The venture capital industry provides a timely lesson about the attention economy. 

In 2024, 30 firms raised 75% of all capital captured by venture capital funds in the U.S. Just nine of them took in half of the total, or $35 billion, according to PitchBook data.

One firm, Andreessen Horowitz, brought in over 11% of the total.

Many factors contributed to the fundraising prowess of A16z, as the firm is known. 

But one large differentiator, the rocket fuel, has been content.

Founder Marc Andreessen made a splash articulating the firm’s thesis in 2012 when he published a The Wall Street Journal essay entitled “Why Software Is Eating the World.” 

Later, the firm leaned into content as marketing by hiring top editorial talent from Wired and elsewhere to add the capability to produce high-quality blogs, essays and podcasts. 

As the accompanying Live Data Technologies chart illustrates, A16z spends more hiring marketing talent than any other VC firm.

They paired editors with general partners to produce deep but accessible thought leadership, something most firms struggle to manage.

The effort paid off.

Creating a content engine and platform proved to be a crucial advantage, raising the visibility not just of founders Andreesen and Ben Horowitz, but general partners including Chris Dixon, Andrew Chen and Katharine Boyle. 

When Andreesen decided it was time to update his investment thesis in October 2023 he found the WSJ wasn’t interested in running the piece. 

It didn’t matter, however, because he had built his own audience online. He published the “Techno-Optimist Manifesto” on his own site and still got the attention he wanted.

This week, A16Z announced it had hired a new general partner, Erik Torenberg, and also that it acquired Turpentine, the content and podcast studio Torenberg founded. 

Two people who appreciated the significance of the move were Jordi Hays and John Coogan, hosts of TBPN, a live streamed show about tech. Erik appeared the next day.

On the show, Torenberg said that A16z plans to double down on content 

Let me emphasize that for the folks in the bleachers: the most successful VC, whose growth was accelerated by content and which already outspends everyone on content by a wide margin, is planning to “double down” making more content. Amazing. 

Andreesen, of course, wrote a post about the hire, flagging the media and also a founders social network that Turpentine built.

I run an agency that creates content for CEOs and companies. I’ve written for startups and VCs and hedge funds. From my perspective in 2025 most firms see and understand the opportunity storytelling via social media and podcasts provides.

Many struggle, however, with spending the money and sticking with it over time. There are always engineers to hire or other priorities to fund.

But, as A16Z shows, the payoff over the long term can be huge.