Limited partners come in a few different varieties, one of the largest, but also most opaque groups is that of the Family Offices, and today’s guest Jamie Rhode, CFA, Vice President at Verdis Investment Management, gives us a glimpse into the large family office world. Verdis uses a unique data-driven approach to fund allocating that allows them to optimize on their portfolio and ensure they find the outliers. Prior to Verdis, Jamie was at Bloomberg serving in roles roles in both equity research and credit analysis where she created, managed and leveraged an extensive library of financial and market data for buy and sell-side clients. In this episode we discuss the following topics:01:46    Jamie’s journey to Verdis and VC03:08    How family offices are different from other LPs04:14    The use of data and decision science and why they invest in seed stage07:08    Finding the outlier startups and funds using data08:44    How Jamie ensures diversity of investments12:32    Life Sciences as an investment sector focus16:29    Targeting networks that provide consistent outlier production18:52    Qualitative measures for managers21:54    Thoughts on reserve ratios, and why she prefers lower reserves. 24:43    The emergence of solo GPs27:27     The importance brand and of long term goals when talking with LPs30:39    Making sure their managers hit their minimum viable fund size at first close33:26    Trends in seed over the next five years37:08    Biggest learning as an LP40:10    The common theme amongst successful fundsWe’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Jamie! Follow @SamirKaji and give your insight and questions using the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Contrarian based investing requires extreme conviction, and the ability to consistently invest in founders and businesses that don’t always have mainstream acceptance. Bullpen Capital has long been known as a firm that will not shy away from the overlooked companies, but instead seeks out the undiscovered gems to drive alpha for their investors and founders. This week’s guest Paul Martino, one of the confounders of 2010 founded Bullpen Capital is one of favorite people to talk to given his unique insights and radical transparency. Bullpen was founded in 2010 with Duncan Davidson and Richard Melmon, and was a pioneer in post-seed round funding—the gap between seed and A round. The fund has $383 AUM and invested in several success stories including Life360, FanDuel, and Ipsy, among many others.Prior to Bullpen, Paul was an operator that founded eight companies and he holds over a dozen patents. He was an angel investor in companies like Zynga, TubeMogul, and uDemy. Paul is also a recognized expert on sports betting and gaming, appearing on CNBC and Fox Business regularly.In this episode we discuss the following topics:01:09    Paul’s journey from the operators side to venture03:11    Seeing the post-seed gap in the market05:06    Why fundraising for fund 3 was so tough08:00    Being the only firm “dumb enough” to pursue post-seed09:48    Looking for unloved and undiscovered companies12:52    Getting LPs comfortable with their investing thesis13:24    Why he loves backing underdog founders and why it’s been a successful strategy14:25   How strong conviction gets deals done at Bullpen16:33   Bullpen’s team approach in servicing companies18:24    Keep a culture of contrarianism 20:21    The gap between boutique and larger funds21:55    How Bullpen’s reserve model has evolved over time23:42    SPACs have a certain parallel 27:29    Thoughts on emerging managers that will become institutional 29:57    The best advice he’s gotten as a VC30:55    Paul’s anti portfolio32:43 The investor he admires the mostMentioned In This Episode:* Bullpen Capital* FanDuelWe’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Paul! Follow @SamirKaji and give your insight and questions using the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

On this week’s show, we are joined by Ashmeet Sidana, founder and chief engineer at Engineering Capital, a seed stage firm with $139.5M AUM. Prior to founding Engineering Capital in 2015, Ashmeet spend nearly 10 years at Foundation Capital which he joined after various technical roles at companies such as VMware and Silicon Graphics. His investments include Azure (NYSE: AZRE), Netsil (acquired by Nutanix), Palerra (acquired by Oracle), Freewheel (acquired by Comcast), InQuira (acquired by Oracle), Altor (acquired by Juniper), Appurify (acquired by Google), PrivateCore (acquired by Facebook) and StackStorm (acquired by Brocade).Ashmeet received an MBA from Wharton, MS in Computer Science from Stanford University and a BS in Computer Science summa cum laude from USC. I’ve long considered Ashmeet to one of the most versatile and thoughtful GP’s in the market and his comments on this week’s show illustrate that. In this episode we discuss the following topics:01:14    Ashmeet’s accidental journey into VC02:16    Learnings from the late-great Kathryn Gould when he was thinking about starting his own firm.05:37    The goals he set forth to the type of firm he wanted to build 07:22    Choosing to be a solo GP versus another partnership11:53    Managing time effectively as a solo GP14:26    What he believes to be the trigger point to adding a partner17:56    How fund size relates to strategy20:11    Why Ashmeet chose to grow his fund size over time21:22    Technical risk and how it relates to capital needs24:01    What the rush of capital means to both founder and investors27:03    Competition between specialist seed firms and multi-stage large firms29:55    Trends coming out of the pandemic34:04    Why data is the new oil, but also has asbestos type of properties 35:52    His biggest learning as a VC36:54    Ashmeet’s biggest miss38:24    The people he has learned from the mostMentioned in this episode:* Engineering Capital* Foundation Capital* Kathryn GouldI’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Ashmeet. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Non-traditional paths into venture have been a common theme among many emerging managers, and our guest this week, Katie Jacobs Stanton, founder of Moxxie Ventures, is no exception. Katie started her career as a Banker at JP Morgan, but subsequently worked within the Obama White house as special advisor to the office of innovation, and she had operator roles at Twitter, Google, Yahoo, and Color Genomics. She was also named by Forbes as the #56 on the most powerful women in the world. Prior to Moxxie, Katie also co-founded the #Angels investment collective along with other former Twitter executives, and invested in 40 early-stage companies including Airtable, Cameo, Carta, Coinbase, Literati, Modern Fertility, Shape Security and Threads. Katie started her career as a Banker at JP Morgan and she had operator roles at Twitter, Google, Yahoo, and Color. In addition to her startup career, Katie worked in the Obama White House and State Department. She is also on the board of Vivendi.In this episode we discuss the following topics:01:24    Katie’s journey into investing05:38    The decision to start her own fund rather than joining an established firm07:49    Why she went the solo GP route09:51    Adaptation process of not having a team around her11:39    How she optimized her fundraising process14:08    Learning to deal with LPs who ghost and how “no’s” can be helpful15:54    Patterns she noticed in LPs the believed in her18:04    The types of questions LPs ask off sheet contacts during their reference checks19:39    Thinking about future fund sizes when raising your fund I22:15    How Katie works to diversify her deal sourcing25:35    The edge she believes Moxxie has in the marketplace28:28    The need to keep evolving to maintain competitive edge29:49    Breaking down the time commitments needed to run a fund31:21    The advice she would give to a new manager32:32    The big miss of her career34:00    The experience that prepared her the most for being a manager Mentioned In This Episode:* Moxxie Ventures* #AngelsI’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Katie. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

In venture, many people speak about being contrarian, but very few investors truly are comfortable with consistently thinking outside of mainstream consensus. One exception is Daniel Leff, co-founder of Waverley Capital. Waverley was founded in 2019 with Edgar Bronfmann, Jr. and is focused on investing in media start-ups.Prior to Waverley, Daniel founded Luminari Capital, a top-performing media fund. During his career Daniel invested in companies such as Roku, FuboTV The Athletic, Headspace, and Matterport. As he’s built his firms, he’s taken a very unique approach in portfolio construction and LP composition, both of which have been very successful. Prior to founding Luminari, Daniel was a Partner with Globespan Capital Partners.  Earlier in his career, Daniel worked for Sevin Rosen Funds and Redpoint Ventures.  He also previously held engineering, marketing and strategic investment positions with Intel Corporation. Daniel earned a B.S. Chemistry from The University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. Daniel also earned an MBA from The UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, where he was an Anderson Venture Fellow and where he currently serves on the Board of Visitors.Today's Venture Unlocked is brought to you by Aduro Advisors.Aduro Advisors is the premier fund administrator for venture capital and private equity firms. Led by a team of industry veterans and powered by proprietary software, FundPanel.io, Aduro pairs best-in-class service with the robust and flexible technology that the industry demands.From emerging managers just starting out to seasoned firms looking to supplement an internal team, Aduro’s back-office solution rises to the challenge of supporting your firm’s specific needs.Listeners of Venture Unlocked receive the first quarter of management company services free with promo code UNLOCKED.To redeem, email dev@aduroadvisors.com.In this episode we discuss the following topics:02:03    The opportunity Daniel saw when he started Luminari05:57    Why media tech is such a hard thing for mainstream investors to understand09:19    The inherent edge of a strategic LP base11:51    How Daniel activates his LPs systematically and strategically15:40    The decision to partner with Edgar Bronfmann, Jr. versus someone that was already deeply working within the startup or venture world. 21:10    Why media startups have trouble accessing capital, and how this can be mitigated. 27:16    His thoughts on reserves. 27:24   How relationships with strategic & high net worth investors has helped their portfolio companies raise rounds30:33    How Daniel’s venture career helped him develop conviction in his investments 35:51    Advice for emerging managers36:48    Daniel’s anti-portfolio39:33    The investors he admires the most Mentioned In This Episode:* Waverley Capital* Luminari CapitalI’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Daniel. