Venture Unlocked: The playbook for venture capital managers

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. Today we have another version of Venture Unlocked shorts, and this time it will be focused on topics within the GP/LP world. Joining me again is Meghan Reynolds, who leads capital formation at Altimeter Capital. This time we discuss the significant liquidity challenges in the venture capital market, focusing on the concerns of LPs about funding future capital calls and the longer wait times for returns. With a decline in public offerings and exits, LPs and GPs are now turning to alternative strategies such as strip sales and GP-led secondaries. We highlight the need for GPs to establish clear liquidity management as the dynamics of the industry continue to change. If you’re a VC investor, then I’m sure you already know about Sydecar, the go-to platform for emerging VCs to manage their SPVs and funds. Sydecar is on a mission to make private markets more accessible, transparent, and liquid by standardizing how investment vehicles are created and executed. Their powerful software allows VCs to launch SPVs and funds instantaneously, track funding in real time, and offer hassle-free opportunities for early liquidity. Whether you’re syndicating your first or fiftieth deal, Sydecar acts as your silent operating partner, handling all back-office functions in a single place. Sydecar always has your back, so that you never have to worry about chasing subscription docs, lost wires, or late K-1s. With all the recent ups and downs in the private markets, the last thing you want to worry about is whether your back office is operating smoothly. Sydecar's responsive and proactive customer support team is there to assist, helping you build trust with your investors and tackle the challenges of building your firm. Visit sydecar.io/ventureunlocked to learn more. About Meghan Reynolds:Meghan Reynolds is Partner and Head of VC Capital Formation and Fundraising for Altimeter, a lifecycle technology investment firm. Prior to joining Altimeter, Meghan was Managing Partner and Co-head of Fundraising at TPG. She began her career and spent nearly a decade in the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs. Meghan graduated from the University of Notre Dame. In this episode, we discuss: (02:00) The current state of the venture capital market and LP perspectives on liquidity and the impact of market resets on traditional exit opportunities like IPOs and M&As (04:00) Liquidity and the challenges for LPs in funding upcoming capital calls due to increased venture activity and the need to adjust liquidity timeline expectations (09:00) The complexities of exit strategies and the necessity for alignment between GPs and LPs on exit timing (12:57) Using “Strip sales” as a liquidity management strategy are detailed, where a portion of a fund’s assets are sold to secondary buyers, and practical examples of how this strategy has been effectively implemented (21:56) The need for venture capital to adopt more institutional and LP-friendly practices akin to the private equity evolution post-2008, driven by current fundraising challenges that compel VC funds to innovate in liquidity management and LP relationships I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Meghan. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. This week we're doing another special roundtable discussion with a focus on the seed stage market. Joining us are Jenny Fielding of Everywhere Ventures, Kirby Winfield of Ascend, and Nate Williams of UNION Labs. This whole conversation was focused on seed stage investing. We spent most of our time discussing how the market reset affects seed-stage decision-making, fund sizing, and reserve strategies. We also touched on what they are seeing and hearing from LPs that invest in seed funds. If you’re a VC investor, then I’m sure you already know about Sydecar, the go-to platform for emerging VCs to manage their SPVs and funds. Sydecar is on a mission to make private markets more accessible, transparent, and liquid by standardizing how investment vehicles are created and executed. Their powerful software allows VCs to launch SPVs and funds instantaneously, track funding in real time, and offer hassle-free opportunities for early liquidity. Whether you’re syndicating your first or fiftieth deal, Sydecar acts as your silent operating partner, handling all back-office functions in a single place. Sydecar always has your back, so that you never have to worry about chasing subscription docs, lost wires, or late K-1s. With all the recent ups and downs in the private markets, the last thing you want to worry about is whether your back office is operating smoothly. Sydecar's responsive and proactive customer support team is there to assist, helping you build trust with your investors and tackle the challenges of building your firm. Visit sydecar.io/ventureunlocked to learn more. About Jenny Fielding:Jenny Fielding is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Everywhere Ventures. She is one of the most active global pre-seed investors, having invested in 300+ companies as the first money in. Jenny has built a thriving community of 500+ founders and operators who help source, diligence, and invest in the next generation of startups across 3 core verticals: money, health, and work. Prior to Everywhere, Jenny spent 7.5 years as the Managing Director of Techstars where she invested in a portfolio of companies with a current market cap over $10B. Jenny is a 2x founder, a lawyer by training, and an adjunct professor at Columbia University and Cornell Tech. About Kirby Winfield:Kirby Winfield is the Founding General Partner at Ascend.vc, the most prolific pre-seed stage venture fund in the Pacific Northwest. Kirby has been operating and investing in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning since the 1990s. His first startup pioneered the use of semantic AI for web search. He advised the Allen Institute of Artificial Intelligence on the launch and growth of its highly regarded Ai2 Incubator program, and has backed 30+ AI startups as a VC. Early in his career, Kirby was a founding team member and operating executive at back-to-back tech IPOs, with Go2Net and Marchex. He is also a two-time venture capital-backed CEO, with AdXpose (DFJ, Ignition) acquired by comScore, and Dwellable (Maveron, VersionOne) acquired by HomeAway. About Nate Williams:Nate Williams is the co-Founder and Managing Partner of DeepTech seed fund UNION Labs Ventures and formerly an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at Kleiner Perkins focused on opportunities in Climate, PropTech, and Mobility. Nate's track record includes senior leadership experiences executing through startup, growth and turnaround stage culminating in successful exits for 4Home (to Motorola '10), Motorola Mobility (to Google '12), Motorola Home (to ARRIS '13) and August Home (to Assa Abloy '17). Prior to Kleiner Perkins, Nate was CRO & Head of Platform PM at August Home, Inc. a leader in Smart Home Access where he secured August commercial growth with market leaders and integration partners including Airbnb, Wal-Mart, Amazon, Honeywell, Comcast, and Google/Nest. Nate was also...

