What I've Learned Ghostwriting for VCs

Over the past six years, I’ve written for VCs who have been profiled in The New York Times, featured in Fortune’s Term Sheet, and racked up millions of views on LinkedIn and Medium. Collectively they’ve managed billions of dollars and had DPI scores that would make any LP salivate.

You probably follow some of them. You might have pitched others. You’ve definitely read things they didn’t write—but that still shaped how you see them.

I was the one writing behind the curtain.

And I learned something that most firms still haven’t realized:

The most influential VCs don’t just write well.

They think in public—on purpose, with precision, and with repetition.

In this piece, I want to share what I’ve observed ghostwriting for some of the most well-known voices in venture: how they approach content, what makes them different, and what you can borrow (or avoid) if you want to build real influence through ideas.

Myth #1: “They’re Just Better Writers”

They’re not.

Some of the most well-known VCs I’ve worked with were paralyzed by a blank Google Doc. But give them a first draft to edit and they would sink their teeth in. Others were brilliant with concepts and taught me so much about VC, but needed help with structure, rhythm, or tone.

What separates both of them from the pack isn’t polish—it’s clarity of thinking.

They know what they believe.

They know what they want founders to remember.

And they’re ruthless about making one big point, not five.

Most VC blogs fail because they’re trying to say everything. The best ones win because they say one memorable thing—and say it well.

Myth #2: “It’s All Just a Ghostwritten Illusion”

People assume ghostwriting is about faking someone’s voice. In my experience, the best VCs don’t outsource their thinking—they outsource the craft of expressing it.

The ideas, the frameworks, the timing—that still comes from them.

My job is to make it land.

That’s why ghostwritten content doesn’t feel ghostwritten when it works: it reflects real conviction, not content marketing filler.

When it doesn’t? You can feel it.

You’ve read those posts. Slick formatting, decent structure… zero soul.

Myth #3: “Big Posts Build Big Reputations”

Nope.

One of the most striking patterns I’ve seen is that consistency, not virality, builds brand gravity.

Every big post I helped ghostwrite for a partner who already had reach? It landed because it fit into a larger body of work.

We weren’t just publishing—we were reinforcing a thesis, building a voice, constructing a public worldview brick by brick.

If you want to build influence through content, the question isn’t “How do I go viral?”

It’s: “What am I saying over and over again that only I can say?”

What You Can Steal

If you’re a partner thinking about finally starting to publish, or a platform lead trying to get your firm’s voice out in the world, here are the habits I saw in the VCs whose content actually worked:

• They made time for it

  Not just the writing, but the thinking. They took content seriously because they understood its strategic value.

• They reused ideas

  The best thinkers in VC repeat themselves. Not literally, but structurally. They have 3–5 core concepts they revisit from different angles, reinforcing their brand in every piece.

• They used ghostwriters well

  They didn’t say “Can you just write something?”

  They said “Here’s what I’ve been thinking about, and here’s why it matters right now.”

• They were okay being imperfect

  They didn’t wait until every sentence was lawyer-proof. They shipped. They trusted their ideas would resonate more than any one word choice.

The Invisible Advantage

The truth is: content is leverage, and ghostwriting is just one way to multiply it.

The most effective VCs I’ve worked with didn’t think of content as fluff.

They saw it as infrastructure—something that made everything else they did work better:

• Deal flow got warmer.

• LP conversations got sharper.

• Their firms developed a voice.

• Their partners got known for something real.

You don’t need to be a “content person” to do this well.

You just need to know what you believe—and commit to building trust by saying it, showing it, and standing behind it in public.

Because in venture, attention fades.

But conviction compounds.

Looking Forward

Have you tried publishing under your name, or with a ghostwriter? What worked—and what fell flat?

If you’re a platform lead or GP navigating this now, I’d love to hear how you’re approaching it. Just hit reply and share—I read everything.