The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20VC: Why Entrepreneurs Care Less About Firm Brand at Seed, How LPs Should Think About GP Commit & How The World of LPs and Fundraising Will Change Post COVID with Apurva Mehta, Managing Partner @ Summit Peak Investments

Aug 17, 2020

Apurva Mehta, Managing Partner at Summit Peak Investments, shares his journey from limited partner to founding his own firm. He emphasizes the evolving dynamics in early-stage venture capital and the rise of solo capitalists. Discover why he believes references hold varying significance during diligence and how LP concentration can impact funds. Apurva also discusses navigating fundraising complexities post-COVID and the shift to virtual networking, underscoring the need for strong relationships in the investment landscape.

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ANECDOTE

Summit Peak Founding

Apurva Mehta and Patrick co-founded Summit Peak Investments in 2018 after 15 years as allocators.
Their venture program, built during their time at a children's hospital endowment, helped establish their network.

ANECDOTE

First Venture Allocation

Apurva and Patrick's first venture allocation was with Ray Tonsing in 2012.
Tonsing's hustle, network, and partially invested first fund convinced them to take a chance.

ADVICE

Reference Checking

Take GP-provided references with a grain of salt and verify them through other network means.
Prioritize founder references when assessing early-stage venture capital firms.

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Apurva Mehta is the Managing Partner @ Summit Peak Investments, investing in early stage venture capital funds and making direct co-investments. To date they have backed the likes of Raymond Tonsing, Lachy Groom and Josh Buckley to name a few on the fund side and then on the direct side, invested in Airtable, Virta Health and Sourcegraph. Prior to founding Summit Peak, Apurva spent 7 years as the Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Cook's Children's Hospital and before that spent 3 years as Director of Portfolio Investments at The Juilliard School.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How did Apurva make his way into the world of fund investing? How did that lead to his founding Summit Peak and also becoming a GP?

2.) How does Apurva think about how much importance to place on references when diligencing managers? What reference types mean a lot? Which mean less? Why does Apurva still believe early-stage is the most inefficient segment of the venture landscape?

3.) How does Apurva think about GP commits? Is it fair to have a required benchmark? How does Apurva advise founders on LP concentration limits? When is one LP too much of a fund? How does Apurva advise managers on selling a stake in the management company?

4.) As a fund of funds, how does Apurva approach fund portfolio construction today? How does this differ between the fund portfolio vs the direct portfolio? How does Apurva think about the compression of fundraising timelines both with GPs and Founders? Why does Apurva believe founders at the early-stage care less about firm brand today?

5.) How does Apurva feel about investing in managers he has not met in person? How does the GP/LP fundraising process need to change? How does COVID change the fundraising process for venture funds? How will LPs react to these changes?

Items Mentioned In Today’s Show:

Apurva’s Fave Book: Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio

Apurva's Most Recent Investment: Sourcegraph

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