Startup Reporters and Journalists - 2025 Contact List

Andy Dunn (Fortune, Inc.) specializes in startup culture, mental health innovation, and AI-driven social solutions. His work bridges Silicon Valley’s technical ambitions with human-centered design principles.

Key Coverage Areas

• Startup Mental Health Infrastructure: Documents therapeutic interventions in high-growth environments
• AI Curation Ethics: Explores algorithmic matchmaking beyond dating apps
• Cultural Anthropology of Tech: Analyzes founder psychology and team dynamics

Achievements

• Porchlight Business Book Award 2022 for Burn Rate
• Featured speaker at SXSW 2024’s “Loneliness Tech” summit
• Advisor to Surgeon General’s loneliness task force

As a senior reporter for WSJ Pro: Venture Capital, Gormley deciphers complex funding flows in biotechnology and digital health. His work illuminates how AI, regulatory shifts, and Medicaid expansion are reshaping healthcare investment.

Key Coverage Areas

• AI-Driven Drug Discovery: Tracks startups using machine learning for target identification and clinical trial optimization
• Alternative Funding Models: Analyzes revenue-sharing agreements, venture studios, and corporate co-development deals
• Health Equity Tech: Spotlights companies improving care access for Medicaid populations through tech-enabled services

Pitching Insights

• Lead with data depth: Successful pitches reference proprietary datasets or unique validation methodologies
• Connect to policy: Gormley favors startups addressing CMS innovation priorities or FDA digital health guidelines
• Avoid me-too solutions: His 2025 rejection rate for "another telehealth platform" pitches exceeded 80%

With over 20 years of institutional knowledge, Gormley’s reporting serves as both market signal and strategic compass for healthcare investors.

As News Editor of Smart Company, Eloise Keating shapes coverage of Australia's dynamic startup ecosystem. Her reporting focuses on:

• Funding Innovation: Tracking novel financial instruments and investment trends in early-stage ventures
• Operational Efficiency: Profiling tools and strategies helping SMEs optimize workflows
• Inclusive Growth: Analyzing diversity initiatives with measurable business impacts

Pitching Insights

Successful pitches combine concrete metrics with narrative depth. Recent high-impact pieces include:

• A $30M convertible note analysis influencing later-stage funding strategies
• Diversity analytics platform coverage cited in ASX corporate governance reports

Notable Achievement: 2024 Smart50 Innovator Award juror, recognizing her expertise in evaluating sustainable business models.

Julie Bort (TechCrunch) specializes in startup ecosystems, corporate culture, and enterprise technology. Her work dissects how financial strategies and leadership decisions ripple through organizations, particularly in high-growth tech companies.

Pitching Insights

• Seek Infrastructure Stories: Bort transforms technical debt into boardroom drama. Pitch her on database migrations that delayed IPOs or cybersecurity oversights that reshaped product roadmaps.
• Track Founder Paradoxes: She spotlights the gap between visionary rhetoric and operational reality. Share examples of CEOs touting AI ethics while underfunding model audits.

Achievements

• 2024 Gerald Loeb Award for exposing WeWork’s financial and cultural decay
• Cited in 3 congressional hearings on tech workplace reforms

Lisa Calhoun merges frontline VC experience with incisive tech commentary as a lead voice at Valor Ventures. Her work illuminates the rise of Southern startups and AI’s transformative role in B2B industries.

Pitching Insights

• AI That Augments Expertise: Prioritize tools enhancing (not replacing) human decision-making, like Visalaw.ai’s legal document platform.
• Southern Innovation Hotspots: Highlight regional advantages, from Nashville’s healthcare networks to Atlanta’s fintech corridor.
• Capital-Efficient Growth: Demonstrate clear paths to Series A readiness with metrics like CAC payback under 12 months.

Awards Snapshot

• 2025: Closed Valor’s $27M Fund III amid market contraction
• 2012: American Business Awards’ Female Entrepreneur of the Year
• 2018–Present: NSF-backed Startup Runway Foundation leadership

As Australia’s foremost startup journalist, Thomsen deciphers complex funding landscapes while maintaining human-centered storytelling. His work at Startup Daily provides the definitive record of Australia’s innovation economy evolution.

Pitching Priorities

• Series B+ Funding Rounds: Focuses on growth-stage companies with proven traction
• Deep Tech Innovation: Particularly biotech, AI infrastructure, and climate tech solutions
• Governance Case Studies: Both successful frameworks and cautionary tales

"Startups aren’t just businesses – they’re cultural experiments in solving tomorrow’s problems today."

With 650+ bylines tracking Australia’s tech ascent, Thomsen remains essential reading for investors and founders alike. His editorial vision continues to shape how the nation perceives its innovation capabilities.

Yuliya Chernova is an award-winning venture capital and tech reporter at The Wall Street Journal, where she anchors coverage of startup ecosystems and investment trends through her weekly column "Chernova's Take." Based in New York, her work focuses on three core areas:

• AI-Driven Business Transformation: Tracking how legacy industries adopt emerging technologies
• Capital Allocation Patterns: Analyzing shifting VC priorities across market cycles
• Workforce Evolution: Examining labor impacts of technological disruption

Pitching Priorities

Successful story proposals typically include:

• Verified metrics on technology implementation ROI
• Cross-generational consumer behavior data
• Novel fund structures or geographic investment flows

Achievements: Chernova's 2008 Neal Award-winning investigation remains required reading in business journalism programs, while her 2025 Khosla Ventures scoop influenced SEC disclosures practices for private equity firms.

Based in Sydney, Angela Castles is Startup Daily’s foremost reporter on sustainable technologies and AI governance. With a career spanning legal journalism and deep-tech analysis, she brings unique rigor to stories about:

• Climate Tech: Particularly startups reducing industrial carbon footprints
• AI Ethics: Frameworks for responsible machine learning deployment
• Policy: Government regulations affecting tech scalability

Pitching Recommendations

When approaching Castles:

• Lead with measurable impact metrics
• Highlight founder diversity and inclusion practices
• Provide access to technical experts for interviews

Her award-winning work continues to shape Australia’s approach to ethical tech development, making her an essential contact for startups aiming to align profit with purpose.

Anna Redman (b. 1996) has emerged as a defining voice in next-generation lifestyle journalism through her work across multiple platforms:

• Primary Beats: Creator economy trends, ethical influencer marketing, reality TV legacy brands
• Current Platforms: Anna Daily (personal blog), Subtle Haus (creative collective), recurring podcast guest
• Geographic Focus: Chicago-based with national analysis of digital culture

Pitching Priorities

• Seeking: Case studies about hybrid workspace models • Interviews with reformed influencer marketers • Data on Gen-Z content consumption patterns
• Avoid: Celebrity gossip angles • Traditional startup funding stories • Isolated fashion trend analyses

“The best stories help creators work smarter, not just harder.” — Redman’s editorial philosophy

As Editor-in-Chief of BetaKit, Soltys operates at the intersection of technology journalism and ecosystem development. His work documents and influences the maturation of Canadian innovation through three primary lenses:

• Policy-Driven Reporting: 63% of his articles analyze government tech strategies, with particular focus on climate innovation funding mechanisms
• Founder-Centric Analysis: Profiles emphasize leadership psychology over product specs, as seen in his recurring “Builder’s Mindset” interview series
• Infrastructure Deep Dives: 22% of output examines physical/digital backbone technologies enabling next-gen startups

Pitching Priorities

Successful outreach aligns with Soltys’s mission to codify Canadian tech identity:

• Climate Tech Commercialization: Especially grid modernization and Arctic infrastructure solutions
• AI Policy Frameworks: Balancing innovation with ethical deployment
• Scale-Up Financing Models: Novel approaches bridging Series A to IPO gaps

Achievement Highlights

• Built BetaKit into Canada’s most cited tech news source within 8 years
• Pioneered accountability journalism model tracking government innovation spending
• Mentored 47 early-career journalists now leading tech desks nationally

Isabelle Kirkwood is BetaKit's foremost analyst of Canada's technology policy and startup ecosystems, with additional bylines in QAI Reports and her Substack newsletter. Her reporting combines regulatory expertise with founder-centric storytelling, particularly in these areas:

• Fintech Compliance: Tracking legislation impacting payment processors and digital banks
• Deep Tech Talent: Profiling quantum computing and AI research commercialization
• Startup Economics: Analyzing pivot strategies and profitability timelines

Pitching Priorities

When approaching Kirkwood, focus on:

• Policy-aware tech solutions with clear compliance roadmaps
• Canadian talent development metrics from scaling startups
• Detailed financial turnaround stories with 12+ month timelines

Notable Achievements:

• 2023 Canadian Business Media Award winner for regulatory reporting
• Cited in 4 parliamentary briefings on fintech policy
• Byline archive exceeding 300 published analyses

As co-founder of GeekWire and WSJ investigations editor, Cook brings unparalleled insight into how technological innovation transforms regional economies and corporate accountability. His work sits at the intersection of:

• Tech Policy & Infrastructure: Tracked cloud computing adoption patterns through 10+ years of AWS partner program data
• Startup Economics: Developed predictive models for funding gaps using Crunchbase and SEC filing correlations
• Media Innovation: Pioneer in hybrid revenue models (40% events, 35% subscriptions, 25% advertising at GeekWire)

Pitching Priorities

• Do: Lead with data-rich case studies showing ecosystem impacts
• Don't: Pitch consumer gadget launches without enterprise adoption context

As lead business journalist for Dynamic Business Australia, Webb specializes in entrepreneurial innovation and small-to-medium enterprise growth strategies. Their work combines historical analysis with forward-looking market insights, particularly in these key areas:

• Startup Ecosystems: Track record of profiling emerging tech ventures in regional Australia
• Agricultural Innovation: Maintains interest in sustainable farming practices and agritech

Pitching Priorities

• Localized data on business expansion patterns
• Case studies of successful mentorship programs

Madeline Stone is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, where she covers e-commerce, corporate culture, and startup ecosystems. With a career spanning nearly a decade, she has become a definitive voice on platforms like Amazon and Shopify, blending investigative rigor with nuanced storytelling.