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We are thrilled to bring you a conversation with David Sacks, Founder and Partner of Craft Ventures. Based in San Francisco, Craft was founded in 2017 and currently has over 3 billion in assets under management. Across the last three decades, David has been incredibly influential as an investor, entrepreneur, and public thought leader. When starting Craft, he was able to draw from his deep operating background, having worked as an early leader at PayPal, and then later founding Yammer, which he sold to Microsoft for $1.2 Billion. He is also one of the hosts of the All In Podcast, one of the most listened podcasts in the world. We had a wide-ranging dialogue that took us through the evolution of Craft Ventures from its initial days to today, the strategic decision-making behind scaling fund sizes and team growth, and his overall views on the current outlook of venture capital. If you’re a VC investor, then I’m sure you already know about Sydecar, the go-to platform for emerging VCs to manage their SPVs and funds. Sydecar is on a mission to make private markets more accessible, transparent, and liquid by standardizing how investment vehicles are created and executed. Their powerful software allows VCs to launch SPVs and funds instantaneously, track funding in real time, and offer hassle-free opportunities for early liquidity. Whether you’re syndicating your first or fiftieth deal, Sydecar acts as your silent operating partner, handling all back-office functions in a single place. Sydecar always has your back, so that you never have to worry about chasing subscription docs, lost wires, or late K-1s. With all the recent ups and downs in the private markets, the last thing you want to worry about is whether your back office is operating smoothly. Sydecar's responsive and proactive customer support team is there to assist, helping you build trust with your investors and tackle the challenges of building your firm. Visit sydecar.io/ventureunlocked to learn more. About David Sacks:David Sacks is Co-Founder and Partner at Craft. He has been a successful founder and investor for over two decades, building and investing in some of the most iconic companies in tech. David has invested in over 20 unicorns, including Affirm, AirBnB, Bird, ClickUp, Eventbrite, Facebook, Houzz, Lyft, OpenDoor, Palantir, Postmates, Reddit, Slack, SpaceX, Twitter, Uber, and Wish.David first got involved in the technology industry in 1999 when he joined early-stage startup Confinity, later renamed PayPal. Serving as the company’s first product leader and then as COO, David built and ran many of the company’s key teams, including product management and design, sales and marketing, business development, international, customer service, fraud operations, and HR. He pivoted the product from beaming money on Palm Pilots to emailing money on the web, and introduced the business model. When the company IPO’d on the Nasdaq in 2002, David was 29 — the median age of the “PayPal Mafia” executives listed on the S-1. PayPal was later acquired by eBay and eventually spun back out into a publicly traded company (under ticker symbol PYPL).David is well-known in Silicon Valley for his product acumen. AngelList’s Naval Ravikant has called David “the world’s best product strategist.” And has received acclaim as one of the Besties on the All In Podcast. In this episode, we discuss: (02:56) David Sacks discusses transitioning from being an entrepreneur with experiences at PayPal and Yammer to founding Craft Ventures, emphasizing the focus on SaaS and leveraging operational expertise to support startups. (04:56) The growth of Craft Ventures from its initial fund to managing $3.5 billion, focusing on SaaS and marketplaces, and how fund size affects strategy (08:15) Portfolio construction and the strategic shift towards reserving more for follow-ons to...

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. This week we are pleased to be joined by Adam Bain of 01 Advisors, a San Francisco-based firm with nearly $1 billion under management. Adam and his partners, including Dick Costolo, have taken a very different approach to the venture model, drawing from their experiences as operators. While Adam was COO and Dick was CEO at Twitter, they helped the company scale from zero to in revenue as fast as any consumer tech company in history. During this time, they spent a significant amount of time with the late Bill Campbell, the legendary CEO coach who helped inspire the foundation for 01 Advisors. Since founding the firm in 2018, they have a uniquely focused approach to venture coaching and unlike other Series B and later VCs, they do not take board seats. We went through the why of this model. Along with topics such as the transition from operating to investing. And the future of potentially using models to determine founder archetypes. If you’re a VC investor, then I’m sure you already know about Sydecar, the go-to platform for emerging VCs to manage their SPVs and funds. Sydecar is on a mission to make private markets more accessible, transparent, and liquid by standardizing how investment vehicles are created and executed. Their powerful software allows VCs to launch SPVs and funds instantaneously, track funding in real time, and offer hassle-free opportunities for early liquidity. Whether you’re syndicating your first or fiftieth deal, Sydecar acts as your silent operating partner, handling all back-office functions in a single place. Sydecar always has your back, so that you never have to worry about chasing subscription docs, lost wires, or late K-1s. With all the recent ups and downs in the private markets, the last thing you want to worry about is whether your back office is operating smoothly. Sydecar's responsive and proactive customer support team is there to assist, helping you build trust with your investors and tackle the challenges of building your firm. Visit sydecar.io/ventureunlocked to learn more. About Adam BainAdam is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner for 01 Advisors, a venture & advisory firm that helps founders go from building a product to building a company with operational expertise.He was previously the COO for Twitter and a Board Director for Opendoor. In this episode, we discuss: (03:01) Adam shares his journey from Twitter to founding 01 Advisors, focusing on the transition from advertising and social media to a venture model that combines investing and advising (05:00) The unique backgrounds of 01 Advisors' partners in scaling companies from zero to significant revenues, showcasing a rare collective experience in tech leadership (08:01) The venture coaching approach at 01 Advisors that was inspired by Bill Campbell (14:35) Why 01 Advisors chooses not to take board seats, aiming to offer more effective and unrestricted guidance to CEOs (18:14) Helping CEOs appoint seasoned operators to board positions, ensuring comprehensive support without direct board involvement (22:08) 01 Advisors' focus on Series B investments, aligning their operational expertise with companies at a pivotal growth stage (24:16) 01's strategy of a concentrated portfolio to deeply engage and support their investments, contrary to the broader trend towards more extensive portfolios. (27:25) Diligence process for revenue streams and operational dynamics, aiming to identify areas where 01 can significantly impact growth. (29:00) The use of cognitive psychology for deeper CEO assessments post-investment, aiming to tailor support strategies to each leader's unique strengths and challenges (31:16) The early successes of this cognitive approach (34:42) The transition from high level operator to investor (39:58) Why he’s excited continuous intellectual growth and the diverse learning experiences...

