Venture firms are increasingly turning to creators to build trust with the next generation of founders—before a check is ever written. This trend has been gaining momentum, highlighted by a16z's acquisition of Erik Torenberg's Turpentine podcast and OpenAI's acquisition of TBPN. Now, Lightspeed Venture Partners has made its own notable move by bringing on Claire Zau, a seed investor with a major following on Instagram and TikTok, to source deals and co-host the firm's new show, Lightwork, alongside CMO Josh Machiz.
On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, host Dominic-Madori Davis is joined by Zau and Machiz to explore whether the 'creator-investor' is becoming a legitimate function in venture capital or remains an experimental role that firms are still figuring out.
Key Discussion Points
- How Zau got hired via an Instagram DM
- Creating content for the tech-curious, not just tech Twitter
- What Instagram taught Zau about Gen Z and AI
- Whether audience feedback shapes investment decisions
- Do founders now expect investors to be creators?
- Inside the editing grind: hours per video
- Who's actually doing creator VC well right now
- The risk of being taken less seriously
- Measuring ROI: brand awareness and founder conversion
- The Neko Health and embryo-screening discovery stories
- What's next for Lightspeed's media empire
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via TechCrunch