By hiring Machiz, Lightspeed signals that it is taking a bet on a new media playbook. Josh Machiz joins Lightspeed from Redpoint Ventures, where he was a partner, overseeing content and marketing. While at Redpoint, he implemented a content-first strategy and helped grow the firm’s social media footprint with roughly 70,000 followers on Instagram and more than 40,000 on TikTok.
Before that, he served as chief digital officer of Nasdaq, where he helped develop the exchange’s digital marketing and content strategy. Machiz will oversee marketing, communications, social media and content for the firm. He will be based in New York City.
Machiz succeeds Meredith Maines, who departed the firm this year to serve as chief communications officer for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Through early July this year, General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, and Lightspeed Venture Partners led the pack in AI investing, per PitchBook.
“This is like a dream job, where I get to help early stage companies make noise, but then I also get to help the late-stage companies prepare for IPOs,” Machiz says. “And most importantly, I get to help Lightspeed — which is at the top of its game on the investing in AI — shape its brand,” he added.
Machiz says to expect more social and owned content, like podcasts, conferences and behind-the-scenes IPO videos, coming out of Lightspeed. “We’re gonna show up in unexpected ways and unexpected places, and I think a lot of our key properties … have yet to be born.”
“After helping thousands of companies go public at Nasdaq and building Redpoint’s exceptional Platform team, I’ve learned a thing or two about what it takes to stand out. One launch video won’t cut it. It’s a relentless drumbeat that gets you heard. And that’s harder than ever today” he concludes in his Linkedin post.
