Erik Torenberg
InvestorGeneral Partner at Andreessen Horowitz · Partner Emeritus at Village Global
San Francisco, CA
Writes $250K – $1.5M checks · typically $750K
About
Erik Torenberg has spent a decade building the same thing four different ways: Product Hunt, where he was the first employee; Village Global, the seed firm backed by Bezos, Gates, Hoffman and Schmidt that he co-founded in 2017; On Deck, the cohort-based founder community; and Turpentine, the podcast network he started in 2023. In April 2025 Andreessen Horowitz acquired Turpentine and made him a general partner, where he invests and runs the firm's marketing and ecosystem organisations. His co-investments include Figma, Flexport, Applied Intuition and Replit.
Contact· published on Erik's own website
Likely emails· guessed from name + firm domain, not firm-published
- e•••@villageglobal.vcreveal90% confident
- e•••@villageglobal.vcreveal80% confident
- e•••@villageglobal.vcreveal75% confident
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningBiotechConsumerData & InfrastructureDeep TechDefense TechEnterprise SoftwareFintechHardwareHealthtechLogistics & Supply Chain
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Founded Turpentine. Co-founded Village Global, where he was a general partner.
- Education
- Studied economics and English literature at the University of Michigan.
- Communities
- Hosts the Turpentine podcast network — Moment of Zen, Upstream and Econ 102 with Noah Smith — which a16z acquired in April 2025.
Mentioned above: the University of Michigan mafia → · the Village Global mafia →
From Erik's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Experience
- Andreessen HorowitzGeneral Partnercurrent2025 — present
- TurpentineFoundercurrent2023 — present
- TurpentineFounder2023 — 2024SF
- Village GlobalCo-Founder and Partnercurrent2017 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- Angel InvestingInvestorcurrent2014 — present
- On DeckFounder, Chairman2015 — 2023SF
- Token Daily, evolved into Volt CapitalCo-founder and Chairman2017 — 2018San Francisco Bay Area
- Product HuntFounding Team, Employee #1, Community & Business Development2014 — 2016San Francisco
- rapt.fmCo-Founder, CEO (#500 Strong)2011 — 2013Detroit, San Francisco
- SeelioProduct Marketing2010 — 2011Ann Arbor
- IMG AcademyCurriculum Development / Player Training2009 — 2010
- Direct Brands (Columbia House & Doubleday)Business Development2008 — 2009New York
Skills & more
+4 more
NonprofitsProduct MarketingFacebookPublic SpeakingLanguages Spanish
From Erik's professional profile.
Investments
Investor
AddiAll StripesAlongsideApex SpaceApplied IntuitionBitskiCarrotCrossbeamElemindEnvedaExtendFigmaFlexportForethoughtHadrianHumanFirstJamKapwingLatticeLit ProtocolLong-Term Stock ExchangeLoyalMultiverseNurxOmnekyOrchidOverflowPavePrimerRappiReplitRoyalSardineScale AISecureframeSettleSocketSokowatchSpring DiscoveryThe.comTinycareUnit 21VeriSIMVoiceopsZora
Sources: the investor's own website · curated public sources.
Public positions
He treats attention and trust as infrastructure. Most people in venture build a fund and then market it; he built the audience four times and let the fund follow — which is why a decade of apparently unrelated ventures reads, in his own account, as one project.
2019 · Networks and venture
The advantage in seed investing is not judgement but access — a network of operators sees more, earlier, and vouches more credibly than a partnership can.
The structural thesis behind Village Global.
2023 · Media as venture infrastructure
Podcasts and newsletters are not marketing for a fund; they are the fund's deal-flow and reputation engine, and worth building as a business in their own right.
Turpentine, and the reason a16z bought it.
2025 · Joining a16z
Everything he has worked on has been investing and building products, networks and media for founders, and a16z was the place to do all of it at once.
His own framing of a decade of apparently separate ventures as one project.
Prediction record
His bet that owned media would become standard venture infrastructure was vindicated by the firm that bought his podcast network and made him a partner. The cohort-community bet was more mixed: On Deck proved the demand and popularised the format, then retrenched hard, and the format outlived the business.
Owned media would become standard infrastructure for venture firms rather than a side project
Correct2023 · Years
a16z acquired his podcast network outright in April 2025 and made him a general partner running its media and ecosystem work; most large firms now run in-house shows.
He is both the forecaster and the beneficiary of the outcome.
Cohort-based communities would rival accelerators for early-stage founder formation
Open2019 · Years
On Deck proved the demand and the format spread widely, but the company retrenched sharply in 2022-23 and the model did not displace equity accelerators.
The format outlasted the business that popularised it.
Founder fit — who Erik backs
Early-stage, technical or go-to-market obsessed, and building something where audience and network compound rather than decay. He is at his most useful on zero-to-one, go-to-market and hiring — which is how a16z itself frames his value to portfolio companies.
