Matt Curtolo, a seasoned expert with over 20 years in private markets, shares his extensive knowledge in this engaging conversation. He dives into the evolution of his allocation strategies, especially for emerging managers, and discusses the balance of confidence and humility in fundraising. Matt critiques DEI efforts in venture capital, advocating for authenticity over performative actions. He also emphasizes the significance of relationship-building and qualitative storytelling in evaluating managers, likening it to sports analysis.
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Back-Office to Venture
Matt Curtolo's career began with a back-office role at Hamilton Lane, manually inputting financial data.
This unexpected entry point led to diverse experiences across the firm, sparking his interest in allocation.
insights INSIGHT
Longitudinal Evaluation
Evaluating managers requires longitudinal assessment, considering their history and performance over time, not just point-in-time data.
Understanding a manager's motivations and "why" is crucial, prioritizing human experience over spreadsheets.
insights INSIGHT
Performance as a Scoreboard
Past performance is not a perfect return predictor, but it reveals a firm's operational processes and decision-making.
Allocators should focus on evaluating whether these processes are durable, systematic, sustainable, and authentic.
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Today we’re interviewing a close friend of the show — Matt Curtolo. Grant first met Matt back during his time at MetLife, and he’s one of the people responsible for Grant entering venture in the first place.
In this episode we discuss Matt’s journey into the allocator’s seat, how his evaluation of managers has changed over time, what the private market landscape looks like for emerging managers, how allocation programs like DEI and other initiatives actually get created and executed, and lastly: what Matt would change about the industry if given the chance.
This was a really fun conversation with someone who’s been ensconced in the venture ecosystem for his entire career. We’re excited for you all to listen to Matt’s wisdom.
🔗 Matt’s Bio
Matt has spent the last 20+ years covering all functional areas of the private markets from both an allocator and investor lens. He is currently working with both GPs and LPs, and advising on how to build a fund, a firm, and how to manage and invest private markets portfolios.
Matt most recently was the Managing Director of Investments at Allocate, a fintech start-up focused on offering high-quality alternative investment opportunities to a broader investor base in a fully digital experience. While at Allocate he built the investment capability from the ground up as one of the first non-founder hires. Prior to that role, Matt was a senior leader co-managing MetLife’s Alternative Investments Portfolio, investing globally across strategies. Before that, he served as the Head of Private Equity at Hirtle Callaghan, a large independent OCIO after spending his formative years learning the PE business at Hamilton Lane during its early growth, before it became the world’s pre-eminent private markets allocator. These experiences allowed Matt to invest with and on behalf of some of the largest limited partners in the world, as well as work directly on the front lines in client-facing roles, with high net worth clients and large sophisticated institutional investors. In addition, Matt has been directly and indirectly involved with the management and oversight (including serving on several advisory boards) of hundreds of general partner relationships during his career, across the full spectrum of private capital investment strategies.
Exploring what makes great companies and technologies work. Brought to you by Grant Gregory & Hammad Aslam. Grant is an investor at Cantos where he focuses on physical world technologies. Hammad is a Partner at Kivu Ventures, Susa’s growth fund. Learn more about the hosts:
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