The Information

Art by Mike Sullivan

Screentime: The Author–Investor Searching for the Internet’s Next Hangout

By Annie Goldsmith · May 13, 2023 6:00am PDT

Despite leaving Discord last year, Amber Atherton still spends many of her working hours on the social platform. The company’s former head of community—now a partner at early-stage venture firm Patron—Atherton builds relationships with her portfolio companies in a Discord “zen garden” designed for streaming lo-fi... Despite leaving Discord last year, Amber Atherton still spends many of her working hours on the...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: The Creator Who Quit Google to Experiment With AI

By Margaux MacColl · Apr 15, 2023 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Last December, Bilawal Sidhu was living a double life. By day, he was a full-time product manager at Google, working on projects like building virtual reality tools. By night, he was experimenting with a barrage of new artificial intelligence models like Midjourney and Dall-E. He started posting TikToks and YouTube videos showing off the... Last December, Bilawal Sidhu was living a double life. By day, he was a full-time product manager...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: The Venture Investor Who Runs Through Antarctica in Silence

By Margaux MacColl · Jan 20, 2023 1:00pm PST · 3 comments

Out of the 13 million Diablo II players, Lightspeed Venture Partners investor Moritz Baier-Lentz was No. 1. During his peak gamer years—2001 to 2005—Baier-Lentz was playing the action role-playing game 6 to 8 hours a day, crushing his competitors. It was a lucrative gig: “I traded the digital swords and armor that I earned... Out of the 13 million Diablo II players, Lightspeed Venture Partners investor Moritz Baier-Lentz...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Katelin Holloway Won’t Accept Your FaceTime Call

By Annie Goldsmith · Dec 17, 2022 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Katelin Holloway Won’t Accept Your FaceTime Call

By Annie Goldsmith · Dec 17, 2022 6:00am PST · 1 comment

Katelin Holloway has extremely decisive opinions on technology. FaceTime: never. Dark Mode: always. Inbox zero: essential. Siri and Alexa: toxic. And selfies? “I never learned how to take a selfie, kind of on principle,” said Holloway, a founding partner at Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six venture firm. “It was very of my... Katelin Holloway has extremely decisive opinions on technology. FaceTime: never. Dark Mode:...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Junior VC Who Spends Almost Every Waking Minute Online

By Margaux MacColl · Dec 10, 2022 6:00am PST · 3 comments

Em Herrera, 23, earned her social media stripes the hard way: running One Direction and Ariana Grande stan Twitter accounts as a teenager. The experience taught her that celebrities and influencers were the key to understanding Gen Z consumers. She took those lessons with her to Northeastern University, to internships at Harlem Capital and BBG... Em Herrera, 23, earned her social media stripes the hard way: running One Direction and Ariana...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Screentime: The Millennial Tech Founder Who Wonders If She’s Too Old for TikTok

By Annie Goldsmith · Nov 5, 2022 7:00am PDT

Kathryn Minshew, founder of online jobs marketplace The Muse, has basically been on a nationwide tour for the past month. Traveling from her home in New York’s East Village, she’s turned up in Aspen, Colo.; the Catskills, N.Y.; Dana Point, Calif.; and Boston. Though some of the travel was just for fun (seeing her niece in Boston, for one), much... Kathryn Minshew, founder of online jobs marketplace The Muse, has basically been on a nationwide...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Screentime: Investor Katie Stanton Is Working Through Her 2,000 Unread Emails

By Annie Goldsmith · Oct 22, 2022 6:00am PDT · 8 comments

Katie Stanton is in high demand. The Moxxie Ventures founder and general partner has 2,007 unread emails and 530 unread texts on her phone. She’s “always” running down her battery and her voicemail message is “please don’t leave a message.” But Stanton, a Yahoo and Vivendi board member, who formerly worked for the U.S. Department of State under... Katie Stanton is in high demand. The Moxxie Ventures founder and general partner has 2,007 unread...

Art by Clark Miller

Screentime: The Social Media Founder Who Controls His Vibrating Bed From His Phone

By Margaux MacColl · Sep 3, 2022 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Screentime: The Social Media Founder Who Controls His Vibrating Bed From His Phone

By Margaux MacColl · Sep 3, 2022 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Alex Ma describes the last week of May 2021 as both “a dream and a nightmare at the same time.” That was the week when his social media app, Poparazzi, made a dramatic breakthrough, soaring to the top of Apple’s App Store chart, which landed the app a $15 million Series A led by Benchmark the following month. A precursor to this summer’s BeReal... Alex Ma describes the last week of May 2021 as both “a dream and a nightmare at the same time.”...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Investor Sarah Guo on Pairing Podcasts With Peloton and Why She Carries Her Phone ‘Naked’

