22 Essential Newsletters for Startup Founders in 2024
It seems like everyone and their third cousin four times removed has a newsletter these days. With so many options vying for attention, how does a busy founder select which sources are worthy enough to welcome into an already overflowing inbox?
After a full year of supporting startup founders with Adamant Ventures, the Funded podcast, and the Fundraise with Confidence cohort fellowship, as well as making my first significant venture investments in tech companies, I’ve become fully immersed in the dynamic world of startup fundraising. Along the way, I’ve picked up priceless guidance and insider tips to empower founders and supercharge their fundraising efforts. But I’ve also encountered countless self-proclaimed gurus hawking their latest eBooks and to unsuspecting targets (possibly the subject of our next post/ “AV Investigates” exposé? 😆).
So, I sifted through the riff-raff (and a mountain of unsubscribes!) to bring you the 22 Essential Newsletters for Startup Founders in 2024
I aimed to highlight newsletters that contain actionable advice, compelling insights, and as little fluff as possible. Here’s the list!
Venture Capital & Fundraising Newsletters
StrictlyVC
Their pitch: StrictlyVC’s free daily newsletter provides you with all the info you need to know about the VC scene in Silicon Valley and beyond. Our events bring together VCs, entrepreneurs, and corporate development execs, among others. Sign up for our newsletter today and see what you’ve been missing!
Why we subscribed: Stay up-to-date on new funds, notable funding rounds, & acquisitions/exits in a conveniently bite-sized format. If you’re ready to fundraise, new funds with capital to deploy should definitely be on your target list.
Frequency: Daily
Fundraising Fieldnotes
Their pitch: After spending years as a venture capitalist and two tours of duty as a startup operator, I’ve now shifted to spending all my time making startup fundraising easier and more accessible to as many founders as possible. Part of that goal requires me to speak to founders daily and to react to the challenges they face in their fundraises. Those interactions are fantastic stories and illustrative teaching moments that I’m excited to share in a weekly newsletter.
Why we subscribed: VC-backed founder & former VC Jason Yeh’s weekly newsletter shares fantastic stories and illustrative teaching moments from his daily conversations with founders. Founders will find rare guidance that sets the stage for an efficient and effective fundraising process.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ The guide to Calendar Density, a fundraising power move
- ~ Leads & Co-leads, what's the deal??
- ~ Try These 5 Hidden Tactics to Indirectly Catch a VC's Attention
Frequency: Weekly
Femstreet
Their pitch: A weekly newsletter featuring must-read content by female CEOs, operators, and investors. Where women in tech lead, shape and fund the future.
Why we subscribed: Sarah Nöckel’s curation of indispensable guidance from female voices in tech is especially critical at a time when despite record levels of funding available and widespread commitments to achieving parity, women-led startups received just 2% of VC funding in 2021.
3 of our favorite articles/editions:
- ~ Making the most of your equity compensation; Managing a high-impact design organization; Hiring contractors or employees?
- ~ The internet’s 3% difference; When to hire and how to judge a CMO and VP Engineering
- ~ Community-Led Growth Nirvana
Frequency: Weekly
First Round Review
Their pitch: We believe that there is powerful, untapped knowledge out there that can transform the way people build technology. There's just one problem: It's trapped in other people's heads — people who are at the top of their fields, who rarely have time to share what they've learned (even when they want to). The Review is about liberating this knowledge to inspire and accelerate action.
Why we subscribed: First Round Capital is a highly-respected seed-stage firm with early investments in companies like Uber, Warby Parker, Blue Apron, Notion, Roblox, and many more. The Review draws upon first-hand experience from portfolio companies and offers uncanny insight on topics like leadership and management, community, growth, and others that are especially relevant to first-time founders.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ 8 Product Hurdles Every Founder Must Clear — This PM-Turned-Founder Shares His Playbooks
- ~ How to Become Insanely Well-Connected
- ~ ‘Give Away Your Legos’ and Other Commandments for Scaling Startups
Frequency: Weekly
Andrew Chen
Their pitch: Featur[ing] long-form essays on startups, growth, metrics, and network effects. I’ve written 650+ essays which have been featured and quoted in The New York Times, Fortune, Wired, and WSJ.
