STUDY: Venture Capital Influencer Insights
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This document summarizes a study on how venture capitalists use social media and news media to identify potential investment opportunities. Some key findings include: over 75% of VCs have contacted a startup after reading about it in the news, 30% have invested in a startup discovered through a news story, and 19% of accounts followed by top VCs on Twitter are journalists and media outlets. The study examined the LinkedIn and Twitter presence of top VCs and found that LinkedIn and Twitter are increasingly important for professional networking and staying informed, with LinkedIn being used more extensively currently. Major news outlets like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Fortune are influential sources of information for VCs.
STUDY: Venture Capital Influencer Insights
- 1. Study: Venture Capital Influencer Insights An analysis of social networking and media consumption habits of VCs offers a window into the influencers that impact funding. July 2013
- 2. Media Counts in the World of Venture Capital • More than three quarters of VCs have contacted a startup after reading about it in the news • 30% of surveyed VCs have invested in a startup that they discovered through a news story • 19% of Twitter handles followed by top VCs are journalists and media What types of potential investments have you spotted through a story in the media? Which of the following actions have you taken as a result of reading or hearing a story in the media about a start-up?
- 3. Research Methodology Examined the social media presence and engagement of the 2013 Forbes Midas List of 100 top venture capitalists on Twitter and LinkedIn: • Zeno Group created a proprietary tool to collect and analyze the Twitter users that are followed by the Forbes Midas List VCs; data was collected from June 24 – July 1, 2013; one Midas List member has a private Twitter account, so was excluded from this analysis • LinkedIn connections and engagement statistics were collected from July 10 – 11, 2013 Enlisted third-party research firm Edelman Berland to conduct an online survey of U.S. venture capitalists identified by Dow Jones VentureSource; survey fielded from June 19 – July 12, 2013; the margin of error is plus or minus 15.8% in 95 out of 100 cases. Analyzed mid-point, or median, statistics to limit the affect of outliers with significantly higher engagement trends.
- 4. LinkedIn and Twitter on the Rise In-Person Networking Holds Top Spot How important is each of the following to staying connected in the VC ecosystem? In the next three years, what change do you anticipate in the use of each of the following social networks to communicate with your PROFESSIONAL network? 1. Industry Conferences 2. LinkedIn 3. Twitter 4. Facebook 5. AngelList 6. Quora
- 5. • LinkedIn captures 95% of top VCs • 63 have 500+ connections • Median engagement is robust: • Membership in three groups • Follow two influencers • Subscribe to two newsfeeds • Follow three companies • Six of the top VCs are featured in the LinkedIn Influencer program, where they attract a median of 10,500 followers LinkedIn in the Lead 95% of Forbes’ Midas List top VCs are on LinkedIn
- 6. VC Twitter Ecosystem Individual Connections Trump Companies; Media Have Influence Twitter users followed by 10 or more of the Forbes Midas List VCs VC Partner, 34% Journalist, 11% Media Outlet, 8% Entrepreneur and Tech Execu?ves, 29% Thought Leader, 5% VC Firm, 5% Other, 8% Startup Co., 1%
- 7. For Professional Connections and News, VCs turn to Social Networks 1. Stay connected to professional network 2. Receive news quickly 3. Build visibility for portfolio companies 4. Monitor trends 5. Stay connected to personal network Below is a list of benefits of social networking. Please rank the top 3 benefits in the order of how much value they provide, where “1” means that benefit provides the most value.
- 8. Battle of the Media Empires No Shortcuts: Big Media Brands Matter Media outlets and journalists followed by 10 or more of the Midas List VCs on Twitter WSJ NYT TechCrunch Fortune PandoDaily VentureBeat Bloomberg Techmeme Reuters Forbes Economist Business Insider DEMO TED New Yorker CNN Mashable GigaOm ReadWriteWeb Blog Wired GMA FT HBR Marke?ng Land NextWeb CNET
- 9. @KaraSwisher AllThingsD 44 (69%) Media Masters of the VC Universe Journalists followed by 10 or more of the Forbes Midas List VCs on Twitter @WaltMossberg The Wall Street Journal 39 (61%) @DanPrimack Fortune Term Sheet 32 (50%) @SarahCuda (Sarah Lacy) PandoDaily 25 (39%) @AdamLashinsky Fortune 24 (38%)
- 10. Top-Tier and VC Industry Press are Top News Sources Fortune Term Sheet Leads VC Industry Coverage Below is a list of media outlets that you might regularly read or watch. Please rank the top five media outlets in the order of how frequently you read/watch them, where “1” means that media outlet is the one you read/watch most. Dan Primack, Fortune Term Sheet Kara Swisher, AllThingsD Mark Boslet, Venture Capital Journal Pui-Wing Tam, Bloomberg Businessweek Leena Rao, TechCrunch 4 5 3 2 1 Most Knowledgeable of VC Industry Below is a list of reporters. Please rank the top three reporters in the order of their understanding of the VC industry, where “1” means that the reporter best understands the VC industry. 4 5 3 2 1 Top Media Outlets The linked image cannot be displayed. The file may have been moved, renamed, or deleted. Verify that the link points to the correct file and location.
- 11. Zeno Group is defining and leading a category of its own: We are the go-to, global mid-sized PR and digital firm that disrupts the market with game- changing ideas. www.zenogroup.com twitter.com/zenogroup facebook.com/zenogroup linkedin.com/company/zeno-group Katie Wood Znameroski Zeno Group Vice President, Technology 650-801-7952 twitter.com/katiewz linkedin.com/in/katiewood katie.wood@zenogroup.com Kriselle Laran Zeno Group Sr. Account Supervisor, Digital 650-801-0938 twitter.com/krisellelaran linkedin.com/in/krisellelaran kriselle.laran@zenogroup.com Thank You!