Venture firms are turning to creators to build trust with the next generation of founders before a check is ever written. It’s a trend that’s been building with a16z’s acquisition of Erik Torenberg’s Turpentine podcast and OpenAI’s acquisition of TBPN. Lightspeed Venture Partners just made its own notable hire in that vein, bringing on Claire 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 CMO Josh Machiz.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Dominic-Madori Davis is joined by Zau and Machiz to dive deep into whether the “creator-investor” is becoming a real function in venture or just something firms are still trying to figure out.

The content here does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or investment advisory services.

The views expressed by the speakers do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Lightspeed. Lightspeed makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information presented by the speaker. The speakers are not compensated in connection with the statements made herein, although Lightspeed portfolio company representatives generally receive compensation and investment opportunities in connection with their role at the relevant portfolio companies. Lightspeed portfolio company representatives also own securities in the respective companies and some invest in Lightspeed-sponsored vehicles, both of which benefit from Lightspeed’s continued involvement. Such compensation and investments subject the speakers to potential conflicts of interest in making the statements herein as they provide a financial benefit to Lightspeed and its funds. For more details please see

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Chapters:

00:00 Intro

1:03 Getting hired…via Instagram DM

3:36 Creating for the tech-curious, not just tech Twitter

8:12 What Instagram taught Claire about Gen Z and AI

10:44 Does audience feedback shape investment decisions?

11:19 Do founders now expect investors to be creators?

13:13 Inside the editing grind: hours per video

15:42 Who’s actually doing creator VC well right now

18:52 The risk of being taken less seriously

21:41 Measuring ROI: brand awareness and founder conversion

27:41 What’s next for Lightspeed’s media empire

29:22 Outro