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We have a conversation with Mitchell Green, Founder and Managing Partner at Lead Edge Capital. With offices in New York and Santa Barbara, the firm has over $5B in Assets under management and specializes in helping growth-stage companies scale. The firm has an interesting model that combines elements of PE, growth, and an active network of over 700 LPs to build a very powerful moat. I was really interested in several business components, especially the LP base's strategic nature and the programmatic way they evaluate companies. A word from our sponsor: Invest in innovation. Allocate allows investors to access top-tier private funds and co-investment opportunities within the technology sector. Despite the enormous growth of the private markets and the rapid increase of retail demand for private alternatives, investing in the highest quality private assets within the innovation sector still remains limited to institutions and ultra-connected high net worth individuals. With Allocate, wealth advisors, banks, family offices, and other qualified investors can have a streamlined way to responsibly invest with confidence. Go to allocate.co to find out more and please sign up to the waitlist to learn more and get early access to the platform. About Mitchell Green:Mitchell Green is the Founder and Managing Partner at Lead Edge Capital, a $5B growth equity firm investing in software, internet, and tech-enabled services businesses globally. Mitchell oversees the fund’s global activities and has led several of the fund's largest investments, including Alibaba Group, Asana, Bumble, FIGS, Grafana, SignalSciences, Spotify, Toast, Uber, and Wise. His career began with roles on the investment teams at Bessemer Venture Partners and Eastern Advisors. Mitchell is a former nationally ranked alpine ski racer and currently serves on the boards of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Foundation and the Laguna Blanca School in Santa Barbara, CA.Mitchell holds a B.A. in Economics from Williams College and an M.B.A. in Marketing from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In this episode, we discuss: (01:38) Shares the origin story of Lead Edge Capital, reflecting on the early experiences before 2009, and the influence of Bessemer's deal-sourcing approach of cold calling and direct outreach. (09:57) The value of being his own boss and learning from failures (12:35) Building a team for outbound cold calling to find unique investment opportunities. (15:27) Leveraging LPs in the due diligence process for valuable insights and validation of potential investments (17:21) Creating a community among LPs where engagement and assistance are core expectations (20:55) The resilience and opportunistic nature of high-net-worth individuals during market downturns (21:59) The "moneyball" approach to investment criteria, prioritizing revenue, growth, gross margins, and capital efficiency (26:00) A success story of investing in a rapidly growing, COVID-enabled electronic signatures company (30:32) Many companies raising venture capital should not exist (36:09) The need for persistence to get into the best companies (38:57) Trusting your instincts and the strategic advantage of being contrarian in investment I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Mitchell. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. Today we have another version of Venture Unlocked shorts, and this time it will be focused on topics within the GP/LP world. Joining me for this around-the-water-cooler recurring series is Meghan Reynolds, who leads capital formation at Altimeter Capital. Meghan recently attended iConnections in Miami, one of the biggest global capital intro summits in the world, which served as inspiration for this episode. We discussed what she observed during the summit, including how LPs are thinking about early-stage and late VC, and the place for venture overall in private portfolios. Hope you enjoy our episode! A word from our sponsor: Invest in innovation. Allocate allows investors to access top-tier private funds and co-investment opportunities within the technology sector. Despite the enormous growth of the private markets and the rapid increase of retail demand for private alternatives, investing in the highest quality private assets within the innovation sector still remains limited to institutions and ultra-connected high net worth individuals. With Allocate, wealth advisors, banks, family offices, and other qualified investors can have a streamlined way to responsibly invest with confidence. Go to allocate.co to find out more and please sign up to the waitlist to learn more and get early access to the platform. About Meghan Reynolds:Meghan Reynolds is Partner and Head of VC Capital Formation and Fundraising for Altimeter, a lifecycle technology investment firm. Prior to joining Altimeter, Meghan was Managing Partner and Co-head of Fundraising at TPG. She began her career and spent nearly a decade in the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs. Meghan graduated from the University of Notre Dame. In this episode, we discuss: (02:11) Report from the iConnections summit in Miami and what it means for the VC industry (06:38) The complex dynamics of fundraising in the current venture capital landscape (09:49) The recalibrated expectations among LPs with a strategic emphasis on seed and Series A investments as a method to hedge against portfolio volatility (17:01) Forecast for a tough adjustment period for Unicorns and the venture capital ecosystem, with some hope on the horizon (19:00) Challenges posed by multiple compression rounds and the reality for companies looking for exits (21:11) The long journey for VC-backed companies in navigating valuation adjustments and exit strategies, with an increased reliance on the secondary market for liquidity (23:12) The extended impact of the substantial funding raised in 2021, adding complexity to the venture capital environment I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Meghan. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. Today we have another version of Venture Unlocked shorts, and this time it will be focused on topics within the GP/LP world. Joining me for this around-the-water-cooler recurring series is Meghan Reynolds, who leads capital formation at Altimeter Capital. Meghan recently attended iConnections in Miami, one of the biggest global capital intro summits in the world, which served as inspiration for this episode. We discussed what she observed during the summit, including how LPs are thinking about early-stage and late VC, and the place for venture overall in private portfolios. Hope you enjoy our episode! A word from our sponsor: Invest in innovation. Allocate allows investors to access top-tier private funds and co-investment opportunities within the technology sector. Despite the enormous growth of the private markets and the rapid increase of retail demand for private alternatives, investing in the highest quality private assets within the innovation sector still remains limited to institutions and ultra-connected high net worth individuals. With Allocate, wealth advisors, banks, family offices, and other qualified investors can have a streamlined way to responsibly invest with confidence. Go to allocate.co to find out more and please sign up to the waitlist to learn more and get early access to the platform. About Meghan Reynolds:Meghan Reynolds is Partner and Head of VC Capital Formation and Fundraising for Altimeter, a lifecycle technology investment firm. Prior to joining Altimeter, Meghan was Managing Partner and Co-head of Fundraising at TPG. She began her career and spent nearly a decade in the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs. Meghan graduated from the University of Notre Dame. In this episode, we discuss: (02:11) Report from the iConnections summit in Miami and what it means for the VC industry (06:38) The complex dynamics of fundraising in the current venture capital landscape (09:49) The recalibrated expectations among LPs with a strategic emphasis on seed and Series A investments as a method to hedge against portfolio volatility (17:01) Forecast for a tough adjustment period for Unicorns and the venture capital ecosystem, with some hope on the horizon (19:00) Challenges posed by multiple compression rounds and the reality for companies looking for exits (21:11) The long journey for VC-backed companies in navigating valuation adjustments and exit strategies, with an increased reliance on the secondary market for liquidity (23:12) The extended impact of the substantial funding raised in 2021, adding complexity to the venture capital environment I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Meghan. