All VC Content Feels The Same

Is Differentiation Even Possible?

"What's the point? All venture content is the same anyway."

A frustration I hear often. And looking across the landscape, it's easy to see why:

Every fund has a blog. Every partner posts LinkedIn thought pieces. Everyone shares the same startup wisdom on Twitter. The podcast circuit features the same voices discussing the same topics.

When the formats are identical and the platforms are saturated, is meaningful differentiation even possible?

Or are VCs doomed to blend into a homogeneous content soup?

Beyond the platform problem

This perceived limitation is precisely why most VC content fails. Firms focus on the wrong question: "Which platforms should we be on?" rather than "What unique perspective can we share?"

The platforms themselves aren't the constraint. The constraint is courage – the willingness to develop and share a genuinely distinctive point of view.

Format constraints as creative catalysts

The limited format options in VC aren't limitations – they're creative constraints that separate the thoughtful from the derivative.

When everyone has access to the same platforms, differentiation happens through:

  1. Specificity of focus (covering narrow topics deeply rather than broad topics shallowly)

  2. Consistent language and frameworks (developing a proprietary lens)

  3. Intellectual courage (taking positions others won't)

  4. Authentic voice (speaking from experience rather than theory)

  5. Investment in quality (treating content as core to strategy, not an afterthought)

Last week, I also touched on how design, and graphic assets is a huge gap in the market for funds to turn their strategic thinking into visual assets.

The power of sustained specificity

The funds that have built the strongest content positions didn't diversify across topics – they specialised relentlessly.

  • NFX doesn't try to cover every aspect of venture; they've built authority around network effects. 

  • Correlation Ventures was one of the first funds to be marketed with the data angle.

  • Indie.vc question the assumption that startups need only to focus on hyper-growth. They make content showcasing founders who have got to profitability.

Their subject matter is narrow, but their impact is broad.

But having a distinctive perspective is only half the battle - you also need to deploy it strategically.

As you develop your distinctive perspective, channel strategy becomes critical. The common mistake is conflating multichannel presence with omnichannel strategy. True omnichannel thinking ensures that whether someone encounters your fund through content, conversations, or events, etc. they experience a consistent narrative.

Channel selection should follow STP frameworks i.e. is your specific audience segment present, are they receptive to your message in that context, and does the platform support your long-term goals? Thoughtful channel strategy beats indiscriminate platform coverage.

From consumption to creation

When they have a platform focused - many funds then approach content as consumers - "What's working for others that we should replicate?"

Breakthrough = when you think like a creator - "What insights do we have that nobody else is articulating?"

Some funds are starting to get this. Wischoff Ventures, Flybridge, and others are experimenting with TikTok. While the platform - Short-form, visual-first content demands a tight, specific perspective. What’s interesting is how different those perspectives can be.

@redpoint

Does this mean i have to start going to Barry’s? #venturecapital #nyc #sf #startup #tech #corporatehumor #ai #vctiktok #vctok #comedy

Okay, not quite intellectual courage here. But Redpoint leaning into comedy and memes through Rashad Assir - is because humour disarms. It makes the industry more approachable. And if you’re trying to connect with younger founders who find VC opaque or intimidating, that tone makes sense. Besides, no one else is making (or likely to) make that content anyway.

More typically, Craft’s Arra Malekzadeh takes a more direct, SaaS-operator tone. Same platform, completely different energy.

@arramalek

Startup pitch deck template for raising venture capital funding #startups #founders #fundraising #venturecapital #pitchdecktemplate #start... See more

Again, this shows - it’s not about The Platform. But what you have to say.

That’s the muscle worth building.

This applies everywhere. Take, newsletters - whether you're sending tactical monthly updates like Hustle Fund or publishing thoughtful essays sporadically like Nebular, it's the distinctive perspective that matters, not the format.

Ironically, the funds most concerned about "all content looking the same" are often the ones most studying what everyone else is doing, rather than excavating their own original insights.

This is also where creative agencies come in (hello). 

By partnering with specialised creative agencies (hello), you maintain ownership of what truly differentiates you - your thinking - while delegating the production elements that consume disproportionate partner time:

Your team focuses on the 20% that only you can do (developing unique perspectives)

Specialists handle the 80% that requires technical expertise (visualisation, production, distribution)

Amplify your voice through expert execution.

The best work expresses your thinking with an efficiency your internal team can't match. When that outsider deeply understands venture capital (hello again), the collaboration produces content that's both authentic to your firm and optimised for impact.

Your challenge this week -

Start by asking:

  • What conviction do we hold that most peers would disagree with?

  • What specific founder journey do we understand better than most?

  • What unique data or insights do we have access to?

  • What perspective comes naturally to us but seems missing from the conversation?

Instead of asking "How can we improve our content?", ask "What do we believe that isn't being articulated clearly enough?"

Laurie, Refinery Media

If you made it all the way through, thanks so much for reading! A few hundred VCs now open this every week. If it’s helped you think differently about marketing, Venture, or storytelling, please send it to someone in your orbit.