- Refining VC
- Posts
- What Kind of Content Should You Make?
No matter where you are in your venture career, two relationships always exist -
People ahead of you: Experienced investors, operators, and industry experts with insights you need.
These are your teachers.
People behind you: Newer operators, emerging managers, and those who haven't yet experienced what you have.
These are your students.
Your role is simple… absorb knowledge from those ahead, add your unique perspective, and share it with those behind. This creates a continuous cycle of learning, improvement, and teaching that benefits the entire ecosystem.
Take me for example — I’m now 28. Plenty of people might say, what do you know about VC marketing?
Fair question.
I’ve been running Refinery for 2 years. I work ~50/60 hours a week (sorry to my wife), and I only focus on one thing - content and strategy for VC firms.
As an external there is no portfolio support or internal politics. Just this.
253 working days × (50/5) hours × 2 years = 5,060 hours.
That’s how much time I’ve spent doing this one specific thing.
To some people on this mailing list, that’s nothing. To others, it’s further ahead.
Either way, my experience is uniquely mine — and the job is to keep learning from those ahead, and keep sharing with those behind.
It’s yours too, and should be the linchpin of you or your fund’s content strategy.
Why VCs Resist Teaching
Many investors hesitate to share their knowledge publicly:
"I'm not established enough." … "My insights aren't unique." … "I'll reveal my strategy to competitors."
This mindset misunderstands the real benefits of teaching. The act of articulating your thinking clarifies it. The feedback you receive improves it. The relationships you build strengthen your position.
Teaching as Competitive Advantage
The most visible VCs are consistent teachers. They understand that sharing knowledge:
Attracts founders seeking this specific expertise.
Builds credibility with LPs who value thought leadership.
Creates a filter for deals that align with their thesis.
Develops their thinking in public, which improves their own decision-making.
Put simply - your ideas, when shared, are your portfolio.
In venture, “portfolio” means your investments - but (especially early on), it’s not. But it is also your thinking. It’s how you see the world, how you evaluate companies, what you believe about where the market is going. And most importantly… it’s whether you’ve made any of that legible.
If you spent X hours a week writing, testing ideas, sharing frameworks, about the work you are doing anyway - then the next founder/ GP you speak to has a much clearer sense of how you think and whether you can be useful.
You don’t have to say “I know what I’m doing.” You just show your work.
That’s what founders want. That’s what LPs want. And that’s what compounds.
Starting the Cycle
You don't need decades of experience to begin:
Share your process: Document how you evaluate companies, even if still evolving.
Explain market patterns: Articulate trends you're seeing, even as you're learning.
Distill conversations: Synthesise insights from founder meetings without revealing specifics.
Translate complexity: Break down industry concepts for those just entering.
I’m sure you’ve seen many build in public founders explode on Twitter (plus it was in this newsletter the other week)… The most valuable teaching often comes from those just a few steps ahead, as they remember the challenges most vividly.
Teaching is a similar concept.
Nicole DeTommaso is probably the clearest example of this in VC.
By documenting her process of even breaking into VC she amassed a huge following of early-career investors. Now several years in, many of those who trust and know her (through content) are becoming principles or even partners of funds.
Begin Today
Identify one insight from your recent work that would have been valuable to you a year ago.
Share it clearly, without qualification or apology. You'll be surprised by who finds value in what seems obvious to you now.
Laurie, Refinery Media