🟣 Dear Investors, This Is All We Ask For as Founders

Dear VCs…

🟣 This Week in VC Marketing

Biweekly marketing lens for venture capital firms. 

The History and Evolution of VC Marketing

Early 2000s: The Mary Meeker Effect

The modern era of VC marketing arguably began in 2001, with Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Report. Published during the dot-com bust, this data-driven report wasn’t created for lead generation—it was about proving expertise. It set the tone for venture capital marketing: showing you’re the smartest in the room through thought leadership and data-backed insights. This approach became the gold standard, with Meeker’s influence shaping VC marketing for years.

2004–2010: The Thought Leader Emerges

It took nearly a decade for others to adopt Meeker’s playbook, but by the mid-2000s, thought leadership began to take hold. Early adopters like Brad Feld (Feld Thoughts, 2004), David Skok (For Entrepreneurs, 2008), and Ben Horowitz (Ben’s Blog, 2010) demonstrated a simple yet powerful principle: regularly share insights to prove you’re an expert. Unlike Meeker’s data-heavy model, these pioneers focused on personal perspectives and practical advice.

2010–2014: New Channels, Deeper Insights

As VC marketing matured, new platforms and formats emerged. Brad Feld published books, Jason Lemkin dominated Quora, and Marc Andreessen popularized tweetstorms. The focus shifted from high-level observations to detailed discussions on metrics like CAC, ARR, and sales models. VCs began leveraging channels like blogs, books, and social media to carve out niches and deepen their influence.

2014–Present: From Individuals to Communities

The focus has shifted from individual partners to positioning entire firms as thought leaders. Andreessen Horowitz pioneered VC podcasting in 2014, and First Round Review redefined content marketing by delivering extreme value to entrepreneurs. Jason Lemkin’s SaaStr Annual showed the power of in-person communities, while firms like a16z built ecosystems that highlight their expertise through connections and collaborations.

The Takeaway? Trust is the Ultimate Asset

🟣 VC Internships Galore

1. VC Internship - Lightship Capital

   Location: Ohio

   Apply here
   

2. VC Internship - Mangusta Capital

   Location: Remote

   Apply here
   

3. Non-Traditional Investment Team Intern - GQG Partners

   Location: Florida

   Apply here
   

4. Internship Programme - Temasek

   Location: New York

   Apply here
   

5. Summer Internship - Nuveen, a TIAA company

   Location: North Carolina

   Apply here
   

🟣 For the Founders: Rubric for Raising Money in 2025

Want to raise money from VCs in 2025? Here’s the exact rubric investors use to decide if your startup is fundable.

Before raising $5M for his own startup Stan, John Hu worked at a top VC firm.

This is the framework he shared that they used to evaluate startups, and it’s what founders should master to win funding:

Team:

Is this the best team to solve this problem?

What’s their “Founder-Market Fit”?

Market Size:

Is this market worth $1B+?

Is there massive growth potential?

Competition:

How crowded is this space?

Can this startup realistically carve out a dominant position?

Differentiation:

What sets this startup apart from the competition?

Does it have a clear, defensible edge?

Metrics:

Are the metrics strong enough to prove traction?

Do they signal meaningful growth?

Exit Potential:

Are there multiple potential acquirers for this company?

What’s the realistic exit scenario?

🟣 VC & Startup Favorites

Latest tidbits, resources, and social gems from the ecosystem.

The best fund admins for emerging VCs (2025)

Venture careers demystified

Unicorn report highlights

Latest VC Compensation report 

Bitcoin king Ross Ulbricht and his crazy story

Dubai vs. Thailand for taxes

Avoid Canva and Figma for your pitch deck

Remote job roles

Elon Musk and Sam Altman have beef

Investing in 'The Magically Weird’

Seed rounds got larger through the downturn

🟣 Top Pre-Seed to Series A funding rounds of the week

⚫ Energy ⚫

🔶 1. Addis Energy, a startup developing a method to produce ammonia, raised a $4.3 million pre-seed round.

→ Investors: Engine Ventures, Pillar VC, Voyager Ventures
→ Founded by: Michael Alexander, Charlie Mitchell, Iwnetim Abate, and Yet-Ming Chiang

🔶 2. Bedrock Energy, a geothermal heating and cooling systems startup, raised a $12 million Series A round.

→ Investors: Titanium Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, and others
→ Founded by: Silviu Livescu and Joselyn Lai

⚫ Fintech ⚫

🔶 3. Aslan, a startup offering a rewards-based Mastercard and mobile app for employees, raised a $5 million seed round.

→ Investors: Notion Capital, Redstone
→ Founded by: James Gozney

🔶 4. MoneyHash, a startup helping businesses in the Middle East and Africa manage payment methods, raised a $5.2 million pre-Series A round.

→ Investors: Flourish Ventures, Vision Ventures, and others
→ Founded by: Nader Abdelrazik, Mustafa Eid, and Anisha Sekar🔶 

⚫ AI ⚫

🔶 5. Doti AI, a startup enabling businesses to securely access and utilize internal knowledge in real time, raised a $7 million seed round.

→ Investors: F2 Venture Capital
→ Founded by: Matan Cohen and Opher Hofshi

🔶 6. Percipio Health, a startup using AI to monitor and manage patient health through smartphones, raised a $20 million Series A round.

→ Investors: Wave Ventures, UPMC Enterprises, and others
→ Founded by: Eric Rock and David Lucas

🔶 7. Zynap, a startup that develops AI-powered software mimicking cybercriminal tactics to prevent cyber threats, raised a $5.9 million seed round.

→ Investors: Kibo Ventures, Kfund
→ Founded by: Daniel Solís

⚫ SaaS ⚫

🔶 8. Baton, a platform that assists small business owners in buying and selling businesses, raised a $10 million round.

→ Investors: Obvious Ventures, Burst Capital, and others
→ Founded by: Chat Joglekar and Dylan Gans

🔶 9. BPR Hub, a startup simplifying global compliance management for manufacturers, raised a $2.6 million seed round.

→ Investors: Accel, Kae Capital
→ Founded by: Teja Edara, Milanjeet Singh, and Vinodh Peddi

🔶 10. Glue, a startup focused on testing and validating complex hardware systems, raised a $2 million pre-seed round.

→ Investors: Fortive Corp., Pioneer Square Ventures, AIStudio Fund
→ Founded by: David Sulpy

The People Behind EverythingStartups Newsletter:

Say hello here or at [email protected]

PS: We help VC firms and startups build their brands online.

Learn more about EverythingStartups.