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.

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
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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!