Study: VENTURE CAPITAL INFLUENCER INSIGHTS An annual analysis of social networking and media consumption habits offers a window into the influencers that impact funding (May 2015)

•  DON’T OVERLOOK LINKEDIN: Many social media programs start with Facebook and end with Twitter. LinkedIn is a valuable network for building professional relationships. Entrepreneurs and executives should have a LinkedIn presence, and companies can use it as a platform to share milestones. It’s helpful to give employees draft language for the company’s description and mission, and it’s also important to offer guidelines on what kind of information should be excluded from profiles.

•  ENTREPRENEURS MUST PARTICIPATE: A common theme among VCs is that they invest in people, not ideas. On Twitter, VCs tend to follow CEOs and entrepreneurs, not startups. Some executives are reluctant to join Twitter because they don’t know what to say, how to build a following, and don’t have time. Don’t Tweet on their behalf. Instead, put a few systems in place to suggest posts, respond to live conversations, and quickly follow others to build their own following. Conferences offer great opportunities for executives to participate in real-time conversations and increase their network.

•  BIG BUSINESS AND TECH BRANDS HAVE OUTSIZED INFLUENCE: You likely already have goals of telling your story to the New York Times, Re/code and The Wall Street Journal. This analysis underscores the importance of top tech and business media. When we first conducted this study in 2013, we also surveyed VCs directly about media. We learned that more than three-quarters of VCs contacted a company after reading about it in the news, and 30 percent invested in a startup they discovered through a news story. Trade media still count – particularly with customers and partners – but when it comes to getting funding, the biggest media brands hold the keys. How do you get their attention? We

can share a few ideas.

KEY FINDINGS

MIDAS LIST ON SOCIAL PLATFORMS

64%

89%

72%

95%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Twitter LinkedIn

2013 2015

Top VCs are expanding their use of LinkedIn: 95 percent of the 2015 Midas List is on the social network, up from 89 percent in 2013. Of that group, 73 percent have 500 or more followers, an increase of 18 percent.

95% of Forbes’ Midas List top VCs are on LinkedIn

LINKEDIN ECOSYSTEM BREAKDOWN

Beyond their individual connections, VCs

are building a following on LinkedIn.

When we first conducted this study in

2013, the LinkedIn Influencer program

only allowed members to follow

designated influencers; there were just

six influencers among the Midas List that

year. LinkedIn has since opened up this

feature to allow members to follow

anyone on LinkedIn. As a result, VCs are

attracting substantial followings.

1,495 MEDIAN LINKEDIN FOLLOWING

TWITTER ECOSYSTEM BREAKDOWN Unlike Twitter, LinkedIn differentiates between connections and companies, making it the ideal place for VCs to track startups or even their own firms (something they don’t do much on Twitter). In 2015, VCs followed an average of nine companies on LinkedIn, up from six in 2013.

LOW: 23 HIGH: 267,000 AVERAGE: 46,241 MEDIAN: 4,434

4,434 MEDIAN TWITTER FOLLOWERS 29% GROWTH

SINCE 2013

-

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

100

Q1 2013 Q1 2015

Mill

ions

Twitter Adoption

Midas List Twitter Monthly Active Users

MEDIA HAVE THE EARS OF (SOME) VCS On Twitter, the top VCs are still surprisingly absent. In 2013 just 64 of the Midas List VCs had a presence on Twitter (though of that group, three had never Tweeted). In the three years since, Twitter’s active monthly users grew 48 percent to 302 million, but the number of members of the Midas List on Twitter only grew 13 percent to 72. This year, of the VCs with a Twitter profile, seven have not Tweeted in 2015, have just Tweeted once, or have never posted a Tweet.

Media Outlet, 6%

Journalist, 11%

VC Partner, 32%

VC Firm, 4%

CEO/Entrepreneur, 25%

Thought Leader, 5%

Tech Exec. (non CEO), 9%

Startup Co., 1% Law, 0%

Banking, 0%

Politics, 1%

Other, 2%

TWITTER ECOSYSTEM: LARGER, BUT UNCHANGED Using Zeno’s proprietary tool, we analyzed the influencers who make up this ecosystem. Defined as users who are followed by 10 or more Midas List VCs, we segmented this group based on their role within the technology and investment landscape. In three years, when the members of the Midas List changed, the percentage of the group on Twitter expanded and the number of users they followed more than doubled; Aside from an increase of four percent of technology executives (non-CEO’s), no other segment changed by more than 1 percent.

Media Outlet 13%

Journalist 24%

CEO/Entrepreneur 48%

Thought Leader 9%

Tech Exec. (non-CEO) 4% Startup Co.