Why we subscribed: Current general partner at Andreessen Horowitz Former & Head of Growth at Uber Andrew Chen provides in-depth, valuable insider advice on tech startups as well as more general growth and product strategy.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ Consumer startups are awesome, and here’s what I’m looking for at a16z (70 slide deck)
- ~The red flags and magic numbers that investors look for in your startup’s metrics – 80 slidedeck included!
- ~ How sheep-like behavior breeds innovation in Silicon Valley
Frequency: Weekly
Benedict Evans
Their pitch: What happened in tech that actually mattered, and what did it mean? Once a week, I send an email newsletter to 170,000 people – I pick out the changes and ideas you don’t want to miss in all the noise, and give them context and analysis.
Why we subscribed: True to his word, we found that Benedict Evans’ weekly newsletter does indeed do an excellent job of covering “What matters in tech?” The current independent analyst and former a16z partner has distilled insightful analyses of technology trends and their impacts since 2013. For founders, these analyses also serve the dual function of providing a valuable inside look at how investors at top VCs approach the most consequential issues in tech.
3 of our favorite articles:
Frequency: Weekly
Product Newsletters
Growth.Design
Their pitch: Level up your product skills. Get product tips in a comic book format you’ll love to read.
Why we subscribed: We wish more informational content was presented like this! Growth.Design’s monthly case studies explain practical product tips in an easily-digestible and dare I say entertaining format. It’s sure to be oodles more fun than studying for your PMP exam.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ How To Properly Apply Jobs-To-Be-Done To User Onboarding (Headspace)
- ~ The Psychology Behind TikTok's Addictive Feed
- ~ The Real Reason Why Morning Grew to 1.5M Subscribers in 5 Years
Frequency: Monthly
Hacker Newsletter
Their pitch: “Since 2010, we've put out a weekly newsletter of the best articles on startups, technology, programming, and more. All links are curated by hand from Hacker News. Join 60,000+ other subscribers and don't miss another week.”
Why we subscribed: Hacker News has long been a trusted destination for developers & tech discussion, but it’s not the most intuitive to navigate for unseasoned readers. The Hacker Newsletter has curated the best articles found on the site since 2010.
Frequency: Weekly
Lenny's Newsletter (Lenny Rachitsky)
Their pitch: Every week, I humbly tackle reader questions about product, growth, people management, and anything else that’s stressing you out at the office.
Why we subscribed: Former Airbnb PM Lenny Rachitsky draws upon his considerable experience to instruct over 95k readers on practical growth and product strategies. His newsletter’s expansion over the past year is also a masterclass in scaling, so anyone seeking to grow their personal brand would be wise to check out a few of his interviews on the topic.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ Choosing Your North Star Metric~
- ~ My favorite product management templates
- ~ What is good retention
Frequency: Weekly for paid subscribers; One free monthly issue
First 1000
Their pitch: How do top startups find their early customers? Find out on First 1000. We share a case study every week about how companies like Zapier, Doordash and Tinder got their very first customers.
Why we subscribed: In our conversations with founders, the challenge of acquiring early customers is among the most frequent sources of both excitement and distress. Ali Abouelatta’s analysis covers the early product decisions and marketing strategies of some of the most fascinating companies in tech.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ Stripe- Everything you *didn't* know about how Stripe got started + a deep deep dive into how their acquisition + GTM strategy in the early days
- ~ Notion- Launching a product in a crowded space, growing through Word of Mouth and positioning a product that is hard to explain!
- ~ Airbnb- How Airbnb got their first 1000 customers
Frequency: Weekly
Product Thoughts
Their pitch: Get better at building Products that make a Difference. Every Week. My weekly Product Thoughts newsletter delivers actionable advice for your daily work, as well as the most practical articles on Product Strategy, Product Goals, and Product Discovery from across the web.
