# Laurie Owen

> Laurie Owen is the London-based founder of Refinery Media, a specialist content, brand and positioning agency for venture capital firms. His route into the niche ran through professional basketball in Britain and the Netherlands, five years building VR and 3D-design startups, investor publishing and newsletters for professional footballers. He now writes Refining VC and argues that investors earn attention by making their judgment visible, useful and memorable.

- **Role:** Founder of Refinery Media
- **Organizations:** Refinery Media, Refining VC, Vector Suite, Metaverse Monday, Ball Business
- **Education:** Defence studies
- **Known for:** Built Refinery Media into a specialist agency serving venture and private-equity funds ranging from first-time managers to firms with more than $5 billion in assets under management., Refinery Media's work had generated more than 20 million impressions by July 2026, according to a published interview with Owen., Built and wrote Metaverse Monday for an audience of more than 3,000 readers.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2016** — Played professional basketball in the British and Dutch leagues.
- **2016-2021** — Spent roughly five years founding and building VR software startups; Vector Suite, founded in 2016, developed immersive 3D-design software and worked with McLaren Automotive.
- **2023** — Published specialist startup and VR writing, including Metaverse Monday, and produced Ball Business for an audience of more than 300 professional footballers.
- **2023** — Founded Refinery Media, a London agency focused on content, brand and positioning for venture capital firms.
- **2025** — Expanded Refining VC as a newsletter about how venture firms use content to build trust, brand and deal flow.
- **2026** — Continued building a UK sports-collectibles media property while advising venture firms and publishing weekly analysis of venture media.

## Achievements

- Built Refinery Media into a specialist agency serving venture and private-equity funds ranging from first-time managers to firms with more than $5 billion in assets under management.
- Refinery Media's work had generated more than 20 million impressions by July 2026, according to a published interview with Owen.
- Built and wrote Metaverse Monday for an audience of more than 3,000 readers.
- Produced Ball Business, translating investing, entrepreneurship and startup topics for more than 300 professional footballers.
- Worked on VR and 3D-design products during a five-year startup period; Vector Suite announced McLaren Automotive as an early user and product-shaping partner.
- Developed Refining VC into a weekly specialist publication read by hundreds of venture-capital professionals.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Published an analysis arguing that startup playbooks expire quickly as tools, costs, distribution and company structures change.
- **2026-08** — Published research on the history of financial marketing and what venture firms can learn from direct-response publishing.
- **2026-07** — Discussed Refinery Media's venture-only focus, a current sports-media fundraise and his views on ownership, transparency and permanence in an ADIN interview.
- **2026-04** — Wrote that he had spent the previous year building one of the UK's largest sports-collectibles media properties while continuing to run Refinery Media.

## Links

- Website: https://www.refinerymedia.co.uk/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurie-owen/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/imlaurieowen

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/laurie-owen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-22