From the Other Side: What Sapphire Partners Wishes More VC Managers Knew Featuring Nate Leung

Feb 21, 2024

Nate Leung from Sapphire Partners dives into VC partnerships, fund evaluation, and market trends. Discusses the impact of liquidity on secondaries, the importance of long-term relationships, and the outlook on the venture landscape. Insights on assessing managers and increasing specialization in allocators

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INSIGHT

Venture Capital: A Relationship Business

Venture capital is a relationship-driven business, emphasizing long-term partnerships.
Consistent investment through cycles creates more opportunities with partners.

ANECDOTE

Sapphire Partners: An Overview

Sapphire Partners, an $11B venture capital asset manager, invests in funds and companies.
Originating from SAP Ventures, they've consistently partnered with top VCs.

ADVICE

CalSTRS Partnership

Emerging managers should consider CalSTRS' mission and institutional quality.
Partnering with CalSTRS can accelerate growth for emerging managers.

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Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

Nate’s background and journey in VC (0:46)
Sapphire’s Approach (1:36)
Emerging Managers Program (4:30)
Criteria for Evaluating Managers (8:02)
Assessing Established Fund Managers (11:58)
Partnership Dynamics (14:48)
Market Trends and Observations (16:50)
Increasing Specialization in Allocators (17:54)
Impact of Liquidity on Secondaries (18:56)
Perception and Reality of Secondaries (22:18)
The Partnership Principle in Investments (24:34)
Trends in Fund Formation (28:39)
Building Long-Term Relationships (32:43)
Early Investments and Relationship Building (33:20)
Outlook on Venture Landscape (35:10)
Criteria for Engagement (37:33)

Sapphire Partners has been investing in early-stage venture capital funds since 2012 and seeks to identify and support the “New Elite'' managers across the US, Europe and Israel who are uniquely suited to invest in the next generation of technology category leaders. Through its underlying managers, Sapphire Partners has indirectly invested in over 3,200(6) companies since inception.

Sapphire Partners looks to partner with managers across their journey as a GP and is focused on adding value beyond its capital commitments through value-add services, industry insights, and its efforts to demystify the ‘LP Perspective’ through the OpenLP initiative. Sapphire Partners is part of Sapphire, a specialized technology investment firm with approximately $11 billion in assets under management across three distinct strategies and with team members across Austin, Menlo Park, San Francisco and London. To learn more, visit the Sapphire Partners website.

Canopy is a fintech company on a mission to democratize access to private investments. We believe early access to world-changing projects should not be limited to the ultra-wealthy. By automating the process of private investment with a technology-first approach, we are building a future where investing in alternative assets is simple and streamlined for both managers and individual investors alike. Learn more at www.heycanopy.com/.

Swimming with Allocators is a podcast that dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. Each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies. Follow along and subscribe at swimmingwithallocators.com.

The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this podcast are for general informational purposes only.