Erik Torenberg has spent his career at the intersection of technology, community, and ideas, building companies, backing founders, and exploring the questions that shape how we work and invest.
Where you can find Erik
He’s currently a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where he makes investments and leads the firm’s media and network initiatives. It’s a natural fit. For over a decade, Erik has been building the networks, communities, and media that give founders an edge, which is exactly what drew a16z to him.
His operator roots run deep. He was the first employee at Product Hunt, a company a16z backed in 2014, and went on to co-found Village Global and serve as chairman of On Deck. Most recently, he founded Turpentine, one of the most respected vertical podcast networks in tech and a founder social network that drew wide praise across the ecosystem. a16z acquired Turpentine when Erik joined the firm.
His co-investment track record with a16z includes Applied Intuition, Figma, Pave, Flexport, Rappi, Replit, and Socket, among others. His broader portfolio spans Scale AI, Lattice, Sardine, Zora, Secureframe, and many more, reflecting an investor who thinks across categories and backs founders with conviction.
Erik is also a prolific writer and podcast host. He hosts Upstream, Moment of Zen, and Turpentine VC, and co-hosts Econ 102 with Noah Smith, The Riff with Byrne Hobart, and Live Players with Samo Burja. At a16z, he leads the New Media Fellowship, an eight-week program for operators, creators, and storytellers shaping the future of media.