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For decades, venture capital depended on closed networks. Founders needed introductions. Investors relied on private circles. Geography mattered. The strongest deal flow often stayed concentrated around Silicon Valley, New York and a handful of elite startup communities.
Marshall Sandman believes that model is starting to break down. The founder of Animal Capital has spent the last 139 days posting daily videos on Instagram @marshallsandman explaining venture capital in unusually direct terms: fundraising mechanics, dilution, startup mistakes and how investors evaluate businesses.
What began as a content experiment has become a sourcing engine. “We’ve already written our first check from someone that reached out cold to us,” Sandman told me on my podcast.
The approach reflects a larger transformation happening across venture capital. Investors are increasingly operating like creators, using content to build trust, attract founders and generate proprietary deal flow.
Sandman originally started posting for operational reasons. He travels constantly between Raleigh, New York and portfolio companies across the country, often taking more than 100 flights per year. His team believed content could help scale communication more efficiently and reduce the need for constant founder meetings and travel.
Instead of repeating the same conversations privately, Sandman began publishing his thinking publicly every day. By posting consistently, he created a searchable archive explaining how he evaluates startups, approaches fundraising and thinks about venture capital.
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That dramatically compresses the relationship-building process. Founders arrive already understanding his philosophy, investment style and areas of interest before taking a meeting.
The strategy resembles a broader trend emerging across venture capital firms. Investors including Alexis Ohanian of Seven Seven Six and Andreessen Horowitz have all expanded their media operations through podcasts, YouTube, newsletters and social content.
In many cases, content now functions as both marketing and infrastructure.
ForbesTrust Is Becoming The Most Valuable Currency In The Creator EconomyBy Ian ShepherdThe traditional venture model still heavily rewards access and network density. The largest firms often compete for the same founders within the same ecosystems.
Sandman believes social media creates a different kind of edge. “The idea that you’re going to beat Andreessen Horowitz and Founders Fund into Sand Hill Road—that you’re going to beat them to a deal—you’re just not.”
Instead, content opens access to founders operating outside traditional venture circles.
“I’m going down to Western Kentucky tomorrow morning to go visit someone,” Sandman said during our conversation. “He’s an egg farmer in Western Kentucky. And he came from my Instagram.”
That geographic diversification increasingly matters as venture capital becomes more concentrated around a handful of AI mega-rounds. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that companies including Anthropic and OpenAI absorbed an outsized share of venture funding during the first quarter of 2026.
For smaller and mid-sized venture firms, proprietary sourcing has become increasingly important. “The best businesses to invest in are the unsexy ones,” Sandman said.
Social media helps surface those opportunities earlier. “Can I beat someone to Western Kentucky and get someone from a $3 million valuation to a $30 million valuation?” Sandman asked. “Yeah, I definitely can.”
ForbesJustin Bieber’s $10 Million Coachella Set Wasn’t A Concert — It Was A Content StrategyBy Ian ShepherdThe rise of investor content is also changing how founders evaluate venture firms.
Historically, founders often selected investors based on brand recognition or introductions from other founders. Social media now gives entrepreneurs a clearer understanding of how investors think before ever taking a meeting.
By publishing consistently, investors effectively pre-qualify themselves to founders. Content communicates expertise, personality and operating philosophy at scale.
“Now the internet is generating proprietary deal flow,” Sandman said. His argument mirrors broader changes across venture capital. Earlier this year, Carta’s State of Private Markets report showed seed-stage fundraising activity increasingly spreading outside California as investors searched for differentiated opportunities and lower entry valuations.
ForbesWhy The Creator Economy’s Next Phase Is About EquityBy Ian ShepherdThe model increasingly mirrors creator economics itself.
Creators spent the last decade proving that consistent publishing builds trust, audience and distribution advantages over time. Venture capital firms are now applying the same mechanics to investing. The content itself compounds. Every video becomes searchable, shareable and discoverable by future founders. Over time, the archive functions as both education and top-of-funnel sourcing.
Sandman eventually plans to organize the videos into categories covering fundraising, deck-building and startup operations. “My hope is that I get to 300 [days] and anyone that wants to start a business… can piece it together,” he said.
For years, venture capital rewarded exclusivity. Increasingly, visibility is becoming part of the competitive advantage.
This article is based on an interview with Marshall Sandman on my podcast The Business of Creators.
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