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Today, we’re seeing major startup hubs emerge across the US (and globally). Up until fairly recently, LA was not considered a major US technology and venture hub. My guest on this week’s episode, Brian Garrett, has been in the LA venture ecosystem for two decades now. He also co-founded Crosscut Ventures, one of the very first seed funds in LA (if not the first). Today LA has claims companies such as Snap, TrueCar, Maker, Honey, Dollar Shave Club, Honest Company as examples of companies that reached scale in the now rapidly growing ecosystem. Crosscut began as a very small vehicle of $6MM, but now has over 120 investments and is one of the largest seed fund platforms in LA with $300MM+ AUM. In our episode we discussed everything from the rise of LA and non SV tech hubs to fundraising during a recession to the importance of self-discovery and mental wellness. Today's Venture Unlocked is brought to you by Aduro Advisors.Aduro Advisors is the premier fund administrator for venture capital and private equity firms. Led by a team of industry veterans and powered by proprietary software, FundPanel.io, Aduro pairs best-in-class service with the robust and flexible technology that the industry demands.From emerging managers just starting out to seasoned firms looking to supplement an internal team, Aduro’s back-office solution rises to the challenge of supporting your firm’s specific needs.Listeners of Venture Unlocked receive the first quarter of management company services free with promo code UNLOCKED.To redeem, email dev@aduroadvisors.com.In this episode we discuss the following topics:01:54    Brian’s journey into venture03:48    Why they started Crosscut in 2008, initially as a part time project06:31    Crosscut’s conviction on why LA would become a strong startup ecosystem08:28    The strategy for Crosscut’s early funds11:55    How they scaled to a true institutional sized fund in Fund III; did anything change?14:30    Mental model for investing based around ownership 15:13 Why Fund IV is the best indication of Crosscut and what is happening in LA17:22    Why big companies can be built outside SV20:00    Thoughts on sector focused funds22:36    Being local as an advantage29:22    Brian’s journey into wellness32:02    How being centered has made him a better VC, and how it’s shaped Crosscut’s culture34:02    The best piece of career advice he’s received35:53    His anti-portfolio37:50    The investor he admires the mostMentioned In This Episode:* Crosscut I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Brian. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

The use of data is playing a bigger and bigger role in our everyday lives. Venture is no exception, but most of data use in VC is related to sourcing, picking, and helping founders. My guest today, Kelsey Chase, co-founded a company called Aumni that uses granular level data contained in deal docs to help managers have a much better understanding of their portfolio positions and offer accurate, robust reporting for LPs. It was interesting to hear his perspectives on the problems that lie in reporting, and the rising bar LPs are expecting of emerging managers. The company has raised $13MM to date, with their most recent round led by SVB. Prior to Aumni, Kelsey was a venture lawyer at Wilson Sonsini and more recently DLA Piper.In this episode we discuss the following topics:02:55    What was the main problem they saw in deal reporting04:53    New age of expectations for emerging managers07:04    How data that can be used to drive all aspects of investing and fund management. 08:55    The rise of secondary markets, and the important of data. 11:18    Analytics for LPs13:18    How role of automation in GP/LP relationships15:31    The use of software to help managers focus on investing vs. other admin. 17:40   How managers need to think about accuracy of ownership position?Mentioned in this episode:* AumniI’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Kelsey. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

On this week’s show, we’re lucky to have on Clara Brenner, co-founder of the Urban Innovation Fund which provides seed capital and regulatory support to entrepreneurs shaping the future of our cities. Along with her co-founder Julie Lein, their story is very compelling, from how they raised their first fund (from primarily strategic investors and special interest investors) to how they help founders unlock large businesses by helping them navigate regulatory hurdles. Prior to starting Urban Innovation Fund, Clara was the co-founder and CEO of TUMML, an accelerator and startup hub focused on urban technology which invested in Chariot which was acquired by Ford and Hitch, which was acquired by Lyft.  In 2014, Forbes listed Clara as one of its “30 Under 30” for Social Entrepreneurship and her urban entrepreneurship work has been featured on MSNBC and TechCrunch. She serves on the Board of Tumml, as well as the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Bay Area Local Advisory Committee. Clara earned her MBA from MIT Sloan and BA from NYU.Today's Venture Unlocked is brought to you by Aduro Advisors.Aduro Advisors is the premier fund administrator for venture capital and private equity firms. Led by a team of industry veterans and powered by proprietary software, FundPanel.io, Aduro pairs best-in-class service with the robust and flexible technology that the industry demands.From emerging managers just starting out to seasoned firms looking to supplement an internal team, Aduro’s back-office solution rises to the challenge of supporting your firm’s specific needs.Listeners of Venture Unlocked receive the first quarter of management company services free with promo code UNLOCKED.To redeem, email dev@aduroadvisors.com.In this episode we discuss the following topics:01:53    Clara’s journey into venture05:15    On their thesis, and thoughts on impact funds07:01    Why their first fundraise was so different than most first time managers09:15    Finding “impact curious” aligned LPs who typically don’t target first funds10:00    Building a great institutional foundation early 12:11    Ways to stay in front of LPs between raises. 