

Swimming with Allocators
Earnest Sweat, Alexa Binns
Swimming with Allocators dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. In each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies. Follow along and subscribe at swimmingwithallocators.com. See you later, Allocator!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 13, 2023 • 34min
Three Key Criteria for Evaluating Venture Capital Managers: Decision-Making, Specialization, and Operations with Michael Ashley Schulman of Running Point Capital
Michael Ashley Schulman, Managing Partner at Running Point Capital, discusses transitioning from public stocks to venture, Running Point's unique investment philosophy, advice for managers launching their first fund, criteria for selecting VC managers, challenges for family offices, ESG vs. impact investing, and building/selling companies in challenging times.

Dec 6, 2023 • 34min
How Nomad's Thinking Has Changed in Manager Selection with Jordan Nel of Hummingbird Ventures
Jordan Nel from Hummingbird Ventures discusses identifying outlier venture funds, shifting from winning to picking, signal in track records, changing the venture landscape, competitive edge in venture investing, scaling VC funds, effective communication and brand strategy, opportunities in deep tech, and advice for LPs and fund managers.

Nov 29, 2023 • 37min
The Overlooked Alpha in This Next Decade of Venture with Claude Grunitzky and Adrienne Rees of The Equity Alliance
Dive into the origins of a unique fund focused on uplifting underrepresented voices in venture capital. Discover the shift towards cash management and the impending opportunities amid market consolidation. The hosts discuss the importance of authenticity in fundraising and the hurdles diverse managers face. Learn how emerging managers can leverage their backgrounds to foster trust and promote success. Exciting insights on the future of venture capital reveal potential growth and diversification strategies that promise a more inclusive industry.

Nov 22, 2023 • 46min
How 2023 Has Reshaped the Landscape for VC Firms with Winter Mead of Coolwater Capital
Highlights from this week’s conversation include:
The journey in institutional investments (2:04)
Perspectives on Venture Captial (3:50)
Becoming a coach for emerging managers (5:50)
The Manager Accelerator Program (9:18)
Functions of a VC Firm (12:42)
Insider Insight: Tim Flannery on the need for Electronic Subscription Documents (13:27)
Finding investors (16:45)
The Evolution of Venture Capital (19:37)
Supporting Emerging Managers (22:24)
The rise of fund formation (24:38)
Shift in market dynamics (26:36)
The selection process for managers (33:00)
Trends and shifts in the industry (35:19)
The mismanagement of portfolio construction and reserves (40:43)
The need for increased specialization in fund formation (41:35)
The potential rise of specialized venture funds (42:36)
Final thoughts and takeaways (45:45)
Coolwater Capital focuses on emerging managers and technology investments. The firm has worked with over 240 emerging managers in the last four years by focusing on a model to build, launch and scale emerging fund managers.Passthrough turns investor onboarding into a solved problem – it seamlessly manages subscription document distribution, execution, and compliance in minutes. As a leader in fund workflow automation for investors, fund managers, and other fintechs, Passthrough provides an integrated platform solution that makes the subscription document process turnkey for investors with replicable and verifiable identity information built in for future use. In addition to subscription documents, Passthrough also offers a full service KYC/AML product that streamlines collecting information from investors and screening them against sanctions lists so fund managers can remain compliant.Swimming with Allocators is a podcast that dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. Each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies. Follow along and subscribe at swimmingwithallocators.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 15, 2023 • 38min
Investing in Change: Making the Case for Investing in Venture Capital Featuring Alifia Doriwala of RockCreek
Highlights from this week’s conversation include:
The importance of outsourced CIO services (0:24)
Common mistakes fund managers make when fundraising (2:02)
The future of venture investing and sectors to get disrupted (6:35)
The importance of talking to people across different fields (8:36)
Managing portfolios with an asset allocation that includes private equity (10:28)
Changing views on venture investing among institutional investors (12:59)
The importance of understanding fund strategy (16:46)
The need for a premium return in private markets (17:20)
Vetting managers in the venture space (17:42)
Special Segment from Our Industry Expert: Tim Flannery of Passthrough (19:05)
The importance of focus in portfolio management (28:12)
Challenges for established firms and the importance of succession planning (29:09)
Investing in emerging markets and understanding currency impact (32:14)
Final thoughts and takeaways (36:12)
RockCreek is a global multi-asset investment firm that applies innovation, data, and technology to sustainable investing. With over $15 billion in assets and decades of experience investing in the energy transition, health, mobility, affordable housing, and fintech, RockCreek partners with university endowments, foundations, pension plans, sovereign funds, and family offices to generate long-term value and make business and financial models more inclusive and sustainable. RockCreek’s private markets teams invest in early stage, growth, and late-stage companies, and its Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) and multi-asset class teams invest with leading partners in hard to access opportunities and emerging talent.Passthrough turns investor onboarding into a solved problem – it seamlessly manages subscription document distribution, execution, and compliance in minutes. As a leader in fund workflow automation for investors, fund managers, and other fintechs, Passthrough provides an integrated platform solution that makes the subscription document process turnkey for investors with replicable and verifiable identity information built in for future use. In addition to subscription documents, Passthrough also offers a full service KYC/AML product that streamlines collecting information from investors and screening them against sanctions lists so fund managers can remain compliant.Swimming with Allocators is a podcast that dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts by Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. In each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies. Follow along and subscribe at swimmingwithallocators.com. See you later, Allocator! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2023 • 3min
Welcome to Swimming with Allocators!
Swimming with Allocators dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. Each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies. Follow along and subscribe at swimmingwithallocators.com. See you later, Allocator! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