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We have a conversation with Samir Kaul from Khosla Ventures. Founded in 2004, Khosla is one of the largest and most well-known venture capital firms in the world and led by legendary investor and entrepreneur Vinod Khosla. The firm is known for investing in companies that are solving very large and complex problems. The firm currently has over $15B in AUM investing in companies such as Square, Doordash, Stripe, OpenAI, and Impossible Foods. During the episode, we covered investing across cycles, the market insanity we saw pre-2022, and how they approach both building a firm and investing. Note: We recorded this prior to the news that Keith Rabois was rejoining the firm, hence no mention of it during the discussion. About Samir Kaul:Samir Kaul is a Founding Partner and Managing Director at Khosla Ventures, and he specializes in investments across health, sustainability, food, and advanced technology sectors. His notable investments leading to successful exits through IPOs or acquisitions include companies like Vicarious Surgical, View, Guardant Health, Nutanix, Oscar, Quantumscape, Granular, SLD, NanoH2O, Iora Health, and Raxium. Additionally, he has played a pivotal role in investments in transformative startups such as Impossible Foods, Mojo Vision, Primer, and many others, demonstrating a keen eye for identifying and nurturing groundbreaking technologies and business models. Before joining Khosla Ventures, Samir's career was marked by significant achievements in biotechnology and venture capital at Flagship Ventures and the Institute for Genomic Research, where he contributed to pioneering efforts in genomics and biotech startups like Helicos BioSciences and Codon Devices. His work in sequencing the Arabidopsis genome set new standards for efficiency and impact in the field of genomics. Beyond his professional endeavors, Samir is deeply committed to philanthropy, serving on the boards of the Tipping Point Community, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, and the US Ski and Snowboard Association, showcasing his dedication to societal betterment and healthcare. In this episode, we discuss: (01:45) Samir’s career path to venture (05:15) Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs (06:04) Building Long-term Companies (08:49) Venture Capital's Role Beyond Funding (12:13) Evolution of Venture Capital (16:15) AI and Tech Super Cycles (22:24) Learning from Past Mistakes (28:03) Investing in High Conviction Trends (32:33) Firm Culture and Decision Making (37:17) Hiring and Building a VC Team (39:12) Advice to Younger Self I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Samir. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. This is our second episode of Venture Unlocked Shorts where we highlight a specific point of view of our guest. These points of view may come through a tweet, an article, or an offline conversation, and our goal is to unpack these interesting views in a short conversation. In this week’s Venture Unlocked Shorts, we’re joined by Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures. Aileen wrote a now famous article in 2013 where she coined the term Unicorn to describe technology companies that reach a billion-dollar valuation within 10 years of founding. Recently she and her team published a successor article looking at the last 10 years of these Unicorns, and what they believe will happen in the future. It was fun to unpack the articles through this discussion, and I think you’ll enjoy hearing her findings and thoughts on what we may see in the future. About Aileen Lee:Aileen is the Founder and Managing Partner of Cowboy Ventures, a firm that invests in early-stage enterprise and consumer startups. With over two decades of experience in venture capital, she has a history of involvement from seed stage to beyond, including her time at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Before her venture capital career, Aileen held roles at Gap Inc. and started at Morgan Stanley. She holds degrees from MIT and HBS. Additionally, she co-founded All Raise and sits on the board of Castilleja School. Aileen is known for introducing the term “unicorn” in the context of business. She has been recognized in Time 100's most influential people and has appeared on the Forbes Midas List. In this episode, we discuss: (02:30) Marking a decade of the term Unicorn and how many Unicorns have been created in the last ten years (05:46) The impact of macroeconomic factors like zero interest rate policies on the venture capital industry (06:37) Aileen describes the situation as a 'perfect storm' of factors leading to a surge of capital in the industry (08:18) The future of unicorns in the venture capital landscape (15:46) What happened in 2021? (17:13) The importance of founders understanding the business model of the funds they are engaging with (19:00): Aileen predicts a mix of outcomes for startups and whats ahead I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Aileen. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. As we continue to grow Venture Unlocked, we are now going to release short conversations highlighting a specific point of view of our guest. These points of views may come through a tweet, an article, or conversation, and our goal is to unpack these interesting views in short form. Our first guest in this format is Ed Suh Founder and Managing Partner of Alpine VC. Ed recently penned a tweet that I thought was interesting around the evolution of venture and the parallels to the industry to other asset classes such as private equity and hedge. I wanted to go deeper into his tweet, which we did during our short conversation. Hope you enjoy! About Ed Suh:Ed Suh is the Founder and Managing Partner of Alpine Ventures, a San Francisco based technology venture capital firm. Ed previously led seed, early stage, and growth stage investments in Silicon Valley for nearly a decade across two prominent multi-stage venture firms: Goodwater Capital, a spin-out of Kleiner Perkins and Maverick Capital with over $5B of AUM, and Redpoint Ventures, a leading Silicon Valley venture firm with a 20+ year track record of leading consumer and enterprise software investments. Ed has backed multiple unicorn startups including Monzo, Everlywell, Jasper, Greenlight, and Stash. Previously, Ed was Head of Business Operations at Stitcher, the leading independent podcasting app, acquired by SiriusXM for $325 million and backed by Benchmark, NEA, and New Atlantic Ventures, as well as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch focused on technology M&A. Ed was also a member of the original growth team at Facebook, and a software engineer at Plaxo and Citadel Investment Group.Ed earned MS and BS degrees in Computer Science from Stanford University, with a specialization in Artificial Intelligence. In this episode, we discuss: (01:26) Discussion on venture capital becoming mainstream and its comparison to other asset categories. (03:01) Evolution of venture capital, industry scaling, and differentiation challenges. (04:42) Venture capital's evolution in comparison to private equity and future implications. (06:44) Fragmentation in venture capital and its impact on alpha and risk profiles. (09:37) Dynamics between large venture capital funds and emerging managers. (11:51) Further insights into venture capital evolution, manager selection, and fund roles. (13:57) Venture capital's current stage in its evolutionary cycle and future themes. I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Ed. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. As we continue to grow Venture Unlocked, we are now going to release short conversations highlighting a specific point of view of our guest. These points of views may come through a tweet, an article, or conversation, and our goal is to unpack these interesting views in short form. Our first guest in this format is Ed Suh Founder and Managing Partner of Alpine VC. Ed recently penned a tweet that I thought was interesting around the evolution of venture and the parallels to the industry to other asset classes such as private equity and hedge. I wanted to go deeper into his tweet, which we did during our short conversation. Hope you enjoy! About Ed Suh:Ed Suh is the Founder and Managing Partner of Alpine Ventures, a San Francisco based technology venture capital firm. Ed previously led seed, early stage, and growth stage investments in Silicon Valley for nearly a decade across two prominent multi-stage venture firms: Goodwater Capital, a spin-out of Kleiner Perkins and Maverick Capital with over $5B of AUM, and Redpoint Ventures, a leading Silicon Valley venture firm with a 20+ year track record of leading consumer and enterprise software investments. Ed has backed multiple unicorn startups including Monzo, Everlywell, Jasper, Greenlight, and Stash. Previously, Ed was Head of Business Operations at Stitcher, the leading independent podcasting app, acquired by SiriusXM for $325 million and backed by Benchmark, NEA, and New Atlantic Ventures, as well as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch focused on technology M&A. Ed was also a member of the original growth team at Facebook, and a software engineer at Plaxo and Citadel Investment Group.Ed earned MS and BS degrees in Computer Science from Stanford University, with a specialization in Artificial Intelligence. In this episode, we discuss: (01:26) Discussion on venture capital becoming mainstream and its comparison to other asset categories. (03:01) Evolution of venture capital, industry scaling, and differentiation challenges. (04:42) Venture capital's evolution in comparison to private equity and future implications. (06:44) Fragmentation in venture capital and its impact on alpha and risk profiles. (09:37) Dynamics between large venture capital funds and emerging managers. (11:51) Further insights into venture capital evolution, manager selection, and fund roles. (13:57) Venture capital's current stage in its evolutionary cycle and future themes. I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Ed. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We are excited to bring on Brendan Wales and Kellan Carter, Co-Founders and GPs of FUSE. Founded in 2020 with a thesis centered around the growth of the Pacific Northwest ecosystem, a geography both of our guests know well. With its just-announced close of a $250MM Fund 2, FUSE has a total AUM of just over $420MM. During our conversation, we covered the strategic nature of LP composition and how venture funds should think about their servicing model to founders. It was a great conversation and I hope you enjoy it. About Brendan Wales:Brendan Wales is a Founding Partner at FUSE. Prior to FUSE, Brendan served as a Partner at e.ventures (now Headline) for nine years, where he collaborated with founders of high-impact startups like Shipt (acquired by Target), Fetch Rewards, and Shopmonkey. His earlier career also includes being an early employee at zozi, showcasing his hands-on experience in startup growth. Brendan studied finance at the University of Georgia. About Kellan Carter:Kellan Carter is a Founding Partner at FUSE. Previously, as a Partner at IGNITION PARTNERS, he focused on enterprise software investments, contributing significantly to the firm's strategy and growth. His earlier career includes roles in technology sector mergers and acquisitions at Mooreland Partners and structured finance at KPMG Advisory. Kellan holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Finance focus from The University of Montana. In this episode, we discuss: (01:22) Start of Fuse and Pacific Northwest Ecosystem (03:00) Raising Fund During COVID and LP Composition (06:34) Activating LPs for Strategic Advantage (09:40) Learning from Raising Funds in Challenging Times (17:00) Building a Cohesive Team and Operating Partners (24:33) Defining the Product Offered to Founders (26:10) Importance of Sourcing and Winning in Venture Capital (31:42) Seattle's Unique Position in Technology and Startups (38:25) Personal Advice for Venture Capital Careers I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Brendan and Kellan. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. On this special meet the expert episode, we are discussing the venture debt market with Matt Trotter, a Managing director within Stifel Bank’s Venture division. Stifel Bank was established in St. Louis, MO in 1890 and is an independent investment bank with the mission to help individuals pursue financial goals, businesses and organizations raise and protect capital, and communities offer a higher quality of life. Given the dislocation of the regional banking market in early 2023, we discussed how venture investors and companies should think about the supply of venture debt, the proper uses, and what we should expect moving forward. About Matt Trotter:Matt Trotter is a Managing Director and Member of the leadership team at Stifel Bank. He focuses on providing commercial banking and flexible lending solutions to high-growth technology companies in the U.S. Prior to joining Stifel, Matt was a Senior Market Manager and Head of Frontier Technologies and Climate Technology and Sustainability at SVB. In this position, he focused on building products to support the evolving business models and capital-expenditure needs for companies creating disruptive technologies in the transportation, industrials, aerospace, energy, agriculture, food, and hardware infrastructure sectors. In this episode, we discuss: (01:15) Matt shares his background and discusses changes in venture banking and lending markets(01:57) Explanation of venture debt and its history within venture capital(03:11) Discussion on today's applications of venture debt, like runway extension and equipment purchases(03:59) Strategic uses of venture debt for various business needs(04:14) Overview of venture debt terms including non-formula loans, typical costs, and eligibility(05:10) Shift from equipment leasing to a more general-purpose financing model in venture debt(05:32) Challenges in underwriting venture debt for early-stage companies without revenue or product(06:26) Insights into the venture debt underwriting process and considerations(07:18) Role of warrants in balancing the risks and rewards of venture debt(08:15) Discussion on balancing loss rates and successful investments in venture debt(09:19) Ideal circumstances for a company to consider venture debt(10:24) Potential risks and considerations when opting for venture debt(11:43) Impact of market dynamics on companies with significant debt(12:05) How market shifts affect the demand and supply of venture debt(13:00) Importance of collaboration between equity investors and lenders during financial challenges(14:35) High demand for venture debt amid market uncertainties and banking disruptions(15:14) Underwriting challenges with companies having high valuation overhangs(16:53) Adjustments in underwriting approaches by banks and venture debt funds in current market(17:59) Use of debt tranching tied to company performance milestones(19:01) Differences between bank-provided venture debt and venture debt funds(20:21) Strategies, incentives, and focus of venture banks versus venture debt funds(22:57) Factors for companies to consider when choosing between bank loans and venture debt fund loans(24:22) Managing the balance between raising capital and working with banks in financial tight spots(26:07) Emphasis on trust and open communication between lenders and borrowers(27:27) When venture debt from banks or funds might be more suitable for a company(29:24) Assessing various debt products and understanding their true costs and conditions(30:14) Matching the debt product to a company's specific needs and circumstances(32:20) Need for reliable debt facilities for cashflow negative businesses(33:14) Reflections on the impact of changes at Silicon Valley Bank on the venture debt landscape(34:58) Outlook on the venture debt market's evolution post-SVB(36:58) Importance of lenders' long-term commitment in...

