Research: The Hidden Superpower in Venture Investing đĽđ In any investment process, research is the cornerstone. Itâs the critical tool that drives informed, strategic, and profitable decisions. â Minimizes uncertainty â Enhances strategic planning â Builds resilient portfolios While the role of research is well-established in equities, it often flies under the radar in the venture capital space. Yet, in a world thatâs increasingly dynamic, leveraging research in venture can offer investors a serious competitive advantage. To explore this vital topic, weâre thrilled to have an exceptional guest with us: Santosh Rao from Manhattan Venture Partners. Let me introduce you to Santosh: đź 25+ years of financial services experience đ 20 years as an equity analyst đŚ Began his career at Prudential Securities and held roles at top investment banks đ Double undergraduate degrees + MBA in Finance (U.S.) đ° Frequently cited in financial journals đĽ Regular appearances on CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, and more Santosh is currently the Head of Research/Partner at Manhattan Venture Partners, and his expertise in research-backed investment strategies is second to none. Stay tuned for an insightful conversation as we shine a spotlight on why research matters now more than ever in venture capital. Where to find Santosh: ⢠LinkedIn: â â â â https://www.linkedin.com/in/santosh-rao-9544292/ ⢠Website: â â â â https://www.mvp.vc/team/santosh-rao Where to find Rohit Yadav: ⢠Web: â â â https://linktr.ee/rohityadavâ â â ⢠LinkedIn: â â â https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohityadav23/â â ⢠Newsletter: â All Things VCâ (â â https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7081921640367808512/â â ) We talked about: (00:00) Episode intro (01:48) Santoshâs investment research journey: From 1991 till now (04:18) Seeing the Dot-com bubble (05:54) Growth of the private markets and his move (11:54) Research is pivotal to private markets (14:35) Explaining Manhattan Venture Partnerâs (MVPâs) business (17:48) Santoshâs role at MVP (22:24) How does a typical day look like in research business (27:08) research is not just about the consumption of knowledge, itâs also about the output (31:53) Difference between public vs. private market research (34:39) Research function within the venture capital ecosystem (40:21) Venture is a conviction game and research builds conviction (41:44) Skills required to build research function (45:39) Advice for newcomers in the Research function (49:11) Staying motivated in Research (51:04) Secondaries are the new IPOs