Episode 379: Graham Brown - Managing Partner, Lerer Hippeau

Episode 379 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Graham Brown, Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau. It seems like just yesterday when I first interviewed Graham seven years ago back for Episode 32 (https://soundcloud.com/venturefizz/episode-32-graham-brown-partner-at-lerer-hippeau) when Lerer Hippeau was announcing its sixth fund. This puts Graham in elite company as one of the very few people who have made a repeat appearance on The VentureFizz Podcast – which I’m sure is an incredible honor for Graham to achieve… just kidding obviously. But in all seriousness… in that first interview, we discussed Graham’s background (he’s actually a fellow native of New Hampshire) and the early innings of his career, so in this interview, we were able to get much deeper into other topics around startups and fundraising. As you might know, Lerer Hippeau is one of the top early stage VC firms in the country and they recently announced another new fund, that one being LH Fund IX, a $200M fund which is exclusively focused on early stage companies. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * How to land a job in venture capital. * How our original interview discussed AI seven years ago and what Graham is excited about in terms of this platform shift. * The renewed interest in energy startups and the innovation in this sector. * What he’s looking for out of a first meeting with an entrepreneur & the process of getting funded. * PLG versus founder led sales and advice on avoiding entrepreneurial envy. * The latest on the NYC tech ecosystem. * And so much more Episode Sponsor: As a longtime champion of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank supports innovative companies with the solutions and financing they need through every stage of growth. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors, and $42B in loans as of Q2 2024 – SVB delivers the right people, service and resources to support your entire financial journey. Learn more at SVB.com.