Raising money, seasoned entrepreneurs will tell you, is as much about building relationships as about creating a solid product. Social media has made it possible for startups based beyond the investment hubs of Silicon Valley and New York to garner attention from VCs and angels, and pitch their product for a shot at funding.
Knowing where and when investors have placed their money, or the startups they are interested in can give you insight into their investment habits and your chance at getting funded. And since many VCs today are former entrepreneurs, it doesn’t hurt to hear from people who’ve been there, done that.
On that note, here are 50 investor accounts every entrepreneur must follow on Twitter:
1. Brad Feld
The managing director of the Foundry Group, which has investments in Zynga, Open Space and Federated Media, Brad Feld has a sizeable following on Twitter (107,000+ followers) and is a tome of wisdom and knowledge about startups, entrepreneurship and distance running.
Twitter: @bfeld
Website: Feld Thoughts
2. Dave McClure
One of the founding partners of 500 Startups, Dave McClure has invested in over 250 companies, including Mint.com, TaskRabbit, and Slideshare. He maintains a popular blog and a sizable Twitter following.
Twitter: @davemcclure
Website: 500 Hats
3. Mark Suster
Founder of BuildOnline and Koral, Mark Suster is now a prominent VC with investments in GumGum, Adly and ExpenseCloud. He maintains one of the finest VC/entrepreneur blogs besides a very active Twitter account.
Twitter: @msuster
Website: Both Sides of the Table
4. Chris Dixon
Co-founder of Hunch, Founder Collective, and an associate partner at BVP, Chris Dixon has investments in some of the hottest startups, including FourSquare, HipMunk, Stripe, Kickstarter, and OMGPOP.
Twitter: @cdixon
Website: CDixon.org
5. Jeff Clavier
Jeff Clavier is a managing partner at Softech VC with investments in Blekko, Brightroll and VigLink.
Twitter: @jeff
6. Shervin Pishever
Serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and angel investor Shervin Pishever founded Webs.com and Social Gaming Network, invested in Aardvark, Milo.com and Klout, and is the managing director at Menlo Ventures.
Twitter: @shervin
7. Fred Wilson
Fred Wilson is a superstar among investors and entrepreneurs alike, with an extremely popular blog and a massive Twitter following. The managing partner at Flatiron Partners and Union Square Ventures, Wilson is a giant presence in the New York tech scene, offering immeasurable insight for founders at his website and Twitter account.
Twitter: @fredwilson
Website: A VC
8. Chris Sacca
The ‘proprietor’ at Lowercase Capital, Sacca is the former head of Google’s Special Initiatives division and an investor in Twitter, Instagram, and Uber.
Twitter: @sacca
Website: Lowercase Capital
9. Jason Calcanis
Few entrepreneurs and investors evoke as diverse reactions as Jason Calcanis, the former founder of Weblogs Inc. and angel investor in ChartBeat, Uber, and GDGT. Love him or hate him, you definitely cannot ignore him.
Twitter: @jason
Website: LAUNCH
10. Jeff Bussgang
The general partner at Flybridge Capital Partners is a former entrepreneur turned VC with investments in BzzAgent, one forty and Open English. A senior lecturer at HBS, his blog is a tome of business insights for entrepreneurs.
Twitter: @bussgang
Website: Seeing Both Sides
11. Rob Go – @robgo
12. Bryce Roberts – @bryce
13. Jonathan Abrams – @abrams
14. Max Levchin – @mlevchin
15. Eric Ries – @ericries
16. Guy Kawasaki – @guykawasaki
17. Lee Hower – @leehower
18. Christine Herron – @christine
19. Josh Felser – @joshmedia
20. Paul Singh – @paulsingh
21. Michael Arrington – @arrington
22. Esther Dyson – @edyson
23. George Zachary – @georgezachary
24. Eileen Burbidge – @eileentso
25. Mike Jones – @mjones
26. Mitch Kapor – @mkapor
27. Joshua Baer – @joshuabaer
28. Josh Kopelman – @joshk
29. Manu Kumar – @manukumar
30. David Beisel – @davidbeisel
31. Seth Levine – @sether
32. Bill Gurley – @bgurley
33. Jason Mendelson – @jasonmendelson
34. Paul Kedrosky – @pkedrosky
35. HLMorgan – @hlmorgan
36. Rajil Kapoor – @rajil
37. Fred Destin – @fdestin
38. Saul Klein – @cape
39. Bijan Sabet – @bijan
40. Kevin Rose – @kevinrose
41. Joshua Schachter – @joshu
42. Keith Rabois – @rabois
43. Andrew Parker – @andrewparker
44. Aydin Senkut – asenkut
45. Evan Williams – @ev
46. Marc Goldberg – @marcgoldberg
47. Reid Hoffman – @quixotic
48. Naval Ravikant – @naval
49. Ashton Kutcher – @aplusk
50. David Cohen – @davidcohen
