Skip to main content
Walter Thompson on Muck Rack

Walter Thompson

Verified
(He/Him)
San Francisco
As seen in: Fund/Build/Scale, Fund/Build/Scale (Podcast), MSN, Yahoo Entertainment, Yahoo Life, The Guardian, Yahoo Canada, Yahoo News, Yahoo News Australia, Yahoo News Philippines, TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance and
Covers:  Technology, Northern California, transportation, urban development, politics, history, film.
Doesn't Cover: Blockchain, online gambling.
An independent journalist in San Francisco.

Get in touch with Walter

Contact Walter, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.

Learn more about Muck Rack

Actions

Share this page

Walter Thompson’s Biography

Read Full Bio →

I'm an independent journalist based in San Francisco.

I host Fund/Build/Scale, a podcast and newsletter that explores how founders and investors take startups from Day Zero to Series A. Previously, I was Editorial Director at TechCrunch, where I managed the site's guest contributor program and wrote a newsletter about early-stage startups.

If you want to pitch a guest for Fund/Build/Scale, please use this Google Form or send a note to fundbuildscale@gmail.com.

On the side, I have a podcast tha…

Walter Thompson’s Journalist Portfolio

See all →
Taxi driver

Taxi driver

This is the first in a series of film columns called "San Francisco Plays Itself" that I'm writing for Gazett…

View article →
How a Broke College Student Co-founded a VC-Backed Edtech Startup

How a Broke College Student Co-founded a VC-Backed Edtech Startup

In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale, Nectir co-founder and CEO Kavitta Ghai shares how she turned her frustra…

View article →
The Notes

The Notes

After I shared a photo on Twitter of a mysterious note I found taped to a utility pole in the Sunset District…

View article →
A school's mural removal: should kids be shielded from brutal US history?

A school's mural removal: should kids be shielded from brutal US history?

Every day at a San Francisco high school, students pass artwork depicting slavery and violence against Native…

View article →
The Fire Last Time

The Fire Last Time

Fifty years ago, Hunters Point exploded after a white policeman shot a black teenager. What, if anything, has…

View article →
How Urban Renewal Tried to Rebuild the Fillmore

How Urban Renewal Tried to Rebuild the Fillmore

Part Two of a Hoodline feature on how 1960s–70s urban renewal efforts attempted to rebuild San Francisco’s Fi…

View article →

Articles

2025 Cybersecurity Trends, Insights and Storytelling Advice from YL Ventures' Andy Ellis

|
By Walter Thompson Verified
| Fund/Build/Scale
For this episode of Fund/Build/Scale, I asked YL Ventures Partner Andy Ellis (a former CISO) about his approach to storytelling, tactics for founder-led sales and marketing, and why he thinks the cybersecurity hiring challenge isn’t a talent shortage but a market misunderstanding. We also discussed refining product-market fit, customer discovery methods, and common pitfalls like believing in one's own narrative too strongly.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Mercury Raise 2024 Survey: Founder Challenges, Fundraising Trends, and the AI Hype Cycle

|
By Walter Thompson Verified
| Fund/Build/Scale
If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? If a founder would rather turn to a podcast like mine for operational advice instead of the investor who led their round, is that VC really adding value?
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Rusty Ralston and Jay Patil of Swell VC: A Hands-on Approach to Building Startups

|
By Walter Thompson Verified
| Fund/Build/Scale
In October 2024, Swell VC, a New York-based venture capital firm, announced its second fund with $11.5 million in commitments, bringing their total assets under management to $19 million. Co-founded by Rusty Ralston and Jay Patil in 2011, Swell isn’t trying to compete with the larger VC firms. Instead, they’ve chosen to focus on a hands-on approach, helping founders tackle critical early challenges like making their first hires and refining their go-to-market strategies.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?
See all 1,616 licensed articles (1,617 Total)

Awards

See all →

Third Place

2017 - Digital Media, Feature Story/Serious Nature

“How Urban Renewal Destroyed The Fillmore In Order to Save It,” Hoodline https://hoodline.com/2016/01/how-urban-renewal-destroyed-the-fillmore-in-order-to-save-it/

View Award

First Place

2017 - Magazines/Trade Publications, Feature Story, Serious Nature

“The Fire Last Time,” San Francisco Magazine

View Award

Third Place

2024 - Digital Media, Podcast - General Interest

"Two repeat founders share long-term strategies for building sustainable startups," with Poshmark CEO Manish Chandra and DevRev CEO Dheeraj Pandey.

View Award