JD Vance: When JD Vance Was a tech bro in Silicon Valley | World News

JD Vance, now Trump’s VP, once had a brief but noteworthy career in Silicon Valley‘s venture capital scene. Vance highlighted his tech industry experience during his address at the Republican National Convention, asserting, “I started businesses to create jobs in the kind of places that I grew up in. My work taught me there is still so much talent and grit in the American heartland.”
Vance’s venture capital career, however, was relatively short.In his five years in the industry, he worked for two firms before co-founding Ohio-based Narya Capital Management. Despite his limited time in the field, his narrative as a tech investor who transitioned to focus on revitalizing Appalachia is central to his public persona.
After graduating from Yale Law School in 2013, Vance moved to the Bay Area to pursue entrepreneurship. He initially joined a small biotechnology company as COO, frequently pitching the firm to Mithril Capital investors, co-founded by Peter Thiel. In 2016, Vance joined Mithril as a junior investor, coinciding with the publication of his bestselling memoir,

Hillbilly Elegy.

In 2017, Vance left Mithril to join Revolution, an investment firm founded by AOL co-founder Steve Case. At Revolution, he focused on the Rise of the Rest initiative, targeting investment opportunities outside the major tech hubs of Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston. During his 18 months at Revolution, Vance led or co-led 14 deals, including investments in Anduril Industries and Pyron.
Vance left Revolution in 2019 to start Narya Capital with Colin Greenspon. They raised $120 million for their first fund with backing from high-profile investors like Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Eric Schmidt. By March 2023, this fund had generated a 1.67 multiple on invested capital and an internal rate of return of 24.35% after fees.
Vance’s investment record includes more than 100 private companies, though not without its blemishes. One significant investment was in AppHarvest, a Kentucky-based indoor farming tech company that filed for bankruptcy amid lawsuits over job creation and workforce training issues. Vance, who briefly sat on AppHarvest’s board, invested through two different venture firms.
Vance’s ascent from venture capitalist to political figure is unusual. After being elected to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate in 2022—his first public office—he was named Donald Trump’s running mate less than two years later. His 2022 financial disclosures revealed stakes in numerous companies and significant holdings, including bitcoin and a townhome in Washington, D.C.
Vance’s time in tech has influenced his views on the industry. At a panel for The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in May 2021, he remarked, “I’ve certainly personally been very close to the technology sector. Because of that experience, I inherently mistrust it or at least worry about its influence in the broader economy.”
Three influential figures—Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, and David Sacks—were instrumental in convincing Donald Trump to select JD Vance as his vice-presidential running mate. Their lobbying efforts swayed Trump away from other contenders like Doug Burgum and Marco Rubio. Tucker Carlson supported Vance, believing he would resonate with working-class voters and criticized Rubio and Burgum as untrustworthy choices. He warned Trump against choosing a “neocon” and taking advice from Rupert Murdoch’s allies. Elon Musk highlighted Vance’s reliability and alignment with Trump’s agenda, even referring to Vance as “assassination insurance” after an attempt on Trump’s life in Pennsylvania. Musk’s active support on social media further bolstered Vance’s candidacy. Along with Musk and Carlson, David Sacks’ influence was part of a secret lobbying effort that persisted until the final hours before the announcement.