Why we subscribed: Much like PMs, early-stage founders often wear multiple hats while being responsible for prioritization and pattern identification. This newsletter covers both beginning and advanced topics in product management.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ What to do when a (Product) Team is on the wrong path
- ~ Mind the indirect Switching Costs
- ~ Tactics for lean validation in B2B Enterprise markets
Frequency: Weekly
SaaS Newsletters
SaaS Weekly
Their pitch: Get the best SaaS articles the web has to offer every Friday in your inbox. Free & no spam ever.
Why we subscribed: Written by 3x SaaS founder Hiten Shah, this newsletter cuts through endless piles of SaaS content to bring you actionable guidance from experts in SaaS marketing, product development, sales, & more.
Frequency: Weekly
Tomasz Tunguz
Their pitch: Tomasz Tunguz is a partner with Redpoint Ventures. He was previously the product manager for Google's social media monetization team, including the Google-MySpace partnership, and managed the launches of AdSense into six new markets in Europe and Asia.
Why we subscribed: When it comes to insights into the SaaS market and tech, Tomasz Tunguz’ data-driven perspectives communicate one of the most compelling and forward-thinking viewpoints around. Plus, he has a really sweet name.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ The Fifth SaaS Correction
- ~ What is the Product the Customer Buys Before They Buy Yours?
- ~ Redpoint SaaS Startup Key Metrics Template
Frequency: Weekly
The SaaS Playbook
Their pitch: A bi-weekly rundown of the top articles, tactics, and thought leadership in B2B SaaS.
Why We Subscribed: In our experience, many SaaS newsletters are often steeped in confounding metrics that are too indecipherable to be useful. The SaaS Playbook confers a welcome change with helpful community-driven content that cuts through the noise.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ Startup failures by stage
- ~ Finding your North Star Metric; Why Product-market fit is broken; Restoring the soul of business…
- ~ Pricing as a growth lever; 10x approach to content marketing; How to scale customer segments...
Frequency: Bi-Weekly
People & Culture Newsletters
Black Tech Pipeline
Their pitch: A publication dedicated to bringing exposure, resources, and opportunity to Black technologists, and our allies. #BlackTechTwitter ✊🏾
Why we subscribed: Founded by Pariss Athena, Black Tech Pipeline partners with companies that commit to supportive DEI practices, sharing promising job opportunities in tech. Following the newsletter will not only connect founders with top talent but also help inform how to build DEI into company culture from the beginning.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ DE&I: what these companies are doing right.
- ~ Confronting racism in the workplace
- ~ Hey Employers: Do Black Lives Matter?
Frequency: Weekly
Employer Brand Headlines
Their pitch: In a sea of content, how do you stay up to date on employer branding news? How do you know what's worth reading and what's just a waste of time? So glad you asked! Here's a weekly digest of the best content to make you smarter about employer branding, curated by James Ellis. You will get smarter about employer branding. Whether you “own” your employer brand or are just interested in the topic, this email is here to help you level up.
Why we subscribed: With competition for top talent continually intensifying, it’s becoming even more necessary for employers to strengthen their brand & attract candidates. This is especially important for early-stage startups, who are often unable to dangle extravagant compensation and benefits packages.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ The "Things Can Only Get Better" Edition
- ~ The "Face the Face" Edition
- ~ The "Rooms on Fire" Edition
Frequency: Weekly
Recruiting Brainfood
Their pitch: The best manually curated recruiting content delivered to your inbox, once a week. Recruiting Brainfood is the industry newsletter for the talent business.
Why we subscribed: Hung Lee’s newsletter helps recruiters and HR professionals (functions which founders often take on) stay up-to-date on a continuously-evolving industry, including best practices on building company culture. Especially relevant considering the cutthroat competition in tech recruiting & how companies need differentiation to attract the best talent.
Frequency: Weekly
Marketing / Growth Newsletters
VeryGoodCopy
Their pitch: VeryGoodCopy is read and recommended by world-class copywriters, marketers, authors, and entrepreneurs.
