Why VCs Must Become Attention Prospectors

When oil was first discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1858, it sparked a frenzied race that transformed ordinary people into industrial titans. Those who controlled this resource – who could find it, refine it, and distribute it – built empires that changed the world.

But over time, something happened to oil. As extraction technology improved and global reserves were tapped, what was once a scarce, precious resource became largely commoditised.

Today, consumers don't particularly care where their gasoline comes from – it's all essentially the same, and price becomes the only real differentiator.

The venture capital industry has undergone a similar transformation. What was once a boutique, relationship-driven business has seen enormous capital inflows, with funds becoming increasingly interchangeable in founders' eyes.

Capital, like oil, has become commoditised.

Why Attention Matters More Than Capital

So if startup capital has been largely commoditised… has attention has become the truly scarce resource?

Consider the maths:

• There are over 1,000 active VC firms in the US alone…

• Most large markets have dozens of funds with similar theses…

• The top % founder receives multiple term sheets for competitive rounds…

• LPs have more fund options than ever before…

What separates the funds that consistently win the best deals is their ability to capture and direct attention.

Unlike oil, attention cannot be manufactured. It is fundamentally finite.

There are only so many hours in founders' days, only so many LP meetings in a quarter, only so many slots for industry conference speakers.

And unlike oil, attention cannot be commoditised. The attention of a technical founder building in your specific sector is qualitatively different from general market awareness.

The Three Wells of VC Attention

For venture firms, three specific attention pools matter most:

Founder Attention Can you get on the radar of the best founders before they're raising? When they do raise, are you among their first calls? Do they read your content and reference your thinking?

LP Attention Do allocators proactively reach out to learn about your next fund? Do they follow your firm's updates between fundraising cycles? Do they share your insights with their networks?

Ecosystem Attention Are you invited to speak at the right events? Do other investors want to co-invest with you? Do industry experts seek your perspective on emerging trends?

Practical Ways to Prospect for Attention

Here's how leading funds are turning attention into a strategic asset:

1. Develop a Distinctive Point of View

Generic content creates generic results. The funds winning the attention game have developed clear, sometimes contrarian, perspectives that make them instantly recognisable.

What three domains where your fund has unique insight? Create frameworks that explain your thinking in these areas. Share them consistently across all channels.

Example: Bessemer's "Anti-Portfolio" – by openly sharing their biggest misses, they created one of the most memorable and attention-grabbing assets in venture. It built trust through transparency while showcasing their pattern recognition.

2. Create Proprietary Distribution Channels

Don’t just fight for attention on crowded platforms, build direct channels to your target audiences - email lists, communities, events, webinars.

Monthly newsletters that aggregates your thinking, portfolio updates, and market observations. Treat subscriber growth as seriously as you'd track deal flow.

NFX's essays are delivered directly to 100,000+ founders and operators who've opted in to hear from them. This list has become as valuable as their investment capital.

3. Turn Partners into Visible Experts

(Sometimes) Treat partners as content creators.

Identify a partner's genuine "strike zone" of expertise. Develop one signature piece that demonstrates this expertise.

Cliche, but a16z partners are structured really effectively to do this, and they ‘verticalise’ their media into these ‘expertise’ pools - hosting podcasts, publishing research, and speaking at carefully selected events where their specific expertise is showcased.

4. Develop Tangible Assets

Creating tools and resources that founders use daily, embedding themselves in founders' workflows.

Practical step: Identify one repetitive calculation or decision process your founders face. Create a simple tool that makes this process easier.

Example: Contrary Capital built a searchable database of startup-friendly professors at universities across the country. This free resource gets used by thousands of student founders, who now see Contrary as their natural first call.

From Attention to Advantage

When you successfully capture attention, three outcomes happen:

1. Deal Flow Improves Founders who've been consuming your content for months before they start raising already trust your expertise. They seek you out rather than you chasing them - (A recent reply to a newsletter I wrote for a fund was ‘I’ve just started working on something aligned to this’)

2. Valuation Pressures Decrease When founders actively want you on their cap table for your expertise and attention-directing abilities, they're less likely to optimise solely for valuation - (I’ve seen this first hand with an athlete’s FO I work with)

3. LP Relationships Strengthen LPs invest in the funds they think about most frequently. Consistent, valuable communication between fundraising cycles creates familiarity that drives allocation decisions.

The Attention Audit

Evaluate your firm's current attention assets by asking:

• Can people in your network accurately describe your investment thesis without looking at your website?

• Do industry publications seek your partners' perspectives on relevant trends?

• Are your insights being shared and referenced by others in your ecosystem?

• Has a LP/founder ever mentioned your content in person/ on zoom?

“No" to three or more of these questions probably means you're leaving one of your most valuable potential assets untapped.

Start Prospecting Today

Unlike the oil barons of the 1800s, you don't need specialised equipment or vast capital to begin prospecting for attention. You just need a clear perspective and the commitment to share it consistently.

Like our friends in Pennsylvania, the biggest rewards will go to those who recognise the value of this resource first and build the systems to harness it most effectively.

It’s still early.