Joshua Berkowitz of Berkocorp, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss investing in venture capital as a family office and why all investors should care about IRR (and not TVPI). We’re proudly sponsored by Bidav Insurance Group, visit lux-str.com if you’re ready to level up your insurance plans.
(0:00) Episode Preview
(1:27) Joshua’s background
(3:25) How venture fits within a family office
(4:22) “Everyone’s an IRR investor”
(5:41) How to invest in venture and manage capital calls
(8:02) Why time diversification is important
(10:42) The importance of always being in market
(12:44) How to find and evaluate venture managers
(14:41) GP strategy fit
(15:52) Episode Sponsor: Bidav Insurance Group
(16:45) How to predict whether a manager can pick a powerlaw company
(17:34) Joshua’s powerlaw GPs
(18:48) Messy (or diversified) portfolio
(21:04) Aiming for 20% IRR
(22:22) Why Joshua likes diversified over concentrated
(24:01) GPs need to be “rough around the edges”
(26:25) The difference between early and late stage collaboration
(27:27) The different ways to win
(29:09) Can anyone beat Sequoia and Andreessen?
(29:45) Generational transfers
(31:05) Founder vs Operator CEOs
(32:44) How Joshua diligences emerging managers and what you need in a dataroom
(40:41) Portfolio construction
(41:25) How to communicate with LPs
(48:56) Joshua’s view on follow-on strategy
(52:05) The difficulty of succeeding across all stages
(54:30) Change in graduation rates
(56:17) Venture investing mistakes to avoid
(57:50) How to approach co-investments
(1:01:31) Dexa.ai
(1:01:54) Why Joshua is a great LP
