With the NVCA revealing $215.4 billion in deals in 2024, it’s no secret that venture capitalism is on the rise. More and more investors are beginning to take notice; meaning more and more listeners are tuning into venture capital podcasts.
To help you get started (or continue) along your venture capitalism journey, we’ve collected 14 of the best venture capitalist podcasts. We’re detailing the best shows covering essential learning, founder interviews, and due diligence. Plus, we explore several podcasts covering market changes and trends.
Table of Contents
Top Podcasts Essential for VC Professionals
Are you a venture capitalist investor? Or someone who works full-time in VC? Either way, the following podcasts are a great place to begin.
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a16z: Best for Exploring Technology-Based Investment Opportunities
- Rating: 4.3/5 from 1,000 reviews
- Upload schedule: Daily
- Streaming on: a16z.com
You can think of a16z as a catch-all podcast covering cutting-edge technology and the companies making it happen. The show “discusses the most important ideas within technology,” as it states in its own words, covering breakthroughs in industries that traditionally pique investor attention (think space, genomics, energy, and AI).
A16z is an excellent choice for both VC professionals and non-institutional investors curious about the ‘next big thing’ in the VC world. Just keep in mind its episodes can run quite long, as much as 120 minutes (or two hours) in some cases. If you’re looking for something similar without the longer runtime, you might explore For Your Innovation (or FYI), which we cover in its own section later on. Otherwise, you could get a taste for what to expect from a16z by listening to its episode with Marc Andreessen & Jack Altman: Venture Capital, AI, & Media.
20VC: Best for Discussions on Startup Funding
- Rating: 4.3/5 from 492 reviews
- Upload schedule: 2x to 3x per week
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
There’s a good chance you’ve already heard about 20VC: it’s only of the biggest venture capitalist podcasts you can find online. The show has received more than 100 million downloads since its humble beginnings in 2015, and these days, it has become the authority figure for startup funding and investment maximalization. If you’re looking for ways to start and fund your next big idea, 20VC is where you should start.
But you should know the 20-Minute VC isn’t actually made up of 20-minute episodes (at least, not anymore). Most content runs around an hour or more, with the occasional episode reaching 1.5 hours or longer. If you don’t have time for straight listening, there are plenty of blog posts to explore. Check out this recent blog post covering 10 Lessons on Scaling 20VC to 100M+ Downloads.
This Week in Startups: Best for Founder Tips and Insights
- Rating: 4.2/5 from 1,300 reviews
- Upload schedule: 4x per week
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
Hosted by angel investor Jason Calacanis, This Week is Startups is your go-to source of info for founders in tech, media, business, and international markets. Its biggest claim to fame is expert interviews. Each week, you’ll hear from world-class operators, founders, investors, and innovators looking to share their findings with the world.
Beyond the tips, suggestions, and insights, This Week in Startups also covers trends and market predictions. That way, listeners have the opportunity to adjust their approaches and think more critically about their market approaches. If you’re looking for cutting-edge suggestions in 45 to 50-minute bundles, this is the show to start with. You can see it in action for yourself by listening to a time when Jason predicts a “major M&A moment” in the next six months.
Equity (TechCrunch): Best for Discussing Business Models
- Rating: 4.1/5 from 337
- Upload schedule: 2x weekly
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast covering all things startups, technology, and venture capitalism. There’s a good reason why it’s included on this list; the podcast was rated the #2 show for venture capitalism on Goodpods, and #17 for the best finance shows of all time.
We’ve specifically picked this bite-sized show for Equity’s breakdowns on business models, funding rounds, and venture activity. You’ll get 20 to 30-minute episodes every single week covering unique angles for positioning or growing your business. Case in point: this episode covering what startups are building discusses the advantages of switching from one-day development cycles to two-week sprints, and why that matters for startup development teams. So while it’s not necessarily all that applicable to fund managers, it could certainly help spot startups with promise (and point budding founders in the right direction).
Top Podcasts Featuring the Best Founder Interviews
There are two reasons why you should listen to founder interviews: to be inspired by others, and to learn how to spot great leaders in the making. Each of these shows presents world-class interviews that excel in both areas.
💡Related: How to Host Good Podcast Interviews and Ask Great Questions
How I Built This: Best for Startup Creation Breakdowns
- Rating: 4.7/5 from 30,000 reviews
- Upload schedule: 2x weekly
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
How I Built This covers exactly what you might expect: the origin stories behind some of the world’s most iconic brands. Each episode is hosted by the legendary Guy Raz and explores the pivots, failures, and breakthroughs that shaped the companies we all know today.
It’s also, as you can see, one of the most heavily listened-to podcasts in the VC field; there are more than 30,000 reviews across its many hundreds of episodes.
What makes How I Built This so compelling is its ability to zoom in on the human side of startup creation. Founders talk honestly about early hires and market missteps, plus the lessons that transformed small ideas into multi-billion-dollar enterprises. So if you want a boots-on-the-ground breakdown of how to build a groundbreaking businesst, start with Raz’s interview with Airbnb’s founder Joe Gebbia.
