Building a Partner Team

This week on Turpentine VC, Mamoon Hamid and Ilya Fushman of Kleiner Perkins join Erik to discuss how they’ve seized the torch and helped drive the next chapter of the firm’s iconic history. If you’re looking to make fund administration easy and intuitive, check out: http://carta.com/turpentine

We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.

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SPONSORS:

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RELATED SHOWS: If you like Turpentine VC, check out our show The Limited Partner with David Weisburd, where David talks to the investors behind the investors: https://link.chtbl.com/thelimitedpartner

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X / TWITTER:

@mamoonha (Mamoon)

@ilyaf (Ilya)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@TurpentineVC

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:35) How do venture firms and partner transitions work?

(03:18) The craftsman approach to venture

(04:55) The majors and minors of KP partners

(06:04) How KP makes decisions

(09:20) The different approaches of venture firms

(13:50) What approach to firm-building KP believes in

(18:05) Sponsor: Carta

(18:37) How Mamoon and Ilya strategize on fund size

(23:30) When does someone become a partner at KP? 

(27:10) The NBA draft analogy for how KP identifies and finds talent

(30:55) Generalist versus specialist firms

(34:12) Sponsors: Synaptic | Pesto Tech

(35:38) What's KP's strategy when it comes to investing in new waves?

(39:07) How Kleiner evaluates talent differently than other firms

(43:18) What makes great partnerships?

(45:33) The biggest decisions Mamoon and Ilya have made at KP

(49:25) How does governance work at firms when they transition?

(53:00) On products and providing unique value to founders

(56:10) What's the key in making firm transitions successful?

(58:40) Who drinks more coffee?

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This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.