The Best Venture Capital & Private Equity Newsletters and Podcasts

Intro to Venture Capital and Private Equity

Venture capital (VC) is a kind of private equity financing that is typically provided to startups and other early-stage companies that have demonstrated high growth or the potential for high growth. Because these companies are younger, other forms of financing are typically deemed too risky. Venture capital firms give these companies money in exchange for partial ownership. The end goal is to see significant returns when the company goes public or is acquired. Several of the biggest VC firms include Andreesen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Kleiner Perkins.

Private equity is a broader form of financing, although it typically focuses on companies that are more established. Most of the time, the PE firms acquire a majority stake in the company and try to increase its profits and then resell it. Their vision is more short-term, whereas VC firms are invested in long-term success. Some of the most well-known private equity firms include Blackstone Group, TPG Capital, and the Carlyle Group.

Read more at What is Venture Capital and How Does it Work? and What is Private Equity and How Does It Work?

Venture Capital and Private Equity Newsletters & Podcasts

In order to stay up-to-date with the complicated world of investing, one of the best things you can do is hear directly from experts. Newsletters and podcasts are one way to do so. Newsletters typically provide a summary of the most important information, sent straight to your inbox. Podcasts allow you to dig more deeply into the topics that interest you.

The Best VC/PE Newsletters

First Round Capital: The Review

• Best For: Aspiring/current entrepreneurs
• Editor: Jessi Craig Shikman
• Founded: 2015
• Frequency: “Weekly-ish”
• Subscribe here

This newsletter is for technology entrepreneurs, to help them learn how to build better companies directly from those who are already doing it. It covers experiential advice, fundraising topics, and other actionable knowledge. Information comes from VC leaders themselves as well as Twitter, podcasts, and tech’s top articles and publications.

AVC

• Best For: Stories
• Editor: Fred Wilson
• Founded: 2003
• Frequency: Weekly
• Subscribe here

This “newsletter” is more of a blog, run by a Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures, a top VC firm in NYC. Wilson describes it as his “diary where [he] thinks things through ‘out loud.’’ He writes about things like the regulatory hurdles facing tech innovators, comprehensive reviews of some of the hottest startups, and marketing secrets for founders. When you subscribe, you’ll receive a copy of his posts right when they go live

Andreesen Horowitz

• Best For: Deeper dives into investment trends
• Editor(s): Seema Amble, Marc Andrusko, and David Haber (Fintech Newsletter)
• Founded: 2019
• Frequency: Monthly
• Subscribe here

Andreesen Horowitz offers several different newsletters to choose from, each with a different focus. They include the general a16z newsletter, Enterprise (B2B and enterprise tech), Bio (biopharma, etc.), Fintech, and American Dynamism (ideas, companies, and individuals). Typically, their newsletters focus on diving into a few select topics. See an example here.

Strictly VC

• Best For: Daily overview of VC news
• Editor: Connie Loizos
• Founded: 2013
• Frequency: Daily (Monday-Friday)
• Subscribe here

This newsletter provides you with an overview of important news in the VC world every morning. It offers a concise summary of general VC news, fundings, noteworthy exits, jobs, and more. Loizos is also the Silicon Valley Editor at TechCrunch. To see an example newsletter, head here.

PitchBook: The Daily Pitch

• Best For: Aspiring or current VC/PE professionals
• Editor: Alexander Davis
• Founded: 2007
• Frequency: Daily
• Subscribe here

There are several different newsletters you can choose from, depending on what news you’d like to receive. They include Europe, M&A, Private Equity, VC, and a combination of VC, PE, and M&A. The information is targeted toward business professionals who work in or with the private and public markets. The VC newsletter includes the day’s top stories, recommended reads, noteworthy deals, a chart of the day, and more.

Accelerated

• Best For: Students and new grads
• Editor(s): Justine and Olivia Moore
• Founded: 2019
• Frequency: Weekly
• Subscribe here

This newsletter was created specifically for students and new grads who are interested in venture capital and tech. Each week, you’ll receive an overview of the most important news. Newsletter sections include “trending,” “what we’re following,” “jobs,” “internships,” and, most importantly, “puppy of the week.”

AlphaWeek

• Best For: PE professionals
• Editor: Greg Winterton
• Founded: 2017
• Frequency: Weekly
• Subscribe here

In addition to offering a purely private equity newsletter, AlphaWeek also sends out ones for Alternative Credit, Hedge Funds, Real Assets, and Venture Capital. Their newsletter primarily includes a featured article on a specific topic as well as news from the investment market.

InFOCUS

• Best For: Those interested in the futures and options market
• Editor: Craig Bewick
• Founded: 2022
• Frequency: Daily
• Subscribe here

This newsletter is specific to the futures and options market. It covers current trends, economic analysis, and global market news, including the top articles and stories on futures. It’s sponsored by the CME Group, a derivatives marketplace that helps clients mitigate risks in trading.

Land a PE or VC Job With an Expert

If your goal is to work in private equity or venture capital or if you’re just curious about the fields, the best way to find accurate and relevant information is to talk to someone in the space. At Leland, we have tons of coaches in both of these industries who can help you with your application, provide insights into specific firms/roles, and much more. Browse them all here.

