape each area.
The VC Factory
The VC Factory focuses on the belief that what distinguishes elite investors and innovators from mediocre ones is essentially psychological: how they think, deal with uncertainty, and decide. The newsletter delves into themes such as cognitive biases in venture capital, how limited partners judge fund managers, and startup fundraising, all of which are based on evidence rather than opinion.
First Round Review
First Round Review is a newsletter owned by First Round Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm. It features highly valuable, long-form advice for startup founders and operators, such as guides on hiring, product-market fit, management, and company building, drawn from interviews with experienced founders and executives.