Jamie Rhode

Jamie Rhode, part of Screendoor—focused on elevating early-stage fund managers—engages in a lively discussion about the challenges and strategies in venture capital. They tackle the evolution in fund management and the crucial concept of GP market fit. Jamie explains effective portfolio construction techniques and highlights why seed-stage investing sees fewer general partners. The conversation also touches on the importance of supporting diverse voices in finance and the transformative potential of overlooked venture managers in reshaping industries.

Jamie Rhode is Principal at Verdis Investment Management, focused on venture capital, private equity and hedge fund investment sourcing and due diligence. She joined Verdis from Bloomberg, where she held roles in both equity research and credit analysis. There, she created, managed and leveraged an extensive library of statutory and financial and market data for buy and sell-side clients that use Bloomberg to make investment decisions. A licensed Chartered Financial Analyst, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Finance and Marketing from Drexel University’s College of Business Administration. You can find Jamie on her socials here: Twitter: https://twitter.com/DurationFX LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerrcfa/ And huge thanks to this episode's sponsor, Alchemist Accelerator: https://alchemistaccelerator.com/superclusters OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro [04:27] What skills did Jamie acquire while working at Bloomberg [08:45] What inspired Jamie to go into equity research [11:55] Verdis' original allocation model [13:27] How Verdis first built their deal flow in 2016 [15:26] What Jamie likes in a cold email [16:41] What kind of cold email to VCs won Verdis an 80% response rate? [20:27] Verdis' inbound vs outbound deal flow over the years [22:34] Why Verdis' mandate is to invest in diversified portfolios as opposed to concentrated portfolios [27:50] The downsides of early distributions [32:12] The benefits of early distributions [36:01] Luck versus skill [40:15] Why does Verdis measure "outliers" as opposed to unicorns [44:37] The relationship between proprietary deal flow and portfolio allocation models [45:55] How does Verdis decide which portfolio funds get re-ups [48:52] Why GPs shouldn't conform their strategies to LPs' mandates [51:08] Why LPs should also have consistent strategies [53:28] Why Verdis invests a third of their fund in funds based in Los Angeles [58:50] A case study on what happens when you skip a step in the due diligence process [1:02:57] The two things a GP can do to win Jamie over [1:05:32] When does Verdis like to receive their tax documents from GPs? [1:08:46] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring [1:11:23] Legal disclaimer Follow David Zhou for more Superclusters content: For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclusters Follow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.com Follow Superclusters on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperclustersLP Follow Superclusters on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@super.clusters Follow Superclusters on Instagram: https://instagram.com/super.clusters

Jamie Rhode, a partner at Screen Door, champions diversity in venture capital while Matthew Mulvey from Liquid 2 highlights early-stage investments. They discuss the resurgence of distributed paid-in capital (DPI) in Silicon Valley, focusing on Sequoia's innovative strategies and liquidity options for limited partners. The conversation emphasizes the importance of empowering underdog founders from diverse backgrounds and the evolving trends in capital investment. Their insights reveal shifting dynamics in venture capital and the critical need for inclusive funding practices.

Experts Jamie Rhode, Matthew Mulvey, and Jason Calacanis discuss DPI in Silicon Valley, Unicorn founder demographics, LP trends, Sequoia's liquidity strategy, impact of M&A deals, and challenges for emerging managers in VC.

Jamie Rhode discusses investing in emerging managers, friction points between LPs and managers, leveraging insights in manager selection, and diligence of first time funds. They explore importance of grit in founders, underwriting first time funds, expanding beyond, and portfolio construction as a venture LP.