The Financial Samurai Podcast

How An Open-Ended Venture Capital Fund Operates

Jan 29, 2025

Ben Miller, Co-founder and CEO of Fundrise, shares insights into operating open-ended venture capital funds. He discusses what happens when a private company goes public and its impact on funds. Miller emphasizes the importance of relationship-building with companies and the hustle required in identifying promising investments. He also explains strategies for managing liquidity and risk, highlighting how Fundrise provides investors access to private tech ventures. Lastly, he touches on adapting investment strategies to market fluctuations and the economic outlook for 2025.

21:59

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Episode guests

Ben Miller

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Fundrise's open-ended venture capital fund democratizes investment access, allowing broader public participation in high-growth opportunities traditionally reserved for wealthy investors.

The fund prioritizes risk management and relationship-building with portfolio companies to enhance investment credibility and secure future funding rounds despite market volatility.

Deep dives

Innovative Venture Capital Access

Fundrise has launched a public non-traded venture fund that allows everyone to invest in venture capital, challenging traditional high minimum investments typically required for such opportunities. This initiative aims to democratize access to venture capital, allowing more individuals to participate in potential high-growth investments. The fund successfully allocated $20 million to Service Titan, a notable player in the industry, during a time when many investors were retreating, making it easier to acquire shares at a lower price. By leveraging regulatory innovation and recognizing advantageous market conditions, Fundrise demonstrated how thoughtful timing and strategies can create investment opportunities for the broader public.

Intro

3min

Building Relationships in Venture Capital Investments

2min

Navigating Investment Strategies

5min

Navigating Liquidity in Private Markets

9min

Navigating Investment Strategies and Market Outlooks

2min

In part 2 of my discussion with Ben Miller, CEO of Fundrise, and sponsor of Financial Samurai, I ask him about how an open-ended venture capital fund works.

If I’m going to build a $500,000+ position in an open-ended fund to gain more exposure to private AI companies, I want to fully understand how the fund operates.

Here are some of the questions I asked during our discussion:

What happens to a private company that successfully goes public, and how does this impact the fund?
Is it harder to identify a promising company or to actually invest in that company?
How does Fundrise and other venture capital firms compete to gain access to invest in private companies?
How does Fundrise approach risk management in its investments?
What’s the process for writing checks to invest in companies?
If you don’t have cash on hand, how do you secure a line of credit to invest in a company?
How do you provide liquidity to investors in the Innovation Fund?
How do you determine the size of a fund you want to run?

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The Financial Samurai Podcast

How An Open-Ended Venture Capital Fund Operates

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Innovative Venture Capital Access

Strategy for Company Selection

Risk Management and Future Outlook

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts