S3E1: The Solo GP Advantage – Sarah Smith on Building Best in Class Systems at Scale

At Slice, we're drawn to emerging managers who don't just follow the playbook, but rewrite it.

Sarah Smith is the founder and GP of the $16m Sarah Smith Fund who embodies this ethos. As a solo GP with an unrelenting commitment to being the best in class, she's built systems from day one, knowing from her operator background that you need systems that scale from day 1.

What sets her apart isn't just her focus or tenacity (though she has both in spades). It's how she's cracked the code on three critical areas that most emerging managers have yet to crack the code on: building genuine talent pipelines, creating magnetic LP experiences, and leveraging AI systems to punch above her weight class.

Our thesis on Sarah is the “network of networks”. Through her experience and involvement at GSB, she’s created a fellowship program that's equal parts talent incubator and lifelong network builder with tentacles throughout silicon valley and beyond.

"I want students to appreciate that there are many ways to do venture," Sarah explains. This mentality stems from her teaching background, about finding the best in each individual and supporting them to find their own style. She’s expanding the ecosystem incrementally by curating diverse minds.

Her program is intensive: three weeks, visits with 25 different firms across diverse verticals and strategies, direct access to professionals across the spectrum. Unlike most fellowships, they’re given $50k each to have the chance to source, diligence, and invest in a startup to start their track record. It's the difference between reading about swimming and jumping into the deep end and getting that lived experience

Sarah has built a talent flywheel that will compound and give back. Former fellows become dealflow sources, co-investors, references for stanford founders, and eventually, LPs themselves.

The thoughtful way of teaching doesn’t end with the fellowships, and continues to spread to her LPs through her world class AGM, which punches way above the weight of most AGMs, especially of a solo GP.

"I wanted to highlight how I'm going about building the fund for scale," she says. But scale here doesn't mean bigger, it means better, more intentional, more impactful.

The format is tight: half day in person, high caliber content, showcase of top founders. No death march of metrics, no wasted time. Sarah understands that her LPs' time is precious, so every minute delivers value.

"Over half of my fund came in, in that last four weeks after the AGM." When your existing LPs become your best salespeople, you know you're doing something right.

This mirrors what we've seen across our conversations that the best emerging managers don't just manage capital but understand the product is relationships, and that investing in the right ones will compound early and benefit them in the long run.

While the venture world debates AI to replace the role it will take within firms, Sarah has quietly made it her secret weapon for fund operations.

"I think we can do 10 times more for our founders in a tenth of the time,". Bold statement, but she backs it up with systematic implementation.

Her AI framework isn't about replacing human judgment, but supporting it. One of the models that she’s integrated is a 100pt system to screen founders. Every investor has the things that they look for and don’t. This screener lets Sarah make the final decision, but extracts the information that she needs to make her decision easier, and to know what area to spend time with on the founder so she can go deep, earlier, and quicker. Her systems also help her prioritize which meetings align with her strategy, maintain portfolio health management, and identify patterns that might take humans weeks to spot.

We’re observing that the best solo GPs aren't trying to do everything manually. They're building systems that let them focus on what only they can do like building relationships, making investment decisions, and supporting founders, so they can repeat the same fund size and strategy for future funds.

Sarah's approach embodies a core belief we hold at Slice: growth doesn't necessarily mean scale, but rather quality and impact. In a world where bigger often feels like better, Sarah has chosen intentionality over expansion.

Her fellowship program creates lasting value beyond capital. Her AGMs build genuine community, and her custom AI implementation enhances her abilities rather than replacing human connection. Each piece reinforces the others, creating a flywheel that most larger funds would struggle to replicate.

This is what we mean when we talk about emerging managers with a chip on their shoulder. It's not about proving you can do everything, but about proving you can be the best at certain things in certain areas than anyone else.

As Sarah continues building, her model serves as a blueprint for what's possible when you combine relentless focus with innovative thinking. She's not just managing a fund; she's architecting the future of what success looks like as a solo GP (who wants to remain a solo GP).

Special thanks to Nakul for introducing us to Sarah, and to Sarah for sharing her time with us.

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