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Contribute to the Venture Studio Forum
The Venture Studio Forum is a nonprofit trade association working to professionalize venture creation through research, education, community convening, and standards-setting. Everything VSF produces — from frameworks and definitions to benchmarks and survey data — is shared freely with the field. None of it gets made without the people doing the work showing up to contribute.
At a Glance
Three contribution paths — each designed for a different level of commitment and type of expertise you bring to the field.
1. Collaborate on a Newsletter Article
The Venture Studio Perspective is VSF's flagship newsletter, published biweekly and read across the studio ecosystem. If you have written something that captures how studios actually operate — a blog post, a LinkedIn essay, an internal memo, or a conference talk — we want to look at it.
What That Looks Like
01
Submit
A draft you have already written, or pitch a topic you want to cover.
02
We Review
Within one week, we return with expansion or framing adjustments for a broader audience.
03
Revise Together
You own the analysis and prose. We shape it for the audience and format.
04
Published
Under your byline in the Venture Studio Perspective, with your author bio and links.
What We Are Looking For
  • Operating insight: funnel design, kill discipline, founder economics, governance patterns
  • Honest accounts of what worked and what did not — failure analysis is high-leverage content
  • Data-driven pieces, even small samples, presented with their limitations
  • Synthesis of academic, industry, or practitioner research that is currently scattered
What We Are Not Looking For
  • Pieces that primarily promote one studio, product, or service offering
  • Generic thought leadership ("five lessons from building a startup")
  • Content already published in full elsewhere — we publish net new work, not reprints
2. Share a Resource with the VSF Library
If you have built something useful for your own studio — a template, a framework, a playbook, a process document, a checklist — odds are it is useful to other studios too. The VSF Library makes those resources available to the full membership.
What That Looks Like
Submit As-Is
You submit the resource as is. We do not edit or alter your materials.
Attributed to You
Your name and studio logo appear on the contribution.
Indexed & Shared
The resource is indexed in the VSF Library and shared with members through the community platform.
Examples of Resources
Operational Templates
Deal flow tracking, portfolio reporting, founder evaluation, kill criteria
Financial Models
Fund construction, venture economics, expense forecasting
Playbooks
Venture building, fundraising, LP reporting, hiring
Process Docs
IC memos, governance frameworks, board decks
Diligence Checklists
Venture, founder, sector, market
3. Become a Contributing Author or VSF Fellow
For contributors ready to lead a substantial publication — a research report, a multi-studio case study, an operational toolkit, or a standards document — VSF runs a structured program with two tiers.
Tier 1
Contributing Author
Produce focused thought leadership: articles, case studies, practitioner interviews, data analyses.
  • Typical commitment: 5 to 20 hours over 2 to 8 weeks
  • Byline credit on all published work
  • Featured in VSF editorial channels
Tier 2
VSF Fellow
Lead strategic priority projects: research reports, toolkits, standards documentation, ecosystem mapping.
  • Typical commitment: 20 to 80 hours over 2 to 6 months
  • Official VSF Fellow title and featured profile
  • Pathway to other VSF leadership roles
What You Can Expect From VSF
VSF holds itself to the same standards it asks of contributors. Here is what every contributor can count on.
Editorial Standards
VSF is an editorial publisher. We exercise editorial judgment, request revisions, and stand behind what we publish — consistently.
Acknowledgment & Attribution
Contributors are credited using VSF's standard formats. We do not publish substantive contributions without appropriate attribution.
Editorial Independence
Sponsors do not influence content. Data contributors do not own the analysis. Conflicts of interest are disclosed in the publication, not hidden.
Open Access
VSF research and frameworks are published under Creative Commons BY-NC, free for the industry to use noncommercially.
Timely Communication
If your submission is in review, you will hear back within the committed window. We do not ghost contributors.
What VSF Asks From Contributors
The contributor relationship is a two-way exchange. These are the standards VSF applies to all contributions.
Original Work
VSF publishes net new content. Adapted, expanded, or recontextualized versions of your prior work are welcome. Full reprints are not.
Evidence-Based Argumentation
Claims need support: primary data, cited secondary research, documented examples, or testimony from identified practitioners.
Disclosed Conflicts
Single-studio case studies must be authored by someone independent of that studio. All other potential conflicts must be disclosed in advance.
Engagement With Feedback
Editorial feedback is part of the process. Contributors are expected to respond within agreed timelines.
Distribution Support
When your work publishes, sharing it with your network and engaging with community questions is part of the contributor exchange.