VC | E370 | Carmen Alfonso Rico & Evan Finkel on managing the personal relationship vs. business relationship

In this episode of the EUVC podcast, Andreas talks with Carmen Alfonso Rico, a self-described VC turned angel at Cocoa Ventures. and Evan Finkel, Head of Venture Capital Investments at Integra Global Advisors.

Carmen is leading the charge at Cocoa Ventures, a €15M fund headquartered in the UK and focused on backing pre-seed and seed-stage startups across Europe. Cocoa Ventures invests across sectors, emphasizing Carmen’s vision of supporting bold founders in their first institutional round. Notable investments include Speckle, Eventstore, FDM, Tilebox, Fractile from Cocoa I, and hopin, SideQuest, Hived, pre-Cocoa.

At Integra Global Advisors, a venture fund with €700M in assets under management, Evan targets early-stage and emerging managers across the US, LatAm, Europe, and Israel. Notable investments include Plural, Fly, and Retail (EU).

Carmen, and Evan delve into the complexities of LP-GP relationships in venture capital, emphasizing the importance of separating personal and business dynamics. They also share insights on identifying strong GPs and the importance of maintaining integrity in the venture ecosystem and discuss the complexities of management fees and carry in the venture capital landscape, emphasizing the need for alignment of incentives between GPs and LPs.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

02:10 Diving into Personal and Business Relationships
04:09 Managing LPGP Relationships 
10:45 Gamesmanship in Business 
15:07 Challenges of First Closings
23:57 Re-ups and Signaling in Fundraising
32:50 Handling Fund Breakups
45:30 Succession Planning in VC
46:33 Tough Decisions in Venture Capital
48:00 Assessing Emerging Managers
49:16 The Importance of Personal Brand in VC
50:30 Carmen and Cocoa: A Perfect Synergy
53:18 Management Fees and Carry: A Deep Dive
55:52 Challenges with the 2% Management Fee Model
01:03:05 The Debate on Carry Structures
01:05:12 European vs. American Waterfalls
01:11:39 Navigating LP-GP Relationships
01:29:14 Closing Thoughts and Future Topics