Really psyched to share my conversation with Elan Miller.

Elan is the founder of Off-Menu - a creative studio that helps startups and VCs with design and branding. Elan has been in the scene way before it was cool. What I really admire (and frankly envy) is his capacity to read and write so extensively.

You can tell that he has really spent time formulating his ideas, and clearly his clients come to him for that same level of intellectual rigour.

This episode was shorter than usual, but the insight per word density was through the roof. Hope you enjoy!

Where to find Elan:

• Elan on X - https://x.com/elan_miller
• Elan on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/elanmiller/
• Off-Menu’s website (surprise surprise - its extremely well designed) - https://www.off-menu.com/
• Elan’s writing (really valuable for marketers / storytellers / editorial humans in tech) - https://offmenu.substack.com/

Really psyched to share my conversation with Maria LaMagna Morales.

Maria is best known for leading socials at a16z, and she's now building Press Publish Studio, a boutique advisory helping founders with content strategy and execution (without the bloat of a trad agency!)

In our conversation, we spoke about what she learned at a16z, her minimum viable content strategy for founders, why lo-fi storytelling is winning, and the traps founders fall into when they try to DIY.

Maria has been thinking deeply about this space for years, and I loved getting her take on all things social, and beyond.

Hope you enjoy!

Where to find Maria:

• Maria on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marialamagna/
• Maria on X - https://x.com/MCLaMagna

Anna is the Head of Content at Scale Venture Partners, where she leads editorial and helps the firm articulate what it stands for.

In our conversation, we unpacked her perspective on what storytelling looks like in a world full of AI slop, why most founders feel stuck and what they can do about it, and how to build a personal brand that actually maps back to the business. We also got into how venture firms can use editorial as a wedge, not to chase vanity metrics, but to build trust with a very specific set of founders.

Anna is one of the most thoughtful people in content, and I had such a great time chatting with her!

Chapters:

• 00:00 Cold open
• 01:06 Anna's journey from journalism to VC
• 08:12 Storytelling in a wold full of AI slop
• 18:33 Why high quality editorial is still extremely valuable
• 20:06 Anna’s minimum viable content strategy
• 37:13 Attracting attention versus retaining trust
• 39:35 Common storytelling mistakes founders make
• 46:24 Marketing for meaningful outcomes
• 52:25 Anna’s content recs

Where to find Anna:

• Anna on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-shults-held-1975b768/
• Anna on X - https://x.com/ajshults
• Scale Venture Partners - https://www.scalevp.com/

My conversation with Rachael Horwitz.

Rachael is currently CMO at Haun Ventures. She has spent her career shaping how the world’s most important tech companies tell their story - from Coinbase, where she served as VP of Comms, to Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Spark Capital. She was also Operating Partner at a16z crypto before joining Haun Ventures.

In our conversation, I asked her about her backstory, her storytelling playbook for founders, and how disciplined, focused messaging can help founders cut through the noise.

Where to find Rachael and her work:
•⁠ ⁠X: @RachaelRad
•⁠ ⁠LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachaelhorwitz/
• Haun Ventures: https://www.haun.co/

Where to find Yash:
•⁠ ⁠Newsletter: https://foundermodejournal.substack.com/
•⁠ ⁠X: https://x.com/yashbagal
•⁠ ⁠LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashbagal/
•⁠ ⁠Spectral: https://spectral.to/
•⁠ ⁠founder/mode: https://www.tryfoundermode.com/

My conversation with Sam Bowman.

Sam is best known for co-founding Works in Progress, a magazine he started in 2020, which was later acquired by Stripe in 2022. He now serves as the Head of Publishing at Stripe.

I was curious to get Sam's take on the value of longer, more meaningful content in an agewhere "going short" seems to be the conventional advice, to cater to our shortening attention spans.

We also spoke about his passion for progress studies, why mainstream media dislikes tech, and how founders can position themselves in a world that is increasingly skeptical of technology and progress in general.

Where to find Sam and his work:
•⁠ ⁠X: https://x.com/s8mb
•⁠ ⁠LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/~samb/
• https://worksinprogress.co/

Where to find Yash:
•⁠ ⁠Newsletter: https://foundermodejournal.substack.com/
•⁠ ⁠X: https://x.com/yashbagal
•⁠ ⁠LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashbagal/
•⁠ ⁠Spectral: https://spectral.to/
•⁠ ⁠founder/mode: https://www.tryfoundermode.com/

Chapters:
- 00:00 AI versus mainstream media
- 02:10 Sam's backstory and how Works in Progress was conceived
- 06:52 The Stripe acquisition
- 20:50 Balancing editorial integrity and corporate interests
- 30:18 Why ideas matter
- 32:45 Policy making and the reality of government
- 34:45 How storytelling in tech has evolved
- 45:48 The psychological and objective aspects of progress
- 52:42 Advice for founders
- 58:34 Book recommendations

My conversation with Ross Matican, founder of Tailwinds - an independent advisory that helps cybersecurity founders with positioning. Hope you enjoy!

Where to find Ross:

• Ross on Linkedin
• The Tailwinds website.

Where to find me:

• @yashbagal on X
• On Linkedin

My conversation with Rich Feloni. Rich is the founder of RJF Editorial, and the former head of content at Bain Capital Ventures.

Chapters:

• ⁠00:00 ⁠Cold open
• ⁠01:40 ⁠Rich’s backstory
• ⁠04:26 ⁠Going to Fiji to see Tony Robbins
• ⁠9:39 ⁠His time at Bain Capital Ventures
• ⁠10:54 ⁠Misconceptions about mainstream media
• ⁠14:11 ⁠The clash between journalists and founders
• ⁠18:12 ⁠Understanding journalistic incentives
• ⁠23:03 ⁠Shifting to RJF Editorial
• ⁠28:12 ⁠Minimum viable content strategy
• ⁠30:54 ⁠Building relationships with newsletter writers
• ⁠36:04 ⁠The importance of an owned Audiences
• ⁠37:45 ⁠Sustainable content strategies for founders
• ⁠40:16 ⁠Common mistakes in content creation
• ⁠44:40 ⁠Redefining success metrics in conten
• ⁠46:37 ⁠Influences and recommendations

My conversation with Vincent Touati-Tomas. Vincent is the former head of marketing and comms at Northzone. He's currently building his own independent advisory that helps founders with storytelling.

Chapters:

• 00:00 Cold open
• 01:02 Vincent's backstory
• 11:02 Vincent unpacks his editorial philosophy
• 17:27 The importance of documentation
• 19:11 Common mistakes founders / CMOs make
• 26:09 Humans who have influenced Vincent