How Podcast-Obsessed Tech Investors Made a New Media Industry
Podcasts hosted by venture capitalists set the narrative in tech, changing the way that insiders—and everyone else—learn about the world of startups.
When Bucky Moore, a former partner at Kleiner Perkins, left his job for a gig at Lightspeed Venture Partners, he did a media tour. He broke the news on 20VC, then had a 45-minute conversation on the podcast Sourcery and wrapped up with the show TBPN, in an appearance that included an extended aside on a major issue with the weights in hotel gyms (not heavy enough). “This is a big problem, and I’m glad you guys are talking about it,” Moore told TBPN’s hosts. Each podcast is hosted by a current or former venture capitalist. None is affiliated with anything resembling a traditional news publisher.
Moore was tapping into a burgeoning media ecosystem serving the tech world, consisting of a startlingly wide array of podcasts, newsletters and streaming shows. There’s even a print magazine or two. These days it may be easier to count the number of VC firms that have not started a media outlet than to tally the ones that have. Some of these offerings are boring and sycophantic; others are genuinely illuminating. Together, they’re changing the way people learn about the technology industry.