Beezer Clarkson, who leads investments at Sapphire Partners and has a rich background with Morgan Stanley and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, dives into the evolving landscape of Limited Partners in venture capital. She discusses how LP expectations are changing, particularly regarding liquidity and commitment strategies. Beezer also critiques the current LP incentive mechanisms, suggesting they need a rethink. Finally, she emphasizes the importance of pinpointing standout companies for fund success, showcasing the necessity of both strategic thinking and transparency in this competitive space.

Experienced institutional venture LPs Beezer Clarkson, Guy Perelmuter, and Chris Douvos discuss the impact of the economic downturn on emerging managers, the challenges faced by emerging managers in attracting institutional capital, the importance of including emerging managers in investment portfolios, investing in 'grownups' and the importance of repeatability, LP perspectives and decision-making challenges, establishing metrics and exit strategies in venture capital portfolios, letting winners ride vs taking chips off the table, and understanding venture capital as a fiduciary.

Origins is a podcast about the VC and LP ecosystem, co-hosted by Nick Chirls of Notation and Beezer Clarkson of Sapphire Partners. In this episode, we are joined by Atul Rustgi, managing partner of Accolade Partners, a top-performing venture capital, growth equity, and blockchain fund of funds. Prior to joining Accolade in 2007, Atul worked at McKinsey & Co., a leading strategy consulting firm, where he advised senior management on issues of strategy, organization, technology and operations. Before McKinsey, Atul worked at the Robin Hood Foundation, a venture philanthropy that funds and supports innovative poverty-fighting organizations in New York City. Atul holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan. Follow us: https://twitter.com/nchirls https://twitter.com/beezer232 https://twitter.com/AccoladePrtnrs

Elizabeth "Beezer" Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, discusses how their new partnership with CalSTRS will allow them to expand their ability to support the next generation of VC managers – all while continuing to focus on investing in the established. We’re proudly sponsored by Tactyc, visit tactyc.io if you’re ready to level up your venture fund. (0:00) Episode Preview (0:57) The Importance of LP Voices and Sapphire’s Partnership with CalSTRS (2:15) Why Investing in Emerging Managers Have Such a Unique Dynamic (4:09) The Role Emerging Managers Play in the Construction of a Compelling Portfolio (6:16) Thousands of Emerging Managers vs Forty Established Funds (7:30) Does Excess Capacity Translate to Adverse Selection? (8:17) “LPs are like Snowflakes and They’re all Different.” (10:49) Common Reasons Why LPs Don’t Re-up (13:48) What Makes for a Great Manager? (16:27) Episode Sponsor: Tactyc (17:34) What Sapphire Looks for When Evaluating a New Manager (19:00) Who Wins: Generalist v. Specialist (21:57) Will Solo GPs be able to Survive in this Market? (24:38) Beezer’s Predictions on Spinouts (26:34) The Bias and Rationale Behind Institutional LPs Desire to Re-up in Existing Managers (28:14) The New CalSTRS Program’s Investment Rubric on Checksize, Fund Size, Return Profile and Audit Requirements (30:37) How LPs Can Bring Value to a Fund (34:31) Why LPs are All Examining Their Portfolios (36:42) Should GPs Focus on DPI or TVPI? (39:01) Why Venture Needs More Innovation (40:19) How LPs Diligence Managers (44:15) The Importance of Transparency within the LP Ecosystem (51:57) What Sapphire Invests In (53:26) Lessons Learned from Previous Downturns

Beezer leads Sapphire Partners‘ investments in venture funds domestically and internationally. Beezer began her career in financial services over 20 years ago at Morgan Stanley in its global infrastructure group. Since, she has held various direct and indirect venture investment roles, as well as operational roles in software business development at Hewlett Packard. Prior to joining Sapphire in 2012, Beezer managed the day-to-day operations of the Draper Fisher Jurvetson Global Network, which then had $7 billion under management across 16 venture funds worldwide. In 2016, Beezer led the launch of OpenLP, an effort to help foster greater understanding in the entrepreneur-to-LP tech ecosystem. Beezer earned a bachelor’s in government from Wesleyan University, where she served on the board of trustees and currently serves as an advisor to the Wesleyan Endowment Investment Committee. She is currently serving on the board of the NVCA and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. You can find Beezer on her socials here: Twitter: https://twitter.com/beezer232 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethclarkson/ And huge thanks to this episode's sponsor, Alchemist Accelerator: https://alchemistaccelerator.com/superclusters OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro [02:57] Who was Beezer's first mentor? [06:57] How did Beezer get to work with the founder of eBay? [10:45] The strength of diverse backgrounds [14:11] How Hustle Fund convinced Foundry Group to invest in their fund [15:27] Why should another venture fund exist in this world? [19:41] What does proprietary "access" to deal flow mean? [23:53] Superpowers on the Sapphire Partners team [25:35] How does Sapphire resolve disagreements? [27:11] Why does entire Sapphire team meet with GPs? [28:18] A sneak peek into Sapphire investment process [33:34] What does Sapphire look for in a pitch deck? [34:58] The art and science behind Sapphire's own portfolio construction [43:37] How does Sapphire look at fund managers' portfolio construction? [47:50] Meaningful fund metrics in the first 5-7 years of a VC fund [52:44] How to think about recycling [56:15] What keeps Beezer humble? [58:22] What is an investment opportunity Beezer missed because what she didn't do? [1:04:03] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring! [1:06:39] Legal Disclaimer Follow David Zhou for more Superclusters content: For podcast show notes: https://superclusters.co Follow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.com Follow Superclusters on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperclustersLP Follow Superclusters on Instagram: https://instagram.com/super.clusters

Jack Altman, a venture capitalist and founder of HR platform Lattice, shares insights from his journey transitioning from angel investor to institutional investor. Alongside Nick Chirls of Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson of Sapphire Partners, he discusses the significance of building a strong reputation and making swift decisions as a founder. Jack emphasizes the art of ruthless prioritization, balancing family life with a demanding career, and the distinctive dynamics of investing personal versus institutional capital. His personal anecdotes and practical advice make for an engaging conversation.

Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, discusses groupthink in venture, momentum investing, securing investor buy-in, fund sizes, VC personality traits, and the importance of early wins. She emphasizes differentiation for LPs, diversity in investments, challenges faced by women in venture, and the contrasting investment sentiments in Israel vs. China.

Beezer Clarkson, a respected investor at Sapphire Ventures, Chris Douvos of Ahoy Capital, and Joelle Kayden from Accolade Partners dive into the current state of venture capital. They explore the challenges facing venture capitalists post-market selloff, discuss funding discipline, and the impact of fresh entrants on strategies. The trio also highlights future opportunities, especially in the blockchain sector, and shares insights on navigating seed stage valuations and the importance of seasoned management in these turbulent times.

Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director at Sapphire Ventures, shares her wealth of knowledge about early-stage venture investing. She discusses the unique relationship Sapphire has with SAP and the intricacies of Series A investments. Beezer delves into the challenges of filter through numerous fund opportunities, the due diligence process, and the significance of companies staying private longer. She also introduces #OpenLP, a platform she created to amplify the voices of VC limited partners, highlighting the evolving dynamics of the venture capital landscape.

In this podcast, Beezer Clarkson of Sapphire Partners discusses the current state of the VC and LP markets, the impact of liquidity on budget setting for LPs, the challenges faced by GPs in reflecting reality and facing valuation challenges, the cyclical nature of the venture market and the impact of COVID-19, and the future outlook for the market.