Associated

Reem Mobassaleh Wyndham, General Partner of Pact, shares insights on raising a venture fund amidst market downturns. She discusses keeping in touch with LPs, founding a fund while pregnant with Crunchbase co-founders, Head of AI at Google, & artist Anne Hathaway. They dive into how having kids while raising the fund cultivated extreme focus & organizational maturity, and leveraging hands-on value-add early-stage engagement.

Notice If you want to get in contact with us you can reach us via email at ⁠associatedpodcast@gmail.com⁠ as well as on Twitter (@associated_pod). We are trying to understand our listeners better so we can make better content. You can really help us out by filling out our listener survey which you can find here (https://airtable.com/shraJVvUNv6D7PkDP). Description: On the fifth episode of our “How to Raise a Venture Fund” series, we're joined by Rodney Appiah, Managing Partner at Cornerstone VC, an early-stage diversity-focused fund investing in sustainability, productivity, and connectivity. Rodney started his career as an investment banker before moving into venture capital, where he's worked at various funds including Foresight Group as a Director and the British Growth Fund. Alongside his partners, Rodney started Cornerstone because he realized in his investment roles that in VC, the chips were stacked against diverse founders. Cornerstone evolved from an angel group into a £20m Venture fund backed by a institutional LPs. In this episode, Rodney shares his insights on raising a first-time fund under the current market conditions, talks about convincing LPs to let you innovate on strategy and discusses what areas LPs focus on and why. He also provides a detailed taxonomy of the different types of LPs and what to expect when raising from each of them. Lastly Rodney provides a useful primer on the materials that were fundamental to Cornerstone’s fundraise and how they were put together. Whether you're an emerging fund manager or an LP interested in investing in a venture fund, this episode is a must-listen. Rodney's insights and experiences are invaluable for anyone looking to navigate the fundraising process successfully. Listen here to learn how to raise a venture fund from someone who's actually done it!

The podcast dives into the characteristics of different venture funds and explores the challenges of selecting Limited Partners. They reflect on the importance of proximity to tech talent and discuss growth strategies in the venture capital space. The episode also touches on fundraising lessons, Silicon Valley inspiration, and the dynamics of trust in venture funding.

If you want to get in contact with us you can reach us via email at ⁠⁠associatedpodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠ as well as on ⁠Twitter⁠ (@associated_pod). We are trying to understand our listeners better, so we can make better content. Please consider filling out our listener survey which can be found ⁠here⁠ (https://airtable.com/shraJVvUNv6D7PkDP). Description: For Episode 3 of Season 8, a series on ‘How to Raise a Venture Fund’, Francesca and Tunde talk to Staffan Hegelsson, the Founder of Creandum. Founded in 2003, the franchise is one of the oldest early stage venture capital examples in Europe. They have since managed over $1.3B in assets under management (AUM), have six funds+, over 38 exits and offices in San Francisco, Stockholm, Berlin and London. They have invested in some of Europe's biggest stars and unicorns including Spotify and Depop. Staffan speaks to his entrepreneurial journey starting with investing in mobile in the late 90s/early 2000s to the generalist first franchise Creandum is today. We talk about everything from how their prioritize limited partners (LPs) to how not to 'bloat' a fund to how they thought about their most recent expansion to London. Staffan provides some great insight here into the psychology of a LP. This isn't one to miss!

If you want to get in contact with us you can reach us via email at ⁠associatedpodcast@gmail.com⁠ as well as on Twitter (@associated_pod). We are trying to understand our listeners better so we can make better content. You can really help us out by filling out our listener survey which you can find here (https://airtable.com/shraJVvUNv6D7PkDP). Description: For Episode 2 of Season 8, our newest series on ‘How to raise a venture fund’, Danielle and Tunde talk to Julian Rowe, a GP of Latitude, a sister fund of Local Globe and under the parental umbrella that is Phoenix Court Group. Founded in 2002, the Local Globe is one of the oldest pre-seed and seed specialists in Europe and have recently launched two new later stage funds, Latitude (Growth) and Solar (pre-IPO). They have raised over ten separate funds and have invested in some of Europe's biggest unicorns including Zoopla and Transferwise. Julian unveils his fascinating journey into venture and delves into his perception of the LP landscape in Europe compared to the more mature US scene. In addition, Julian gives some fantastic advice to future GPs on how to build strong relationships with LPs and how to think about your strategy and team composition as your fund matures. It is not an episode to miss!

Notice If you want to get in contact with us you can reach us via email at ⁠associatedpodcast@gmail.com⁠ as well as on Twitter (@associated_pod). We are trying to understand our listeners better so we can make better content. You can really help us out by filling out our listener survey which you can find here (https://airtable.com/shraJVvUNv6D7PkDP). Description To kick off Season 8, a series on ‘How to raise a venture fund’, Francesca and Tunde are talking to Leila Zegna, one the founding partners of Kindred, a stalwart of the European venture ecosystem. Hailing from the US, Leila boasts a background from Yale, Harvard and Bain before becoming an operator ultimately working as the COO of Genapsys before raising Kindred. Alongside operating she was also a prolific angel investor investing in companies such as Matterport, ID.me, Bloom & Wild, and Thread. Leila has served as a board member of several companies, including LabGenius, Gaia, Eleven Therapeutics, Ori Biotech, and Pave. Kindred Capital is Seed fund known for its unique approach to investing, where every entrepreneur they invest in becomes a co-owner of the fund, called 'equitable venture.’ Kindred was founded in 2015. They have raised and deployed two $100m funds since then and when we spoke to Leila were extremely close to closing their largest ever third fund at around $130m. Leila covers how she and her partners came up with the idea for Kindred, raising multiple fund while pregnant, finding the right LPs and building trust with them inside and outside of the fundraising cycle and much more.

Our final special Christmas episode with Deniz Kent CEO of Prolific Machines, we could not think of a better person to listen to ensure that you round out the year on a high!  In this episode Deniz shares fascinating insights such as: - What makes Prolific Machines such an exciting technology - His funding raising journey and the different experiences he had with US and European investors - Recommendations for founders on how to think about choosing your geographic HQ, hiring a first-class team and selling your vision to investors Enjoy! Full disclaimer - swear words are used in this episode.

We are so delighted to release this special Christmas episode with Briehan Burke from Keen Venture Partners. This year has had its highs and lows, but what is an absolute celebration is the fact that since this episode was recorded, Briehan has been promoted to General Partner - so well deserved 🥳 In this episode Briehan covers some fascinating points such as:  - Pattern recognition: Talent dissemination from main tech hubs both in the US and Europe - the similarities and differences - The impact of US funds coming into Europe for both funds and founders  - Capital foie gras. What is it you ask? Have a listen to find out!  Enjoy!

As an early holiday present to our listeners. We are releasing 4 of the interviews that we recorded for our Series on the influx of American capital into the European tech ecosystem in their raw form. Hussein covers topics like: How LPs in Europe and the US used to think European venture was a gamble How sometimes overpaying for deals is a 'winning' strategy The difference in approach by US funds entering Europe and which are stealing the headlines Why targeting the US as a customer market is the 'right' move for a venture backed company  We hope you enjoy!

As an early Christmas present to our listeners. We are releasing 4 of the interviews that we recorded for our Series on the influx of Amercian capital into European VC in their raw form. Judith covers topics like: - Why the interactions between American and European funds are simultaneously collaborative and competitive - How the 🇪🇺 venture ecosystem has changed both in terms of capital, founder quality and diversity - How hiring from outside central casting is can fix American VCs' struggle when it comes to staffing their 🇪🇺 offices We hope you enjoy the episode!