The Founders Podcast: Best for Reverse-Engineering Success
- Rating: 4.9/5 from 2,000 reviews
- Upload schedule: 1x per week
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
The Founders Podcast manifests David Senra’s obsession with collecting the biographies of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs. Rather than simply interviewing founders, David studies their lives, pursues their books, and breaks down his findings into audio format. And yes, he still performs interviews from time to time, although he still takes his classic ‘deep dive’ approach before the big day.
You can think of Founders as the perfect destination for identifying patterns in the world’s most successful business owners. Each episode highlights specific mindsets and behaviors that consistently lead to long-term success. It’s an excellent shortcut in studying the brain of a successful startup founder. Take, for example, Senra’s breakdown of Steve Jobs’ early years.
Startup Therapy: Best for Breaking Out of Ruts
- Rating: 4.9/5 from 125 reviews
- Upload schedule: 1x per week
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
Startup Therapy’s Ryan Rutan and Wil Schroter have lived through the highs, lows, and emotional chaos of building companies from scratch. So instead of glamorizing the grind, they created a podcast that lets founders open up about tough topics. For example, burnout, decision fatigue, cofounder conflict, and, of course, the terrifying uncertainty that comes with being a creator.
You could say Startup Therapy is less about the ‘hype’ of building a business, and more about the uncomfortable conversation struggling founders may need to hear. Its episode on prioritizing productivity over popularity, for example, can help validate exhausted founders who may feel they’re dedicating too much time toward ‘unleveragable’ activities. For anyone craving real-talk wisdom instead of Silicon Valley bravado, start here to help reset your expectations without walking away from your VC funding dreams.
Top Podcasts for Startup Evaluation and Due Diligence
Is that startup really a great investment for your clients? Have you, as an individual, performed due diligence on that pre-seed organization?
These popular podcasts can help you do just that by ‘training’ your VC muscles to pick high-performing investment opportunities, every time.
Invest Like the Best: Best for Long-Term Bets
- Rating: 4.7/5 from 1,200 reviews
- Upload schedule: 1x per week
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
Invest Like the Best is Patrick O’Shaughnessy’s long-running interview series featuring investors, operators, and business builders of all backgrounds. Each conversation digs into how top performers analyze opportunities and evaluate talent. Then, it wanders through how some of the best and brightest minds in the industry decide on long-term VC bets.
Patrick doesn’t rush guests through their individual evaluation frameworks, which gives space to explain exactly how they think, what they’ve learned, and why certain strategies work. The result is a collection of timeless insights. You can see this for yourself in Patrick’s interview with Shopify’s Tobi Lütke.
⭐ Staff Pick! “Patrick O’Shaughnessy has an almost uncanny ability to get the world’s greatest investors and founders to think out loud on Invest Like the Best, and I’ve never once finished an episode without a new idea or framework rattling around in my head. It’s the rare podcast that makes you better at both investing and business thinking at the same time.” Robert Van Vranken, Launch Specialist, The Podcast Consultant.
The Pitch: Best for Preparing for Funding
- Rating: 4.6/5 from 1,500 reviews
- Upload schedule: 1x weekly
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
Many listeners of The Pitch describe it as Shark Tank, but in audio form. The format is much the same as well. Host Josh Muccio lets founders pitch to real investors on-air, letting you become a fly on the wall as they make their case, answer tough questions, negotiate terms, and adapt under pressure.
For early-stage founders, The Pitch provides firsthand exposure to how investors evaluate risk, identify red flags, and stress-test a startup’s viability. For aspiring VCs, it’s one of the only shows that reveals the follow-up discussion once founders leave the room. A great episode to start with is Above Health: The Allergy Clinic of the Future, which shows an exemplary pitch alongside expert VC commentary.
The Full Ratchet: Best for Angel Investors
- Rating: 4.9/5 from 2,700 reviews
- Upload schedule: 2x weekly
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
The Full Ratchet, hosted by Nick Moran, is one of the most respected podcasts in the angel investing world. It’s specifically designed to help investors understand how to evaluate seed-stage opportunities, filter deal flow, and build repeatable frameworks for investment decisions.
Nick interviews emerging managers, seasoned VCs, and industry operators about their philosophies, processes, and red-flag detection skills. Unlike founder-focused shows, The Full Ratchet stays laser-focused on the angel investor’s POV. For example, makes a startup fundable? Which metrics matter at seed? And how do you due diligence hypergrowth without getting burned?
Top Podcasts for VC Market Analysis and Trends
Stay on top of market changes, major trends, and changes with the following VC podcasts for investors of all experience levels.
💡Related: Best Finance Podcasts to Listen to in 2026
Capital Allocators: Best for Macro Trends
- Rating: 4.7/5 from 764 reviews
- Upload schedule: 1x to 2x per week (not counting replays)
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
Capital Allocators is an absolute staple for anyone who wants to track trends alongside the experts. Each week, you’ll hear from the world’s leading CIOs, PE partners, hedge fund managers, and institutional allocators discussing where capital is flowing and why.
