How LPs Think: Taste, Timing, and Saying No With Style | David Zhou (Head of Investor Relations, Alchemist Accelerator)

This week on The Data Minute, Peter sits down with David Zhou, Head of Investor Relations at Alchemist Accelerator and the host of Superclusters, for a deep dive into how LPs choose, and say no to, emerging managers.

David shares what hundreds of GP conversations have taught him about building trust and avoiding the "sea of sameness.” They talk about why charisma can be learned, how LPs think about relationship-building versus returns, and why fund managers should spend less time pitching and more time listening. Plus: the strange origin of venture capital as we know it, the story behind a viral LP blog post, and how tracking birthdays, gifts, and “fun facts” can help you raise your next fund.

It’s fast, it’s tactical, and it's exactly the kind of honest LP feedback GPs rarely get to hear.

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Chapters:

01:35 – LinkedIn bios, authenticity, and under-optimizing for SEO
02:43 – Why David might remove “angel investor” from his profile
04:50 – Saying “LP” out loud: the weirdness of deal flow labeling
06:10 – Sourcing, picking, and winning: how LPs assess fund managers
08:50 – What makes an “emerging” manager, really?
10:13 – Should LPs invest in a firm—or just fund one?
11:55 – The myth of quick markups, and why LPs think long
13:23 – Pattern-matching vs. patience: how LPs develop taste
14:55 – The Odysseus strategy: when to say no (even to great funds)
17:47 – Why humility and honesty work better than fake urgency
19:20 – Do some LPs still think venture capital is “art collecting”?
21:10 – Helping LPs understand: is it worth being the educator?
23:00 – First-time managers, first-time investors, and the long runway
25:38 – Breaking into Middle Eastern LPs: no first meeting should be transactional
27:45 – What hospitality looks like in cross-border fundraising
29:20 – The power of thoughtful gifts—and CRM columns that matter
31:14 – Should emerging managers stand out… or just be deeply human?
32:32 – Whelming vs overwhelming: what LPs remember
33:33 – Developing taste: why it matters for GPs too
34:50 – The Dream High framework: who commands attention in a room?
36:40 – Is charisma innate—or can it be learned?
38:23 – Measuring growth in 15-year cycles
40:00 – Common advice David gives insiders vs outsiders
41:55 – Advice for “logo shoppers” and the risk of performative decks
44:08 – Reality distortion fields and the allure of being “the only one”
46:00 – Confidence vs clarity: do LPs actually buy better?
48:18 – How many GPs does David see per year? (Spoiler: it’s hundreds)
50:50 – The blog post that went viral: Non-Obvious Emerging LP Playbook
53:40 – Do we need more VC funds? Just one kind.
54:36 – Pre-seed is the new Series A—but we still need first-check investors
56:50 – Off-thesis bets: what LPs actually tolerate
58:04 – A 70-20-10 approach to fund strategy
01:00:14 – The one pitch meeting structure David swears by
01:02:15 – How GPs should actually ask for feedback
01:03:25 – Tailoring follow-ups and ending meetings early

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