How to Write LP Updates

In this edition of Signature Block, Weekend Fund's Ryan Hoover and Vedika Jain tap five established LPs to share their insights on what makes a good LP update great, what to include, how to get bonus ...

How Emerging Managers Can Stand Out In 2022

62% of LPs say the risk/return profile for emerging managers is attractive relative to established firms. Still, it remains an uphill battle for emerging managers to raise funds. Here's how to stand o...

How Asset Owners Are Solving the Emerging Manager Problem

Asset owners cite investing in emerging and diverse managers as “one of our biggest priorities.” But... "allocators feel overwhelmed with where to start." More on how asset owners are solving the ...

An LP Team Assessment Framework For Emerging Managers

Wondering how LPs assess emerging managers? Blue Future Partners has pulled together a helpful framework to shed light on just this topic....

How To Re-Pitch an LP that Passed Previously

Sometimes GPs need a couple at-bats with LPs before funding is in the offing. Here's a fantastic thread from Beezer Clarkson on what GPs should keep in mind when re-pitching LPs that have previously p...

A Strategic Allocation to Newer GPs

A clarion call for institutional investors to embrace emerging managers, from John Austin Saviano, the former CIO of the Berkeley endowment: "Fiduciary duty actually compels us to embrace innovation."...

How to Get Started as an LP

Interested in being an LP? Maybe you dabbled in angel investing, and it’s not for you. But you still want exposure. Investing in a VC fund is a great idea! Where do you start? Yohei Nakajima provide...

The VentureFizz Podcast: Sara Zulkosky of Recast Capital

How do we create a wider path for emerging managers to break into VC? Sara Zulkosky of Recast Capital chats with Keith Cline on the VentureFizz podcast on this question and much, much more....

The Opportunity For Family Offices To Outperform Over The Next Decade

"If you’re a fund manager without a strong private wealth pipeline, you’re going to be in trouble. If you’re an institution without a true emerging manager program, you’re also going to be in ...

What LPs Wish GPs Knew

Curious about where LPs' heads are at on the current state of the venture market? Beezer Clarkson of Sapphire Partners shares the LP perspective on the Innovation podcast with Mark Peter Davis....

LP Wisdom from the Bridge Conference

What do LPs look for in emerging managers? Beezer Clarkson of Sapphire Partners shared a roundup of LP panelist insights from the recent Bridge Conference....

Why might an LP turn a GP down?

Here are the top reasons according to one LP. In a fantastic Tweet thread, Sam Ettelaie of the British Business Bank parses through what makes an LP push the pause button on a potential investment wit...

The LP Perspective: Building an Institutional LP Base

This Carta-hosted panel discussion with Greenspring Associates, Illinois State Treasurer, and Barings shares perspectives from LPs on how they source, evaluate, and work with emerging fund managers an...

The First Close Podcast: Nate Leung, Sapphire Partners

In this episode of The First Close podcast, we interview Nate Leung, Principal with Sapphire Partners, to shed light on the limited partners’ perspective on new venture funds....

Framework: Not All LPs Invest In Emerging VCs For The Same Reasons

Here’s a test: Ask a handful of LPs why specifically they invest in emerging VCs. Try to get past “great returns” to understand what’s truly motivating them....

A mental model for evaluating VC funds

At the highest level, there are six dimensions of evaluation that I use as part of my framework for investing in venture managers:...

Analysis: The LPs That Invest In Emerging Micro-VCs

Even though it has been less than a month since we asked about who invests in emerging micro-VCs, we feel we have enough data to start making some observations. A note on methodology:...

Notes from an interview: What do Big Society Capital look for in emerging managers?

Last week we held our 4th FutureWorldVC event - this time virtual. Diverse VC’s from around the world joined me as together we grilled Dougie Sloan, Investment Director at Big Society Capital, a lea...

GP and LP Alignment, Challenges for Emerging Fund Managers, and How the Explosion in Seed Fund Volume Plays Out

Jaclyn Hester of Foundry Group joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss GP and LP Alignment, Challenges for Emerging Fund Managers, and How the Explosion in Seed Fund Volume Play...

Insights for Emerging Fund Managers

Raising your first venture capital fund is challenging. It can take an average of 17 months to close and over 100 meetings. Recognizing this, Level Ventures, in partnership with Signature Bank, Runway...

Greg Bohlen on what does an LP look for in a venture capital fund manager

Greg Bohlen is a managing partner at Union Grove Venture Partner who has invested in top VC funds like Lightspeed, Founder Collective, Mayfield Fund, Battery Ventures and top startups like Poshmark, B...

A Better LP Model for Micro-VC and Emerging Managers

Raising capital from limited partners is hard. It’s harder if you are pitching a micro-VC strategy. But it becomes the hardest to raise during a global crisis like we are in today. But outside of th...

Limited partner due diligence on VC and private equity funds

As a VC, I have a standard due diligence list for companies I’m reviewing.  Similarly, our limited partner investors have their own due diligence standards, and we manage our firm to keep in lin...

ANNE MARTIN – PULLING THE OARS AS CIO OF WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY (EP.114)

Anne Martin is the Chief Investment Officer for Wesleyan University, where she manages the school’s $1 billion endowment.  Anne’s career started in the tech world and shifted to endowment managem...

A data driven view on what Emerging Manager LPs are thinking today

Last week during the 4th annual emerging manager RAISE conference, my colleague Hana Yang gave a great presentation covering the results of a LP survey that was conducted to assess LP temperament h...

What Makes a Good Annual Meeting? An LP’s Point of View

Annual meetings are simple in concept but can be difficult to execute well. At Sapphire Partners, we are constantly asked what makes a good annual meeting, which makes sense given the typical GP atten...

6 Common Pitfalls VCs Make With LPs: Part 3 of VC/LP Relations

In this last part of Intimacy and transparency: VC/LP relations with Chris Douvos, we dive deep into common pitfalls that VCs and their firms oftentimes fall into when engaging with LPs during the fun...

#OpenLP Video: How Does Data Influence LP and GP Decisions?

Last month I had the opportunity to speak at SuperReturn365 on a panel focused on how LPs and GPs use data in our respective business. Some of the questions Tom Henriksson, Suranga Chandratillake, Mi...

3 Things that Make a Great Limited Partner For A Venture Fund

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Due Diligence the VCs: Part One, The Limited Partner Perspective

With the recent rise in the number of emerging mangers raising new funds, as well as the trend towards the institutionalization of pre-seed, I’ve been thinking more about frameworks through which to...

LP survey results: What LP’s are saying about emerging venture manager funds

This post serves a part one of a two part series that Beezer Clarkson at Sapphire Ventures and I are co-authoring to help VC’s (specifically emerging managers) navigate through fundraising cycles an...

Practical Advice: VC Annual Meetings

Depending on the annual meeting, I both love them and dread them. First, let me just say that every venture capital firm should have an annual meeting. No matter what the size of the fund(s) or size...

Practical Advice: VC Annual Meetings

Depending on the annual meeting, I both love them and dread them. First, let me just say that every venture capital firm should have an annual meeting. No matter what the size of the fund(s) or size...

What Investors Want From Venture Capital Firms

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(Some) LPs Speak Up

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