Exceptional Startups Are Needles in a Haystack. So the Best VCs Build Needle Magnets.
First, a piece of literary history. The phrase needle in a haystack is commonly credited to the book Don Quixote from the early 1600s (“needle is a bottle of hay”) but there’s also a Fujian proverb “To dive into the sea, to feel for a needle” that is thought to be even older and gets to the same point. The idea that it’s nearly fruitless to blindly search for a single small object when it’s located in a vast container.
Ok, back to the VC content marketing.
A few years back I helped start Screendoor, a fund that backs new venture firms by hopefully being one of their earliest and largest supporters. As a result I’ve seen hundreds of VC decks, all certain they will be among the top performers. Most strategies are some combination of innovation and best practices along the classic five steps of venture investing: See, Pick, Win, Service, Exit. This post is about ‘seeing.’
In addition to hustle and one’s existing network, I’m always interested in whether or not a ‘needle magnet’ is being built alongside the other efforts to find startups. What’s my needle magnet definition? Some force that pulls exceptional startups to you, directly or via intermediaries, in a privileged and sustainable fashion. What are, in my mind, some examples of needle magnet strategies that exist today?
Content Marketing of all Forms: Social media presence, podcasts, blog posts, How To manuals
Running Workshops and Other Experiential Programs/Events: On leadership, finding PMF, pricing and GTM, hiring, and so on
Humans Outside of the Firm With Incentive to Source For You: Scout Networks are Like Distributed Mini Magnets and we see all sorts of version here. People who can invest with the firms money at arms length, bounties for sourcing a startup, small investments in other VCs that are upstream from your firm.
and related, of increasing importance.
Data: Turn the needle magnet into needle radar, by pinpointing the location of the needles.
So my general advice is as you’re building a firm, think about which magnets feel right to you and start investing in them early. You’ll also need to tune the magnet over time so that it pulls less detritus — or at least build a great sorting filter so that you can kindly decline/exclude other stuff which gets pulled in.
Don’t be afraid to experiment, don’t be afraid to try something new — unless you’re really excited about podcasting and have a novel idea on how to break through the noise, it’s not worth doing. Pick the magnet strategies which are consistent with your brand, stage, resources, and temperament.
There, some loose thoughts on magnets. Did I miss any categories?
GET ALL MY POSTS VIA EMAIL (first and free)
Bluesky has the JUICE, FOLLOW ME THERE -> https://bsky.app/profile/hunterwalk.com
Originally published at https://hunterwalk.com on February 22, 2025.