One of its biggest claims to fame is thoughtful breakdowns of macro forces (i.e., interest rates, market cycles, liquidity constraints, and geopolitical considerations). For VCs, this is the perfect private equity-adjacent show detailing how professional allocators see risk, return, and strategy across market conditions. See for yourself in this episode covering Hybrid Capital Solutions for Private Assets.
Odd Lots: Best for International Markets
- Rating: 4.5/5 from 1,700 reviews
- Upload schedule: Daily
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
If you’re craving a once-daily pulse check on the global economy, Bloomberg’s Odd Lots is the perfect place to start. Hosts Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway unpack everything from bond markets to supply chains to emerging-market currencies, then weave in expert commentary from economists, policymakers, and international analysts.
What makes Odd Lots so valuable for VCs is its international appeal. Your hosts (and its guests) explain how global events can ripple into valuations, deal flow, fundraising, and sector performance. This can be incredibly helpful if your investing worldview needs to extend beyond Silicon Valley. For example: check out the episode on How Chinese Real Estate Became the Biggest Bubble in History.
All-In Podcast: Best for Politics and Economics
- Rating: 4.0/5 9,200 reviews
- Upload schedule: 1x weekly
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
There’s no question that All-In is a very opinionated weekly conversation, although it covers just about everything you’d need to know about how politics impact VC investments. It’s hosted by four veteran investors/operators/best friends who play a casual game of poker while debating how world events, regulatory changes, and cultural shifts might influence the tech ecosystem. It’s true the debates aren’t always delicate, but they do take a 360-degree look at the politics and economics driving major market psychology.
All-In is especially useful for mid-market investors wanting an expert’s opinions on how the changing political climate could impact their bottom line. The hosts regularly break down how elections, legislation, and macro narratives impact capital deployment, founder sentiment, and sector outlooks. Whether you agree with their takes or not, the perspective helps you anticipate how political winds shape investment environments. You can get a taste of this firsthand from their commentary on the reveal of the Epstein files.
For Your Innovation: Best for Tracking Disruptors
- Rating: 4.7/5 from 391 reviews
- Upload schedule: 1x weekly
- Streaming on: Apple Podcasts
ARK Invest’s For Your Innovation is laser-focused on disruptive technologies: AI, robotics, genomics, energy, fintech, and pretty much anything else with long-term compounding potential. It’s an excellent pick for investors wanting deeper sector research, alongside thematic shifts and emerging companies that may eventually reshape entire industries.
If you invest in innovation, this podcast is like a weekly research briefing. You’ll get weekly commentary surrounding technological inflection points and adoption curves: ideal for investors wanting to identify early signals. For example, one of their most popular episodes ever covers Ethereum’s Big Moment With Tom Lee and explains (in their words) “why institutional investors may prefer equity-wrapped crypto exposure.”
⭐ Staff Pick! “FYI: For Your Innovation is the podcast I can’t stop recommending, because the ARK team doesn’t just cover the headlines, they pull you inside the actual research and debate happening among some of the boldest long-term thinkers in investing today.” Caleb Dowdall Production Orchestrator, The Podcast Consultant.
The Bottom Line on the Best Venture Capital Podcasts
Great venture capital podcasts cover a wide variety of topics, angles, and founders. But while their approaches are all different, their commitment to quality remains the same. The most successful VC shows are the ones that invest in professional support for their audio editing, video production, and marketing collateral.
At The Podcast Consultant, quality remains our speciality for hundreds of shows in the finance space. We’ve supported some of the best-known shows with recording, editing, and podcast marketing services.
No need to take our word for it, though.
Learn more about creating a venture capital podcast with the professionals at The Podcast Consultant.
Frequently Asked Questions About Venture Capital Podcasts
What podcasts do top venture capitalists listen to?
Some of the world’s top venture capitalists listen to podcasts such as Capital Allocators, Equity, Startup Therapy, Invest Like the Best, and Pitch. But venture capitalists often listen to other podcasts within their realm of expertise, including private equity podcasts, banking podcasts, and wealth management shows.
Which podcasts are best for learning about seed-stage investing?
A great place to start is with podcasts covering startup evaluation and due diligence, including The Full Rachet, Invest Like the Best, and The Pitch. Other options include Angel: The Podcast, The Twenty Minute VC (20VC), and Equity by TechCrunch.
Are there podcasts that cover both VC and startup operations?
Yes, there are several podcasts covering both VC and startup operations, including Startup Therapy, The Founders Podcast, How I Built This, and 20VC.
How do VC podcasts differ from private equity podcasts?
Venture capitalist (VC) podcasts focus heavily on emerging technologies and how early-stage founder build their businesses. It’s specifically focused on very small seed-stage startups.
Private equity podcasts, on the other hand, focus on operational excellence and value creation. They’re more interested in larger companies with mature, steady income that could potentially provide more with invested income.