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. This week we are thrilled to be joined by Pejman Nozad, Co-Founder and GP of Pear VC. Founded in 2013, Pear has scaled to over $800MM in AUM with a powerful engine to help early-stage companies. As many regular listeners of the show know, we often like to highlight managers who have different backgrounds and stories leading to their careers in VC. I think of all of our guests, Pejman epitomizes how someone can overcome many obstacles to be successful in the industry as he not only immigrated from Iran with little to his name, but the catalyst that got him into VC was working at a rug store. We explore Pejman's incredible journey, Pear VC's emphasis on early-stage investments, and the need for innovation in venture capital. This is an inspiring story for anyone considering venture capital as a career path, and stresses the importance of resilience and overcoming challenges, as well as, the value of continuous learning. About Pejman Nozad:Pejman Nozad is the Co-Founder of Pear VC and he has made a substantial impact in the tech sector with strategic investments in companies like DoorDash, Dropbox, and many others. His success is recognized through his consistent inclusion in the Forbes Midas List since 2021 and leading the Forbes Midas Seed List in 2023. Pejman’s path into venture capital was unconventional, starting from humble beginnings as an Iranian immigrant working in a Palo Alto rug store. He was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2014. In this episode, we discuss: (2:55) Pejman shares his start in the US (15:06) The importance of believing in entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds (20:37) Why the best seed funds consistently deliver high returns (22:17) How PearVC has evolved and why it has been so long-lasting (30:10) No job is beneath anyone at PearVC with its team-based approach (33:46) Qualities of successful people that go beyond the obvious (37:18) His transition from angel investor to venture capitalist and the challenges of portfolio construction (41:09) PearVC's focus on finding talent and reaching product-market fit regardless of the fund's size or stage-focus (44:59) His advice to new investors at PearVC I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Pejman. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We're excited to welcome Paul Kwan, Managing Director at General Catalyst (GC). Established in 2000, the firm currently has just under $25 billion in assets under management. GC has made a significant mark in the venture capital landscape, funding dynamic technology and life science startups including Stripe, Coinbase, Livongo, Samsara, and Gusto. Paul is at the helm of GC's Global Resilience team, concentrating on upgrading key societal infrastructures in the defense, intelligence, and industrial sectors. Before his tenure at GC, Paul had an impressive 22-year career at Morgan Stanley, where his roles included leading the global internet and software business and the West Coast team. Our conversation delves into the importance of mission-driven approaches and robust corporate cultures in building enduring enterprises, GC's internal strategies in these areas, and Paul's insights on the potential exit scenarios for private companies in the coming year. We hope you find this episode insightful. Let's dive in! About Paul Kwan:Paul Kwan is Managing Director at General Catalyst (GC), where he leads the Global Resilience team, focusing on enhancing critical societal systems in areas like defense, intelligence, and energy. His investments include companies such as Anduril and Samsara. Paul started on Wall Street during the early days of the internet, later moving to Morgan Stanley’s Menlo Park office. He spent 22 years there, gaining expertise in various roles including leading the bank’s global internet and software business and the West Coast team. He studied computer science at Stanford University. In this episode, we discuss: (02:05) Paul's tech journey(03:23) The value of working across multiple sectors and global experiences(05:19) Sustained value creation in tech and the evolving inputs to value creation, including technology, business models, and people(08:30) The importance of company culture in investment decisions and how it ties to performance(10:09) Establishing culture early in a company's journey(12:51) GC's mission of investing in powerful, positive change, and the concept of responsible innovation(14:54) How the changing geopolitical landscape affects investment strategies and the necessity for more resilient systems(18:18) The rise of private-to-private M&A and its potential impacts(22:21) Challenges of merging company cultures(26:50) Investment strategies and the IPO market(31:00) The trend of VCs holding public securities post-IPO and how it aligns with long-term value creation(34:41) Evolution of Venture Capital(36:53) The importance of building and maintaining long-term relationships in the tech industry I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Paul. