The Future of Venture Studios: Liquidity, Structure & Scaling, with Sarah Anderson, Founding Partner at Vault Fund

Venture studios are evolving fast, but what separates those that scale from those that stall?

In this episode of Beyond the Core, Ben Yoskovitz and Marcus Daniels sit down with Sarah Anderson, Founding Partner at Vault Fund, the first fund-of-funds dedicated exclusively to venture studios.

With over a decade of experience in early-stage investing and company building, Sarah breaks down what makes top-performing studios stand out and why liquidity, not just innovation, will define the future of this model.

They dive deep into fund structures, talent pipelines, follow-on capital strategies, and a major warning: studios that can’t return capital won’t survive.

—

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Why a fund-of-funds for venture studios

01:00 – How Vault Fund evolved from general venture to company builders

02:15 – Trends in 2025: Studios adapting faster than traditional VCs

03:52 – Defining the model: Why “company builders” > “venture studios”

05:32 – Category vs. asset class: Where studios fit in VC

06:55 – What makes a studio repeatable? Talent funnel + process

08:00 – Why 5+ builds matter to prove a studio’s efficiency

10:31 – Platform differentiation: Insights from industry-focused builders

12:48 – Generalist vs. specialist builders: What the data says

13:58 – Mud puddles vs unicorns: What most studios miss

14:23 – Sarah’s biggest concern: The liquidity crisis

16:52 – “We’re in the exiting business, not just building”

17:56 – Why secondary sales should be part of the studio playbook

19:03 – Many studios lack institutional investor DNA

21:07 – The learning curve for builders who ignore exits

22:24 – Studio survival: Darwinism and cash returns

23:30 – Real-world liquidity hacks: pre-set secondaries, pharma exits

26:03 – Biotech vs. tech: Why bio builders see faster liquidity

27:28 – Deep tech’s dilemma: Capital intensity without exit buyers

28:32 – Designing for liquidity from day one

29:52 – Vault’s strategy: Side letters requiring exit plans

31:24 – Should studios do follow-ons? Sarah’s honest answer

32:42 – The downside of too much capital early

33:38 – Why ball control matters for value creation

34:58 – The reserves debate: LP pressure vs. portfolio strategy

36:20 – Data maturity: What’s improving and what’s not

37:45 – Ownership banding: From 90% to a healthy 25%

39:10 – Why 2-and-20 models can misalign incentives

40:40 – Fund vs holdco: No one-size-fits-all structure

43:41 – Exit timing, durability, and private asset value erosion

46:46 – Final predictions: New trend, concept creation with existing businesses

48:53 – The PE + venture studio convergence

49:34 – Wrap-up & where the conversation is heading next

—

🎧 Subscribe for more conversations like these

#venturestudios #companybuilders #venturecapital #liquidity #startupstrategy #fundstructure #vaultfund #beyondthecore