Superclusters - The Emerging LP Podcast

Abe Finkelstein, Managing Partner at Vintage, has been leading fund, secondary, and growth stage investments focused on fintech, gaming, and SMB software, among others, leading growth stage and secondary investments for Vintage in companies like Monday.com, Minute Media, Payoneer, MoonActive and Honeybook. Prior to joining Vintage in 2003, Abe was an equity analyst with Goldman Sachs, covering Israel-based technology companies in a wide variety of sectors, including software, telecom equipment, networking, semiconductors, and satellite communications. While at Goldman Sachs, Abe, and the Israel team were highly ranked by both Thomson Extel and Institutional Investor. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Abe was Vice-President at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, where he helped launch and led the firm’s Israel technology shares institutional sales effort. Before joining Piper, he was an Associate at Brown Brothers Harriman, covering the enterprise software and internet sectors. Abe began his career at Josephthal, Lyon, and Ross, joining one of the first research teams focused exclusively on Israel-based companies. Abe graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics and a concentration in Finance. Vintage Investment Partners is a global venture platform managing ~$4 billion across venture Fund of Funds, Secondary Funds, and Growth-Stage Funds focused on venture in the U.S., Europe, Israel, and Canada. Vintage is invested in many of the world's leading venture funds and growth-stage tech startups striving to make a lasting impact on the world and has exposure directly and indirectly to over 6,000 technology companies. You can find Abe on his socials here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abe-finkelstein/ And huge thanks to this episode's sponsor, Alchemist Accelerator: https://alchemistaccelerator.com/superclusters OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro [03:22] How did Abe get his first job? [15:30] The currency of trust [17:12] How does Vintage view mistakes and weaknesses? [20:03] How Vintage organizes team offsites [28:42] The lessons Abe gained on people and long-term potential [33:47] Type 1 and Type 2 errors when evaluating GPs [36:00] How does Vintage work with their GPs and the GPs' portfolio companies? [45:06] What Abe likes to see in a cold email [49:33] Funds that Abe says no to [51:18] When does fund size as a function of stage not make sense for Vintage? [54:51] Carry splits within a fund [1:02:08] What kinds of funds does Vintage not re-up in? [1:05:23] How did Abe become a Pitfall Explorer? [1:07:38] What Abe has learned over the years about patience? [1:11:05] One of Abe's biggest blows in his career [1:16:23] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring! [1:18:58] Like, comment and share if you enjoyed this episode! 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

Jeff Rinvelt, Partner at Renaissance Venture Capital, and Martin Tobias, Co-host of Superclusters podcast, discuss attracting venture capital to Michigan, the benefits of joining nonprofit boards, the power of early investments in transformative companies like Google, managing a venture fund, importance of relationships in business, and the connection between Superclusters and Alchemist Accelerator.

Samir Kaji, CEO and Co-Founder of Allocate, talks about the biggest changes in the LP universe in the next decade. They discuss portfolio allocation for emerging managers and the challenges they face. The episode explores the evolution of LPs and the disruption of the VC world, fundraising challenges, accessing venture funds, integrating work into life, finding joy in work, and building relationships in venture capital.

Howard Lindzon has over 20 years of experience in both public and private market investing. He previously founded and managed the hedge fund Lindzon Capital, and is currently the founder and General Partner of the early-stage venture capital firm Social Leverage. Through Social Leverage, he and his partners have been seed investors in startups like Robinhood, Beehiiv, and Manscaped to name a few. Howard was the founder of Wallstrip (acquired by CBS), and is the the co-founder and Chairman of Stocktwits, the leading social platform for traders and investors. Throughout his career, Howard has strongly advocated for and helped drive the decentralization and democratization of investing. He resides in Phoenix, AZ and Coronado, California. You can find Howard on his socials here: Twitter: https://twitter.com/howardlindzon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardlindzon/ And huge thanks to this episode's sponsor, Alchemist Accelerator: https://alchemistaccelerator.com/superclusters OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro [01:51] Howard's biggest misses as a startup investor [06:21] What happens when you trust a single reference too much in the diligence process? [10:24] What kind of company does Howard think Carta should be? [14:52] Howard's two beliefs on selling positions [24:29] What types of fund managers did Howard invest in as an individual LP? [30:46] How did Howard write a $150K LP check in Multicoin [36:06] Why Howard likes GPs who struggle to fundraise [41:16] How Howard raised his fund of funds [44:19] Howard's LP investment thesis [47:16] How much of investing is luck vs skill? [51:57] Reframing curiosity and risk [57:37] Market risk vs execution risk in your career [59:18] Howard's advice to young professionals [1:03:40] A founder or GP's first interactions with Social Leverage [1:08:25] Does succession planning matter to Social Leverage? [1:10:16] The big lesson about follow-on financing from Social Leverage's Fund I [1:14:49] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring! [1:17:25] 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

Ben Choi manages over $3B investments with many of the world’s premier venture capital firms as well as directly in early stage startups. He brings to Next Legacy a distinguished track record spanning over two decades founding and investing in early-stage technology businesses. Ben’s love for technology products formed the basis for his successful venture track record, including early stage investments in Marketo (acquired for $4.75B) and CourseHero (last valued at $3.6B). He previously ran product for Adobe’s Creative Cloud offerings and founded CoffeeTable, where he raised venture capital financing, built a team, and ultimately sold the company. Ben is an engaged member of the Society of Kauffman Fellows and has been named to the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Chinese Culture Center and Children’s Health Council. Ben studied Computer Science at Harvard University before Mark Zuckerberg made it cool and received his MBA from Columbia Business School. Born in Peoria, raised in San Francisco, and educated in Cambridge, Ben now lives in Palo Alto with his wife, Lydia, and three very active sons. You can find Ben on his socials here: Twitter: https://twitter.com/benjichoi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bchoi/ And huge thanks to this episode's sponsor, Alchemist Accelerator: https://alchemistaccelerator.com/superclusters OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro [02:44] Ben's childhood [07:54] What is Ben's superpower? [16:58] What aspect of being a VC do most founders fail to appreciate? [18:46] What do GPs fail to appreciate about LPs? [21:24] The similarities between VC and the intelligence industry [24:00] What's changed about being a VC since 2006? [27:14] How does Ben tell signal from noise? [32:46] Past track record portability [37:24] A case study on how a syndicate investor became a lead investor [41:00] Ben and David nerd out about free T-shirts [44:26] An example of how a GP convinced Ben to invest in their fund [47:53] Succession planning in a VC firm [56:51] How Legacy Venture started [1:01:28] Next Play + Legacy Venture = Next Legacy [1:04:05] Which non-profits do the carry go to? [1:05:48] What kind of GP impresses Ben? [1:07:58] Ben's biggest professional lesson in 1998 [1:12:56] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring! [1:15:32] 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

Courtney McCrea, with over 30 years of investment experience, discusses evaluating emerging managers in venture capital and the importance of unique qualities. They cover topics like due diligence, portfolio construction, time as a resource, succession planning, GP commit, and ask fun yes/no questions. They also talk about Superclusters, Alchemist Accelerator, and team culture.

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

Eric Woo, co-founder and CEO of Revere, shares his insights on emotions, career transitions, storytelling, fundraising, engaging with LPs, measuring performance metrics, and achieving clarity of thought through data triangulation.

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

Chris Douvos, an experienced venture capitalist and founder of Ahoy Capital, discusses his journey in the venture capital industry. He shares lessons learned from industry experts, the importance of deal flow, and how to construct opinions on great venture capital firms. The podcast also touches on the dot com bust, the allure of California, and strategies for successful cold calls in the industry.