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We're thrilled to have Alex Pall, general partner at Mantis VC, a seed and an early stage fund based in LA. Alex is a great example of someone who has made a significant crossover from another industry—he is one half of the award-winning duo of the Chainsmokers, a group that has found mainstream success by breaking boundaries between pop, indie, electronic, alternative, and rock. We discuss how Alex and the team thought through joining the ranks of venture capital, their early learnings, and the importance of self-awareness in terms of ` About Alex Pall:Alex Pall is one half (Drew Taggart is the other half)of the GRAMMY® Award-winning, RIAA Diamond-certified duo The Chainsmokers. In 2020, alongside Drew Taggart, Jeffrey Evans, and Milan Koch, founded Mantis Venture Capital. Other businesses under their purview include a stake in the popular JAJA Tequila and The Chainsmokers’ very own film, television, and podcast production company, Kick The Habit Productions—which boasts a full slate of projects in development. In this episode, we discuss: (01:51) Chainsmokers' Early Days and Entrepreneurial Goals​​ (02:48) Transition from Music Artists to Financially Savvy Investors​​ (03:37) Emphasis on Passion-Driven Investments​​ (04:50) Building a Network and Seeking Investment Opportunities​​ (06:43) Critical Decision-Making in Business Ventures​​ (07:00) Inspiration from Jimmy Buffett's Business Model​​ (08:14) Importance of Work Ethic and Assisting Founders​​ (12:31) Addressing skepticism about a celebrity fund (13:50) Mentor's Advice on Investing with Experienced Partners​​ (16:51) Setting Realistic Goals in Initial Fundraising​​ (17:19) Fundraising Challenges During COVID-19's Onset​​ (19:01) Learning from the first fund (20:11) Insights on Unpredictability in Venture Capital Investing​​ (22:15) Developing a Disciplined Investment Approach​​ (26:01) Adding Value to Portfolio Companies​​ (27:46) Storytelling as a Business Differentiator​​ (31:01) Trust as a Cornerstone in Investment Community​​ (31:32) Learning from past Investment Decision​​s (32:45) Investing in Great Teams and People​​ (33:51) Holistic View in Investment Decisions​​ (36:04) Providing Honest Feedback to Founders​​ (37:52) Navigating a Challenging Investment Landscape​​ (39:25) Avoiding Overreliance on Large Capital Raises​​ (40:09) Differentiating Business Strategies​​ (41:32) Parallels Between Music and Venture Capital​​ (44:13) Success Beyond Prestigious Educational Backgrounds​​ (45:30) Passion and Commitment in Projects​ I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Alex. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We're thrilled to bring on Brad Gerstner, Founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital. Altimeter was first founded in 2008 during the GFC with an initial fund of only $3 Million which Brad raised from friends and family. Today the firm employs both private and public strategies. Altimeter takes an incredibly focused and high-conviction approach to investing and has backed companies such as Snowflake, Unity, Gusto, and Modern Treasury. And now manages a variety of venture and public funds, taking a hybrid and pragmatic approach to funding, using a variety of vehicles depending on stage and need to give companies and managers access to capital. About Brad Gerstner:Brad Gerstner is the Founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital. Before Altimeter, Brad worked as a multiple-time entrepreneur, was a founding principal of General Catalyst, and worked at PAR Capital. He is also an active thought leader on all aspects of the innovation economy, including numerous media appearances and a recurring role on the popular All-In Podcast. And Brad is working to improve the future of the country through efforts such as Invest America. He earned a bachelor’s from Wabash College, a JD from Indiana University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. In this episode, we discuss: * (2:17) Brad discusses his early life in Indiana and the influence of his father's entrepreneurial journey​​. * (3:23) Brad talks about his path to law school and subsequent shift towards technology and entrepreneurship​​. * (4:10) His impulsive trip to Silicon Valley and his first experiences there​​. * (7:18) Brad discusses his insights into public and private markets and the realization of the need to participate in the venture market​​. * (11:24) He explains the motivation and founding principles behind Altimeter, focusing on competitive advantage​​. * (12:28) Brad highlights Altimeter's unique approach, combining venture capital experience with public market sensibility​​. * (14:02) He speaks about the importance of founders choosing partners that provide intellectual resources along with capital​​. * (18:41) Brad reflects on Altimeter's investment strategy and acknowledges that they haven't always done everything perfectly​​. * (20:44) He discusses the cyclical nature of the venture business and the importance of the price of entry in investments​​. * (23:24) Brad talks about technology super cycles and how they improve lives and outcomes​​. * (28:19) He elaborates on the role of cloud computing and AI in reshaping industries and improving consumer experiences​​. * (30:09) Discussing the evolution of search engines, Brad talks about the transition from Google as a card catalog to an answer bot​​. * (32:32) He shares insights on the power of AI in business and its impact on efficiency and profitability​​. * (39:45) Brad explains Altimeter's disciplined approach to valuation and their investment decision-making process​​. * (44:51) He emphasizes the fiduciary duties of board members to all shareholders and the importance of research-based decision-making​​. * (47:11) Brad reflects on his work with Richard Lugar and his influence on Brad's view of the world​​. * (50:59) He discusses the Invest America initiative and its goal to invest in the future of American children and democracy​​. * (54:03) Brad talks about the need for job retraining and economic participation in the face of labor displacement caused by AI​​. I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Brad. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other...