2%

THE TOP 100 INFLUENCERS If you zero in on the top 100 among this group – those followed by the most Midas List VCs – and remove fellow VCs, investors and firms, the influence of media becomes increasingly apparent. Together, journalists and media outlets represent 37 percent of this top group.

5 Sarah Lacy, PandoDaily No change 30 Midas List followers

4 Tim O’Reilly, AlwaysOn No change 31 Midas List followers

3 Walt Mossberg, Re/Code #2 in 2013 40 Midas List followers

1 Kara Swisher, Re/code No change 49 Midas List followers

2 Dan Primack, Fortune #3 in 2013 45 Midas List followers

9

Emily Chang, Bloomberg West #12 in 2013 26 Midas List followers

Leena Rao, Fortune #15 in 2013 26 Midas List followers

8 Henry Blodget, Business Insider #7 in 2013 27 Midas List followers

7 Liz Gannes, Re/code #9 in 2013 28 Midas List followers

6 Adam Lashinsky, Fortune No change 29 Midas List followers

JOURNALISTS MAINTAIN INFLUENCE The biggest names in tech journalism are holding their lead with top VCs. On the rise are Emily Chang, host of Bloomberg West (#9 this year, up from #12 in 2013), and Leena Rao, who recently returned to journalism at Fortune after a stint at Google Ventures (also at #9 this year, up from #15 in 2013).

4

3

2

1

2015

4

3

2

1

2013

BIG NAMES IN MEDIA DOMINATE It’s no surprise that top business and tech journalists have strong ties to VCs, but the degree of their influence is noteworthy. The biggest change in the rankings of media brands was caused by Re/code’s split from The Wall Street Journal in 2014; aside from that, there was little movement among top outlets.

Journalist, 13

VC Partner, 8

CEO/Entrepreneur, 10

Thought Leader, 1

Tech Exec. (non CEO), 6

Law, 0

Banking, 0

Politics, 2 Other, 1 Comedy, 1

GENDER DIVERSITY: A PROBLEM BEYOND SAND HILL ROAD The gender discrimination trial between Ellen Pao and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers earlier this year put a spotlight on the role of women in the world of venture capital. The 2015 Midas List reinforced the under-representation in the field when just five women made the list of top 100 VCs. Our analysis of the influencer ecosystem on Twitter shows that VCs extended network is just slightly more diverse.

Women in VC Ecosystem

Believers in the fearless pursuit of the unexpected, the award-winning Zeno Group operates as one firm across 24 global offices, including Silicon Valley, New York, Chicago, Santa Monica, Dallas, Toronto, London, Beijing, Delhi, Jakarta and Singapore. Zeno is the unprecedented 2011, 2012 and 2013 winner of the PR Week U.S. Mid-Size Agency of the Year, Holmes Report US Creative Agency of the Year and 2013 Holmes Report Consumer Agency of the Year. The firm’s practice areas include technology, consumer, health, and corporate, all supported by planning, digital engagement and media.

Clients include Anheuser-Busch, Expedia Media Solutions, Netflix, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Hortonworks, Kia Motors America, Intel Security, Micron Technology, Inc., Plex Systems, Seattle’s Best Coffee and TiVo. Zeno Group is a member of the Daniel J. Edelman Company.

Please visit us at zenogroup.com, like us on Facebook, or follow us @zenogroup and on LinkedIn.

ABOUT ZENO GROUP

Zeno Group examined the social media presence and engagement of the 2015, 2014 and 2013 Forbes Midas List on Twitter and LinkedIn. We created a proprietary tool to collect and analyze the Twitter users that are followed by the Forbes Midas List VCs. Data was collected from 2013 through 2015; two Midas List members have private Twitter accounts, so were excluded from this analysis. What about Facebook? Facebook recently introduced changes to drive greater business and media adoption of the platform. With Instant Articles, a WhatsApp integration and improved search functionality, it’s clear that Facebook hopes to become a destination for business. However, while media consumption by VCs may happen on Facebook, algorithms and privacy options make it harder to measure the influence that media or other entities may have. It was not practical to include Facebook in the study due to these constraints. Kriselle Laran and Katie Wood Znameroski led the research with assistance from Mayra Marcotte.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Zeno Group is a global, integrated communications agency, born from PR,

that pursues the unexpected to turn heads and win hearts.

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 Vice President, Digital 650-315-4314 twitter.com/krisellelaran linkedin.com/in/krisellelaran kriselle.laran@zenogroup.com

THANK YOU!