By Annie Goldsmith · Aug 20, 2022 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

After spending the past nine years as a partner at Greylock Ventures, Sarah Guo struck out on her own in June. Now she’s launching her own fund, Conviction, focused on early-stage tech investments (her notable angel investments include FTX andMagic Eden, the leading Solana non-fungible token marketplace). Though she can’t share much about her... After spending the past nine years as a partner at Greylock Ventures, Sarah Guo struck out on her...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: How a Sexual Wellness CEO Uses Her Phone for Work and Play

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 23, 2022 7:00am PDT

Alexandra Fine first made waves when she crowdfunded a vibrator on Kickstarter—the 2016 campaign was the platform’s first ever for a sex toy. But Fine’s company, Dame Products, has come a long way since those days, and now offers a cornucopia of sexual wellness products through stores including Sephora and Nordstrom. As for Fine’s personal phone... Alexandra Fine first made waves when she crowdfunded a vibrator on Kickstarter—the 2016 campaign...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Firefighter Turned Venture Investor Matthew Ball Is Also a Fortnite Power User

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 9, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome back toScreentime,where tech leaders divulge their personal phone habits. To say Matthew Ball is all in on the metaverse would be a meta-understatement. The venture capitalist is wrapping up four years of research and writing for his new, succinctly titled book “The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything” (July 19). In it,... Welcome back toScreentime,where tech leaders divulge their personal phone habits. To say Matthew...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Venture Founder Li Jin Has Downloaded More ‘Ghost Apps’ Than She Cares to Count

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 2, 2022 7:00am PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: Venture Founder Li Jin Has Downloaded More ‘Ghost Apps’ Than She Cares to Count

By Annie Goldsmith · Jul 2, 2022 7:00am PDT

Once dubbed the “it girl” of venture capital, Li Jin seems to always be in the loop. With her first fund, Atelier Ventures, Jin was one of the earliest investors to bet big on online creators and influencers, advising the likes of YouTuber Hank Green and investing in Substack and Patreon. She’s now a co-founder of Variant Fund, an early-stage... Once dubbed the “it girl” of venture capital, Li Jin seems to always be in the loop. With her...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: LearnVest’s Founder Thinks the Future of Finance Is on Your Phone

By Margaux MacColl · Jun 11, 2022 7:00am PDT

Welcome toScreentime,where tech leaders divulge their most personal phone habits. Inspired Capital partner Alexa von Tobel loves crypto, and the proof is all over her phone. From trading currencies on Gemini to admiring her non-fungible tokens on the POAP app, von Tobel has fully bought into the idea that the financial technology of the future... Welcome toScreentime,where tech leaders divulge their most personal phone habits. Inspired...

Art by Clark Miller.

Screentime: The Inventor of the Hashtag Is Still a Twitter Loyalist

By Annie Goldsmith · Jun 3, 2022 1:34pm PDT · 1 comment

Welcome toScreentime,where tech leaders divulge their most personal phone habits. In spite of everything, the man who invented the hashtag is still enthralled with Twitter. Chris Messina, the “product therapist” who first proposed the hashtag function in a 2007 blog post,, said that Twitter is still the most used app on his phone. Formerly at... Welcome toScreentime,where tech leaders divulge their most personal phone habits. In spite of...

Art by Clark Miller

Former Musical.ly President Alex Hofmann Spends 9 Hours a Day on His Phone, Still Won’t Return Your Texts

By Annie Goldsmith · May 21, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Welcome to Screentime, a new series from The Weekend in which tech leaders divulge their personal phone habits. Alex Hofmann has an app for everything. His phone is filled with—literally—hundreds of them. Apps to meditate (Insight Timer), check air quality (AirVisual), remember birthdays (Birthdays), pursue romance (30-plus dating options, from... Welcome to Screentime, a new series from The Weekend in which tech leaders divulge their personal...

Art by Clark Miller

Screentime: How Venture Investor Rex Woodbury Finds Inspiration on His Phone

By Margaux MacColl · May 14, 2022 7:00am PDT · 5 comments

Art by Clark Miller

Screentime: How Venture Investor Rex Woodbury Finds Inspiration on His Phone

By Margaux MacColl · May 14, 2022 7:00am PDT · 5 comments

Welcome to Screentime, a new series from The Weekend in which tech leaders divulge their personal phone habits, from their most recent texts, to midnight scribbles in the Notes app, to whatever’s popping up on their TikTok For You page. For Rex Woodbury, a partner at Index Ventures, it’s practically a job requirement to be on his phone at all... Welcome to Screentime, a new series from The Weekend in which tech leaders divulge their personal...