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We are excited to bring you our latest episode with Mamoon Hamid, Partner at Kleiner Perkins. As many know, Kleiner Perkins, founded over 50 years ago is one of the most storied franchises in the history of venture capital, having backed companies companies such as Genentech, Sun Microsystems, Amazon, Google, and Uber. After stints at USVP and Social Capital (which he co-founded), Mamoon joined Kleiner in 2017 as part of a generational succession process. As part of this, Mamoon has focused heavily on returning Kleiner to the roots of it’s history as a premier boutique venture capital fund focused on early-stage investing. Since then, they’ve backed companies such as Rippling and Figma. Mamoon and I spoke about how he and the team have executed the mission of bringing Kleiner to what they have coined as going back to the future. We covered a number of topics but dug deep into the importance of culture and focus. About Mamoon Hamid:Mamoon Hamid is a Partner at Kleiner Perkins. He has been an early investor in and served on the boards of some of the most innovative software companies of recent times including Slack, Figma, Box and Rippling. Prior to joining Kleiner Perkins, Mamoon was a co-founder of Social Capital. He started his venture career in 2005 at U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) where he eventually became Partner. Mamoon came to Silicon Valley in 1997 to join Xilinx, a Kleiner Perkins company, where he spent six years, initially as an engineer and later in product and marketing roles. He has a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University, an M.S. from Stanford University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. In this episode, we discuss: (02:14) Mamoon’s journey to Kleiner Perkins(04:18) Jumping over from being an engineer to investor(09:26) What was interesting about joining Kleiner in 2017(14:18) What going back to the future meant to Mamoon(17:06) Balancing between the past and building for the future(21:26) Mapping core values to bringing on new team members to help execute(25:59) Traits he looks for when hiring(28:36) How he has picked so many breakout companies(31:35) OKRs that Kleiner Perkins tracks(37:15) What it means to be an entreprenuer’s first call(40:08) What does venture look like over the next ten years(44:07) Biggest learning in Mamoon’s career I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Mamoon. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We're thrilled to bring back three experienced institutional venture LPs with Chris Douvos of Ahoy Capital, Beezer Clarkson of Sapphire Partners, and Guy Perelmuter of GRIDS Capital. When we last convened, it was almost exactly two years ago in October of 2021. We had an inkling of the changes to the market on the horizon, but what a two years it has been. Given the dramatic shift in the market, we had a lot to cover, and we spoke about the impact of the downturn on emerging managers, what managers can do to navigate this market, and the role of secondaries. A word from our sponsor: Is AI coming for your administrator? With ever-increasing investors, dollars, and data to manage, the fund administration industry has evolved significantly in the last 20 years. Now, forces like AI, automation, and cybersecurity are coming together to drive even more change. Juniper Square’s latest guide looks at the five biggest trends shaping the future of fund administration. Download it now to learn more. About Beezer Clarkson:Beezer Clarkson is Managing Director of Sapphire Partners, the LP arm of Sapphire Ventures. She began her career in financial services over 20 years ago at Morgan Stanley in its global infrastructure group. Since, she has held various direct and indirect venture investment roles, as well as operational roles in software business development at Hewlett Packard. Prior to joining Sapphire in 2012, Beezer managed the day-to-day operations of the Draper Fisher Jurvetson Global Network. Additionally, she is a judge for 100&Change, a MacArthur Foundation competition that provides funding to solve critical challenges of our time. In 2014, she was named to the Forty Over 40 list of women to watch. About Chris Douvos:Chris Douvos is the Founder of Ahoy Capital, a boutique Fund of Funds that focuses primarily on allocating into early-stage venture capital funds, while selectively co-investing directly into companies. Chris started his career at Morgan Stanley while still at Yale earning his MBA. From there he worked at Princeton University’s endowment fund where he got his start in venture before moving on to The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF). At TIFF he decided that the right strategy was to make “heroic investments” and invest in very early-stage, and often unproven managers. About Guy Perelmuter:Guy Perelmuter is the Co-Founder and CEO of GRIDS Capital. Guy began his career in Banking as Chief Risk Officer at Banco Pactual (acquired by UBS), one of the largest banks in Latin America. He went to Vinci Partners, an investing platform for alternative investments in 2009 as Chief Risk Officer. He and his partner, Isabelle, Co-Founded GRIDS Capital in 2016. He received a BS in Computer Engineering and an MS in AI from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro. In this episode, we discuss: (02:51) Venture is _______(06:46) Outlook for emerging managers(09:42) Why it’s so difficult to raise a fund two right now(13:01) Is new money and funders in venture a net positive(16:16) Why emerging managers are still important for LPs(21:46) What they look for in a fund one investment(22:48) The decision to stop investing in grownups and look to emerging managers(25:24) How GPs get mentored and how information flows to them(27:23) Peer pressure amongst GPs to grow their fund size(31:53) How managers are recalibrating their funds to the current market(35:12) The role of secondaries(39:49) Why Venture is an unsophisticated asset class(44:29) How do you get institutional investors I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Guy, Chris, and Beezer. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on...

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. On this week’s show, we’re excited to have Ben Lerer and Graham Brown, Managing Partners at Lerer Hippeau. The firm was founded in New York in 2010 to back early-stage entrepreneurs. Today the firm manages $1.2B and has invested in over 400 companies including Oscar, Buzzfeed, Mirror, Warby Parker, and Casper. Ben’s background prior to investing was as Founder and CEO Thrillist, while Graham came over in 2015 from Softbank. During our chat, we covered everything from building and productizing a community to the evolution of the firm in maintaining its competitive advantage in the region. Hope you enjoy our conversation. A word from our sponsor: Feature-packed operating account & partnership ecosystem Nationally chartered and headquartered in New York City, Grasshopper Bank is a client-first digital bank built to serve the business and innovation economy, combining the best of banking technology and years of industry expertise to deliver best-in-class experiences with trusted security and unparalleled support. Serving clients globally, the client-first digital bank recently announced the launch of Accelerator Checking, a feature-packed operating account with powerful digital tools designed to serve a wide range of venture-backed startups. With its latest offering, startup clients also receive exclusive access to its newly established partner marketplace, as well as a curated community of investors for fundraising support. For more information about Accelerator Checking or how to leverage Grasshopper’s platform for your firm, visit the bank's website at www.grasshopper.bank or follow on LinkedIn and Twitter. About Ben Lerer:Ben Lerer is a Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau. He is the Co-Founder and former CEO of Thrillist, which was acquired by Vox Media in 2022. He chairs the Board of Directors for Urban Upbound and is an Associate Member of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS). Lerer holds a BS from the University of Pennsylvania. About Graham Brown:Graham is a Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau. He joined Lerer Hippeau from SoftBank Capital, where he focused primarily on early stage investments in mobile and Internet, with a particular interest in marketplaces. Prior to SoftBank Capital, Graham was an Associate at Polaris Partners and then helped lead digital strategy at Life Line Screening, a direct-to-consumer preventive health company backed by Polaris Partners. Graham is a graduate of Colby College and Columbia Business School. In this episode, we discuss: (02:48) Why start a company? (05:33) The gap they saw when founding the firm in 2010(09:59) What drew Graham to the firm in 2015(13:34) Why their investing thesis of early-stage NYC companies worked so well in retrospect(19:32) How the the firm invests in its community(26:32) The number of investments typically per fund at Lerer Hippeau(29:11) Maintaining operational discipline(34:24) Deciding when to make an exception on a deal(38:08) Why they launched a select fund to invest at Series A, B, and C(42:41) Learnings from investing in companies later stages after they passed the first time(48:36) The importance of empathy and being humane when passing on a company I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Ben and Graham. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com