Businesses whose growth plan is undifferentiated paid acquisition, and founders who treat audience and community as something to outsource after product-market fit.
How to pitch
Show the channel you own, what it costs to maintain, and why it gets cheaper with scale. Be concrete about the first hundred customers and where they came from. His network is the way in — but the cheque is a16z's process, not a personal decision.
As of August 2026 he is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, investing while running the firm's marketing and ecosystem organisations, with the Turpentine shows continuing inside the firm.
Editorial inference from Erik's portfolio, writing and public record — not a published mandate.
Investment themes
4 documented themes from Erik's essays, talks and portfolio, grouped by what they say about founders.
▶More themes2
Distribution is the scarce asset in venture2023
His whole career is one argument made four times: Product Hunt, Village Global, On Deck and Turpentine are all attempts to own a channel to founders before anyone needs to compete for the deal. a16z acquiring a podcast network and making its founder a general partner is the argument's clearest endorsement.
For founders: If your company has an audience before it has a product, that is an asset — say so.
Networks compound where funds do not2017
Village Global was structured so that a network of operators — rather than a partnership — surfaced and vouched for deals, on the view that a network's reach grows faster than any partnership's calendar.
For founders: A warm path through someone who has actually operated in your market beats a cold pitch to a partner.
▶Founders & company building1
Talent is found in cohorts, not in applications2019
On Deck's premise was that ambitious people are best identified and accelerated in peer groups, and that a community can do most of what an accelerator does without taking equity for it.
For founders: Who you go through the early stage alongside matters as much as who funds it.
▶AI & media1
Vertical depth beats general-interest reach2023
Turpentine was built as a network of narrow, expert shows rather than one broad interview podcast — the bet being that a small audience that fully understands a subject is worth more than a large one that half does.
For founders: Narrow and technical is a viable audience strategy, not a ceiling.
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Erik TorenbergIs AI Stalling Out? Cutting Through Capabilities Confusion, w/ Erik Torenberg, from the a16z Podcast
Cognitive Revolution "How AI Changes Everything"
Erik Torenberg - How To Become A General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz?
Finance & Tech Career Advice
How Benchmark Thinks About Venture in 2023
Turpentine VC
No Process, High Conviction — The Iconoclastic Founders Fund DNA
Turpentine VC
Tech & Startup Career Strategy: Erik Torenberg
World of DaaS with Auren Hoffman
Balaji Srinivasan on Fiat Crisis, Russia, and China
Upstream with Erik Torenberg
6 more appearances
- Sam Harris on populism, polarization, and his beef with the left and the right2023-05-28
- David Sacks on his intellectual and political journey2023-04-15
- Marc Andreessen on His Intellectual Journey the Past Ten Years2023-03-24
- Moment of Zen2023-01-01
- Upstream2023-01-01
- Econ 102 with Noah Smith2023-01-01
Colleagues at Andreessen Horowitz
Network14
▶2 more connections
Investors connected to Erik in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Erik Torenberg?
- Erik Torenberg has spent a decade building the same thing four different ways: Product Hunt, where he was the first employee; Village Global, the seed firm backed by Bezos, Gates, Hoffman and Schmidt that he co-founded in 2017; On Deck, the cohort-based founder community; and Turpentine, the podcast network he started in 2023. In April 2025 Andreessen Horowitz acquired Turpentine and made him a general partner, where he invests and runs the firm's marketing and ecosystem organisations. His co-investments include Figma, Flexport, Applied Intuition and Replit.
- Where does Erik Torenberg work?
- Erik Torenberg is General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
- What does Erik Torenberg invest in?
- Erik Torenberg invests in AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Consumer, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Hardware, Healthtech, Logistics & Supply Chain.
- What check size does Erik Torenberg write?
- Erik Torenberg typically writes checks of $250K – $1.5M.
- What companies has Erik Torenberg invested in?
- Investments tracked here include Addi, All Stripes, Alongside, Apex Space, Applied Intuition, Bitski, Carrot, Crossbeam, Elemind, Enveda, Extend, Figma, and 33 more.
- Where did Erik Torenberg go to school?
- Erik Torenberg studied at University of Michigan (Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Economics, English Literature).
- What podcasts and interviews feature Erik Torenberg?
- Tracked appearances include "Is AI Stalling Out? Cutting Through Capabilities Confusion, w/ Erik Torenberg, from the a16z Podcast", "Erik Torenberg - How To Become A General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz?", "How Benchmark Thinks About Venture in 2023", and 9 more.
Paths to reach Erik
People who overlapped with Erik at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.
Together at Andreessen HorowitzErik: General Partner
Together at Village GlobalErik: Co-founder
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Founder mafias
University of Michigan mafia136
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 129 more
Andreessen Horowitz mafia48
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 41 more
Village Global mafia14
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 7 more
Product Hunt mafia5
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Same school
Also attended University of Michigan516
+ 510 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Angel Investing1
Also worked at On Deck165
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+ 159 more