Why we subscribed: As a founder, you’ll be spending a ton of time writing outreach emails to potential connectors, forming partnerships, etc. Those lacking dedicated marketing teams are also most likely writing copy for customers. Eddie Schleyner shares guidance on how to write punchy, persuasive, powerful copy for your company and personal brand.
Frequency: Weekly
MarketingProfs Today
Their pitch: Practical marketing insights, lessons, perspectives, and know-how brought right to your inbox.
Why we subscribed: Daily tips covering topics like content marketing, social media engagement, lead generation, and much more provide sources of inspiration for founders at all stages of their startup’s journey.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ 15 Leadership Lessons From Female Founders and CEOs
- ~ PR in Seven Easy Steps for Startups in Emerging-Technology Markets
- ~ How to Kickstart a Growth Marketing Automation Strategy
Frequency: Daily
Single Grain / Eric Siu
Their pitch: You’ll receive our weekly ‘Single Grain Digest Newsletter’ packed with:
- 3 bite-sized summaries of our latest & greatest content (including interviews with founders and CEOs)
- 2 curated resources from the world’s greatest experts on copywriting, content marketing, pay-per-click advertising, branding, and...
- 1 secret growth hack that’s working for us right now at Single Grain
Why we subscribed: Single-Grain’s newsletter delivers a one-stop shop for exceptionally actionable advice from multiple areas of digital marketing. We especially appreciate how the authors draw upon multiple real-world examples / case studies to support their positions.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ How Social Tokens Will Change Marketing Forever
- ~ 9 Mission-Critical Lead Generation Metrics You Need To Track
- ~ How to Create a Powerful Marketing Funnel Step-by-Step
Frequency: Weekly
Community Newsletters
CMX Weekly
Their pitch: Join over 12,000 readers who get the top community strategy resources in their inbox every week.
Why we subscribed: Growing and nurturing a passionate community are top unlocks for startups competing with multinational corporations. By now, most founders are probably aware that a rabid community just a couple hundred fanatics strong is much preferable to a disengaged list of a thousand followers. The CMX Weekly offers a wealth of resources for founders looking to build their community initiatives and leverage their base to help grow their companies.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ How to Measure and Report on Community Value
- ~ How To Use Data to Prioritize In Your Community: A Case Study from FeverBee
- ~ How to use 1:1 Virtual Networking to Engage your Event Attendees
Frequency: Weekly
Community.Club Newsletter
Their pitch: Get the latest interesting thoughts, resources and tips in the community building world straight to your inbox each week, curated by the Community Club team.
Why we subscribed: Built by and for community managers, the Community.Club Newsletter supplies founders with ample community development advice from people who have done it at the highest levels of companies like Google, Pateron, Twilio, & more. Subscribers will also stay notified of helpful Ask Me Anything sessions from top community builders and Demo Days to help navigate community software platforms.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ 5 Principles of Community Engagement
- ~ How to Approach Topics That Might Be Seen As 'Uncomfortable' in Your Community
- ~ 6 Tools for Virtual Festivities, Recommended by Community Pros
Frequency: Weekly
Bonus
The Weekly Index by DocSend
Their pitch: Exclusive insights for early-stage founders and VCs, read by 26,000 of your peers.
Why we subscribed: Our partners at DocSend share original research, contributions from accomplished startup founders, & updates to the incredibly useful Pitch Deck Interest report. This newsletter is especially helpful for early-stage founders.
3 of our favorite articles:
- ~ A CFO’s Perspective on Raising a Series A
- ~ How to Create an Investor Strategy for Your Pre-Seed Fundraise
- ~ 4 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Startup Fundraising Pitch Deck
Frequency: Weekly
And there you have it- our list of the 22 Essential Newsletters for Startup Founders in 2024. Busy startup founders obviously don’t have the time to read through each and every one, but pick out the areas you want to level up in and we’re sure you’ll discover a ton of consistently actionable guidance & inspiration.
*Think another newsletter should be included? Drop a line to jon@adamantventures.com & let me know why! We’ll be updating our list and dropping newsletters that stop publishing regularly.
** If you’re concerned about flooding your inbox with newsletters, consider using helpful task-specific email addresses from your gmail account.
