Lightspeed’s newest hire? Found via Instagram DM.
▼ Summary
– Lightspeed hired investor and content creator Claire Zau, who has over 100,000 TikTok followers and 250,000 Instagram followers, to expand its social media presence.
– Zau and Lightspeed CMO Josh Machiz host the podcast Lightwork, which helps startups share their stories amid declining traditional journalism coverage.
– The firm’s media strategy aims to connect with tech-curious audiences and early founders who might become future investments.
– Being online gives Lightspeed real-time feedback, such as Zau discovering that Gen Z is largely anti-AI despite Silicon Valley’s enthusiasm for AI startups.
– Machiz and Zau plan to grow their media efforts, with goals of becoming a go-to resource for founders learning about venture capital.
Earlier this year, Lightspeed caught the industry’s attention with a notable addition to its team: Claire Zau, an investor and widely followed tech content creator. With more than 100,000 followers on TikTok and over 250,000 on Instagram, Zau has built a reputation for breaking down the day’s biggest tech trends into digestible, engaging posts.
Lightspeed partner Josh Machiz and Zau recently joined the Equity studio to discuss the strategy behind the firm’s growing social media presence, their podcast Lightwork, and the unlikely origin of their collaboration: a direct message on Instagram.
“A lot of people want to participate in the future and are excited about technology,” Zau told Equity. “They just don’t have the facts presented to them in an accessible way. So that’s hopefully the role I feel very lucky and privileged to play.”
Zau represents a new wave of venture operators leveraging social media to reach broader audiences. That includes the tech-curious and future founders who might one day turn to Lightspeed for funding. The podcast she co-hosts with Machiz, who serves as Lightspeed’s CMO, reflects a wider trend of venture firms embracing new media. Increasingly, firms are taking a hands-on role in helping portfolio companies tell their stories to the world.
“There’s less and less traditional journalism out there because of layoffs and the consolidation in media,” Machiz said. “If you’re a startup, it’s harder to get your story out there. There are less places to go to get it out. There’s now pretty heavy bars to get your funding story out. And so we hope to also be able to provide in the new media world another opportunity to tell your story.”
So far, the duo and the firm see clear benefits from expanding the Lightspeed media footprint. Connecting with early-stage founders is the primary goal, but being online also offers real-time feedback on investments and emerging technologies. Zau shared an example: inside the Silicon Valley bubble, enthusiasm for AI startups was nearly universal, yet when she discussed those investments online, she sensed that Gen Z was actually quite anti-AI.
“It was, I would even say, humbling,” she said of the direct responses to some of her videos. “It’s so helpful to have basically real-time visibility into how people are using these technologies and what kinds of narratives are hitting.”
Looking ahead, Machiz and Zau hinted at what’s next for them. Could another podcast be on the horizon? A TV show one day? “Our goal is to be the place where hopefully future founders learn about venture, understand the ecosystem,” Machiz said. “We’re still early days.”
Listen to the full conversation to hear more about their plans and the thinking behind Lightspeed’s media push.
(Source: TechCrunch)