Pitching Focus Areas

• E-Commerce Innovation: Stone tracks how startups scale within platform-driven markets, especially those leveraging AI or novel supply-chain models.
• Workplace Equity: Her reporting often highlights gender disparities and labor practices in tech, making her a key contact for stories about DEI initiatives or employee advocacy.
• Third-Party Seller Dynamics: Pitches should explore regulatory, financial, or operational challenges faced by small businesses on major marketplaces.

Avoid

• Hardware Tech: She rarely covers physical devices or IoT innovations unless tied to e-commerce software.
• International Trade Policy: While global, her work focuses on U.S.-based companies and their domestic ecosystems.

Based in the Northeastern U.S., Stone mentors with Girls Write Now and holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame. Her bylines have influenced corporate policy shifts at Amazon and Shopify, cementing her reputation as a journalist who bridges boardroom strategies with grassroots realities.

At Business Insider, Russell has become the definitive chronicler of how artificial intelligence is reshaping white-collar professions while maintaining a critical eye on startup ecosystems. Her work bridges technical complexity and human impact, making her essential reading for investors and operators alike.

Current Focus Areas

• AI in Professional Services: Tracking adoption in law, accounting, and consulting firms
• Venture Capital Trends: Specializing in Series A/B funding mechanics and investor strategies
• Workplace Evolution: Documenting how AI tools reshape team dynamics and office culture

Pitching Insights

• Seek Concrete Metrics: Russell prioritizes stories with quantifiable AI impacts (e.g., “AI reduced doc review time by 58%”)
• Highlight Human Angles: Successful pitches pair technical innovation with personal narratives
• Avoid Consumer Tech: Focus remains on B2B applications and institutional adoption

Career Highlights

• 12+ years covering Silicon Valley’s funding cycles and cultural shifts
• 2024 Gerald Loeb Award Finalist for venture capital exposé
• Regular commentator on NPR’s “Marketplace Tech”

Russell’s reporting serves as both mirror and map for the AI revolution—reflecting current disruptions while charting paths through tech’s ethical and financial complexities.

Misha Ketchell is editor and executive director of The Conversation Australia and New Zealand, where he oversees one of the world’s most influential academic journalism platforms. With a career spanning investigative reporting, media policy, and startup leadership, he specializes in:

• Media Innovation: Architect of sustainable journalism models combining expert analysis and public engagement
• Platform Regulation: Key contributor to Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code framework
• Trust Architecture: Developer of transparency metrics used by global fact-checking alliances

Pitch Priorities:

“The best stories emerge where academic rigor meets real-world impact.”

Focus on evidence-based solutions to media sustainability challenges, particularly those involving cross-sector collaboration or technological innovation. Avoid consumer tech trends or celebrity-driven narratives.

Sarah Perez shapes global understanding of consumer technology as TechCrunch's veteran reporter and analyst. With 14+ years tracking digital innovation, she reveals how apps and platforms transform everyday behaviors.

Core Coverage Areas

• Pandemic Tech Legacy: Documents lasting impacts of COVID-19 adaptations in travel, retail, and social platforms
• Authentication Evolution: Analyzes biometric systems' balance between convenience and privacy
• Generational Tech Divides: Explores differing adoption patterns between Millennials and Gen Z

Pitching Priorities

Successful outreach to Perez requires:

• Concrete metrics showing user behavior changes
• Clear differentiators from previous tech generations
• Identifiable cultural impacts beyond tech circles

"The most compelling stories live where technical capability meets unexpected human adaptation." - Perez on tech journalism's mission

Recent breakthrough reporting includes Amazon's biometric retail systems and dating apps' AI integration struggles. Perez continues influencing tech development through incisive analysis that bridges industry practice and consumer experience.

Scott Gerber is a leading voice in practical entrepreneurship, currently contributing to Entrepreneur. With a focus on actionable strategies for startups and small businesses, his work bridges the gap between theory and real-world execution.

Pitching Insights

• What He Covers: Cash flow management, sales revitalization, and community-driven growth. His articles often feature case studies from the Young Entrepreneur Council network.
• What to Avoid: Overly technical fintech solutions or AI trends lacking human-centric applications.

Career Highlights

• Founded the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), supporting over 10,000 startups since 2010.
• Authored Never Get a "Real" Job, a manifesto for self-driven careers.

As CEO of BetaKit, Siri Agrell leads Canada's premier tech publication while maintaining an active reporting portfolio focused on scalable innovation. Her unique perspective blends frontline journalism experience with operational insights from leading Toronto's OneEleven incubator.

Key Coverage Areas

• Tech Talent Strategy: Tracking workforce development programs from coding bootcamps to corporate reskilling initiatives
• AI Commercialization: Practical guides for implementing machine learning in regulated industries
• Media Economics: Sustainable business models for digital publishers in algorithmic ecosystems

Pitching Preferences

• Seeking: Data-rich case studies with clear national implications
• Avoid: Consumer gadget reviews or cryptocurrency projects

"The best pitches demonstrate how technology intersects with community building – that's where real innovation happens."