14:22    The value they drive in helping founders navigate regulatory hurdles 18:17    Staying close and adding value, regardless of investment size. 20:20    Why keeping things simple on portfolio construction and terms are the right way to go. 22:17    LPACs and best practices24:24     How the Urban Outcomes report has helped them evangelize their story25:01    Providing peer networking opportunities for their LPs via their LPAC27:26    How Julie and Clara’s unique talents complement each other 30:19    Best career advice she’s received32:10    Biggest pre-seed deal they missed and later invested in after a lot of work34:08    The investor that has inspired her the mostMentioned In This Episode:* Urban Innovation Fund* TUMMLI’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Clara. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Our guest today is Lindsay Lee, managing member of Authentic Ventures. Lindsay has over 20 years of investing experience in technology. Prior to starting Authentic, he served as CIO for an investment management firm to which he helped grow to almost $1B in assets and also managed a family office where he focused on seed and early-stage investments. He brings a unique combination of operating experience, public market investing experience, and early stage investing experience. Authentic Ventures was founded in 2015 and focuses on Seed and Early-stage companies. One of their core differentiators is the “Authentic Network” which is a managed community of like-minded entrepreneurs, founders, investors and growth hackers. Indexed heavily toward diversity, the network is operationalized and focused on helping portfolio companies solve the most meaningful issues. Today's Venture Unlocked is brought to you by Aduro Advisors.Aduro Advisors is the premier fund administrator for venture capital and private equity firms. Led by a team of industry veterans and powered by proprietary software, FundPanel.io, Aduro pairs best-in-class service with the robust and flexible technology that the industry demands.From emerging managers just starting out to seasoned firms looking to supplement an internal team, Aduro’s back-office solution rises to the challenge of supporting your firm’s specific needs.Listeners of Venture Unlocked receive the first quarter of management company services free with promo code UNLOCKED.To redeem, email dev@aduroadvisors.com.In this episode we discuss the following topics:02:09    After so many different experiences, why focus on seed investing?03:23    How public market investing skills can translate to privates06:50    The inspiration behind Authentic11:57    What the Authentic Network, and how to operationalize it.16:39    Their focus on indexing their network heavily toward women and People of Color. 18:14    Portfolio construction methodology27:03    Differences between investing at various stages of investments30:37    The markers LPs look for between fund I and fund II33:46    Lindsay’s biggest career mistake35:20    The investors he admires37:00    His best piece of advice to new managersMentioned In This Episode:Authentic VenturesI’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Lindsay. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

One of the key benefits of the shift in the venture landscape has been the ushering in of more diverse funding sources to entrepreneurs. In this week’s Venture Unlocked episode (available both on Spotify and Itunes) I’m excited to bring you Ryan Hoover, founding partner of Weekend Fund. Ryan grew up in Oregon and worked in the gaming industry prior to launching technology product discovery platform Product Hunt in 2013. Backed by some incredible angel and institutional investors, the company built the largest platform for new products, and ultimately was acquired by AngelList a few years ago. Ryan continued to act as CEO post acquisition and just recently stepped down to focus on Weekend Fund, which he manages with Vedika Jain. At Weekend they focus on co-investing in pre-seed and seed companies.  Weekend Fund’s LPs includes Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, Jana Messerschmidt, Chris and Crystal Sacca, Hunter Walk, Kevin Rose, and Garry Tan.Today's Venture Unlocked is brought to you by Aumni.Truly stand out to Institutional LPs with Aumni.  Before your next fundraise, get Aumni’s best-in-class fund analytics and reporting platform powered by our team of venture experts and AI. LPs are demanding better reporting which can be a significant challenge for smaller firms. Aumni can automate fund analytics to quickly answer the toughest questions from current and prospective investors.In this episode we discuss the following topics:01:49    Ryan’s journey into tech03:49    The launch of Product Hunt and the sale to AngelList07:48    Weekend Fund’s origin story11:04    What growing from $3M in Fund I to $10M in Fund II has meant 14:40    How Weekend differentiates itself from other funds19:30    Maintaining NPS for portfolio companies22:10    Competitive landscape amongst funds creating experimentation in venture24:01    Systemizing the fund’s deal flow operations 28:35    Tactical considerations for raising Fund III 31:38    LP composition and building relationships with Institutional investors34:26    Ryan’s anti-portfolio37:48    The best piece of investing advice he’s gotten39:30    The investor that inspires him the mostMentioned In This Episode:* Product Hunt* AngelList* Weekend FundI’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Ryan. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked.If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com