Investing in Startups E38: Lessons from Investing in 400 Startups with Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures
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Sep 17, 2025 
Charles Hudson, Managing Partner and founder of Precursor Ventures, shares his expertise as a seasoned investor in over 400 startups. He emphasizes the importance of founder-centric investing, the challenges of liquidity in early-stage ventures, and the need for a resilient firm structure. Hudson also discusses how market forecasting can be tricky, advocating for focusing on founders instead. He provides insights on varying LP expectations and the potential pitfalls of early employee hires, highlighting the evolving landscape of venture capital.
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Building A Firm Bigger Than One Person
- Charles built Precursor from solo GP to a 14-person firm to ensure staying power and professional operations.
- He hired specialists (finance, IR, core team) to offload tasks and scale responsibly.
Systematize To Scale Your Investing
- Design people-powered and tech-powered systems to manage a large pre-seed portfolio.
- Add team members stepwise to take things off the GP's plate and create proper owners for functions.
Fundraising Stress Changes Over Time
- Fundraising stress shifts across a firm's lifecycle and market context.
- Post-SVB and LP liquidity concerns made raising Fund 5 unusually difficult despite prior patience.