The Best VC/PE Podcasts

Masters of Scale

• Best For: Aspiring entrepreneurs
• Host: Reid Hoffman
• Sponsor: Wait What
• Founded: 2017
• Rating: 4.6 (3.8K ratings)

Hoffman is a Co-Founder of LinkedIn and a Partner at Greylock Partners. In this podcast, Hoffman interviews founders and digs into the nuts and bolts of how these companies were built, including scaling strategies, management, fundraising, and more. Notable guests include Former President Obama, Airbnb Founder Brian Chesky, and Canva CEO Melanie Perkins.

The Consumer VC

• Best For: B2C investors and entrepreneurs
• Host: Mike Gelb
• Sponsor: The Consumer VC
• Founded: 2019
• Rating: 4.9 (126 ratings)

In this podcast, Gelb interviews prominent venture capitalists who are investing in and founders who are building consumer-facing companies. They share their insights into the industry as well as fundraising and pitching strategies. After getting his MBA at USC, Gelb worked in several venture roles before founding The Consumer VC.

a16z Podcast

• Best For: A wide variety of topics in tech and investing
• Host: Different every episode
• Sponsor: Andreesen Horowitz
• Founded: 2019
• Rating: 4.4 (741 ratings)

This podcast offers a wide range of topics as each episode features a different industry expert, business leader, or interesting thinker. They discuss tech and culture trends, news, and the future. Example episodes include “How to Find Product-Market-Sales Fit,” “The Fintech Opportunity for Students and Gen Z,” and “Culture as Code.”

How I Built This

• Best For: Anyone interested in entrepreneurship
• Host: Guy Raz
• Sponsor: NPR
• Founded: 2016
• Rating: 4.7 (28K ratings)

One of the most successful podcasts of all time, each episode of How I Built This is an interview with the world’s top entrepreneurs to find out how they built their companies. They talk about moments of doubt and failure and key learnings that helped them succeed. The most popular episodes include interviews with founders/executives from Ben & Jerry’s, Airbnb, Beyond Meat, Southwest Airlines, Buzzfeed, Spanx, TOMS, and Burton Snowboards.

The Twenty Minute VC

• Best For: Entrepreneurs and aspiring venture capitalists
• Host: Harry Stebbings
• Sponsor: 20VC
• Founded: 2015
• Rating: 4.5 (370 ratings)

Each podcast is an interview with top venture capitalists and founders, with past guests including VCs from Sequoia Capital, Benchmark, and Accel. The Twenty Minute VC covers a wide range of topics like tips for what investors are looking for in startups, how to get funding, and how to get a job in VC as well as general commentary on the current investment and technology markets.

Private Equity Fast Pitch

• Best For: Aspiring PE investors and investment bankers
• Host: Jeff Henningsen
• Sponsor: Northstar
• Founded: 2018
• Rating: 4.8 (36 ratings)

Henningsen brings on leaders in the private equity and investment banking industries to share their insights into their worlds. They discuss their firms, recent activities, target industries, recent news, and advice for aspiring professionals.

Private Equity Funcast

• Best For: Private equity investors
• Host: Jim Milbery and Devin Mathews
• Sponsor: ParkerGale Capital
• Founded: 2013
• Rating: 4.8 (407 ratings)

In this podcast, Mathews and Milbery–both partners at Parker Gale Capital, a middle-market PE firm–discuss technology companies and the tools used to build them. Examples of recent episodes include “Defining Your Ideal Customer Profile,” “What is Human Capital Due Diligence?,” and “The Increasingly Important Role Talent is Playing in Private Equity.”

EY NextWave Private Equity

• Best For: Aspiring/current PE investors and women in PE
• Host: Winna Brown
• Sponsor: EY
• Founded: 2019
• Rating: 5 (37 ratings)

Brown is EY Americas ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) Private Equity Leader. In this podcast, she explores how private equity is impacting the economy and society. Each episode is very digestible at 20-25 min. and recent episodes include “What PE is outsourcing to create value,” “Why mentoring matters for women in PE,” and “How PE firms can win tech deals.”

Private Equity Technology Podcast

• Best For: Those interested in technology and investment
• Host: Alex Agran
• Sponsor: Private Equity Technology Podcast
• Founded: 2017
• Rating: 5 (21 ratings)

This podcast offers a unique perspective on the role that technology plays in PE investments. It explores the intricacies of tech’s impact on every core of the business, including potential acquisitions and portfolio companies.

Dry Powder

• Best For: Aspiring PE investors
• Host: Hugh MacArthur
• Sponsor: Bain & Company
• Founded: 2018
• Rating: 4.8 (113 ratings)

MacArthur is the head of Bain’s Global Private Equity practice. In this podcast, he interviews experts about trends and opportunities in the field of private equity. Each episode is short and to the point at 10-15 min. Recent episodes include “An Enduring Strategy for Just About Any Time,” “How ESG Could Reshape the Real Economy,” and “Macro Risks: Keep It Simple.”

Interested in VC and PE? Read these articles next:

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• The 10 Best Venture Capital Fellowships
• The 50 Most Common Venture Capital Interview Questions
• The Different Types of Buy-Side Firms and How to Choose One
• How to Get Into Venture Capital: Lessons Learned Interviewing 100+ Investors
• The Best Investment Banking Newsletters and Podcasts to Subscribe To