Venture firms are turning to creators to build trust with the next generation of founders before a check is ever written.It’sa trendthat’sbeen building witha16z’s acquisitionof Erik Torenberg’s Turpentine podcast andOpenAI’s acquisitionof TBPN.Lightspeed Venture Partnersjust made its own notable hire in that vein, bringing onClaire 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 CMOJosh Machiz.
On this episode of TechCrunch’sEquitypodcast, Dominic-Madori Davis is joined by Zau andMachizto dive deep into whether the “creator-investor” is becoming a real function in venture or just something firms are still trying to figure out.
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