We’re excited to release our newest episode with another great guest, Jaclyn Freeman Hester, Partner at the Foundry Group. Founded in 2007 by Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, Ryan McIntyre, and Seth Levine The Foundry Group has $2.4B under management and has invested in startups such as FitBit, SendGrid, Beeswax, and Notion. Several years ago the firm, led by Jaclyn and Lindel Eakman, started investing in interesting emerging manager firms, and have acted as LP’s in firms such as Forerunner, K9 Ventures, Founder Collective, IA Ventures, Homebrew, and Ludlow. Jaclyn got her MBA/JD from the University of Colorado and practiced corporate law advising startups and private equity firms as well as buyers and sellers in M&A transactions. She also worked closely with her husband and his family on their SaaS startup, FareHarbor, from the earliest stages through acquisition.In this episode we discuss the following topics:04:59   The catalyst for Foundry starting to invest in Emerging Managers 08:54    Her view on emerging manager trends and opportunities11:42    What she looks for when evaluating new managers 20:59    Do competitive moats in venture exist?24:51    What type of characteristics she’s sees a critical for successful VC’s and teams31:06    How they evaluate managers that are going from proof of concept to raising the first institutional fund. 35:37    Common mistakes emerging managers make pitching38:45    The best questions that GPs have asked her41:08    Jaclyn’s biggest career mistake43:26    Her best advice to new managersMentioned in this episode:* Foundry Group* TechStars* MuckerI’d love to know what you took away from my conversation with Jaclyn Freeman Hester. 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

Happy New Year! I’m thrilled to announce that Avidan Ross is our first guest of 2021 Avidan is the Founder and managing partner of Root Ventures and one of the most thoughtful newer seed stage managers in the market. Like many that have appeared on the show, Avidan took a non-traditional path into venture. After graduating from Columbia, Avidan spent time in various engineering roles before becoming CTO at CIM Group, L.P., a private equity firm currently with $30B under management. After nearly 7 years at CIM, Avidan moved on to become a host a Food Network pilot and also co-write a book on the best coffee in the U.S. In 2013 Avidan founded Root Ventures. Today, he and his partners Chrissy Meyer, Kane Hseih, and Lee Edwards each bring strong engineering backgrounds and a passion for taking a very hands-on roles with their portfolio companies which incline toward very technical in nature. In this episode we discuss the following topics:00:35    Avidan’s journey into venture capital04:15   Getting comfortable with investing in early-stage deep tech companies out of a small fund09:01   What is the most important thing they look to bring to founders11:38    Portfolio construction and why they reserve more than most seed funds16:44    Portfolio sizing18:54    His thoughts on generalist funds vs. specialists21:32    How they think about value-add. 25:54    The hiring model Root uses 30:06    The difference fundraising Fund I and Fund II, and building relationships with LP’s. 39:46    Avidan’s biggest career mistake.41:02    His biggest investing miss.42:30    The people in the industry he’s inspired by. Mentioned in this episode:* Root VenturesI’d love to know what you took away from my conversations with Avidan Ross. 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

As we wrap up what’s been perhaps the most interesting and difficult year in modern history, the holidays still remain a time to to spend with family and reflect on the things we all still do have. I’m incredibly grateful for what I do have, and am looking forward to brighter days ahead for all of us as we move to 2021. On our final episode of the year, I’m thrilled to share my conversation with Marlon Nichols, Managing General Partner at MaC Ventures. After graduating from Northeastern University, Marlon spend several years in various consultant and operational roles before joining Intel Capital in 2011.After five years at Intel, Marlon co-founded Cross Culture Ventures along with Troy Carter, a successful media manager that managed the careers of artists such as Lady Gaga and John Legend, and made investments in startups such as Uber and Spotify.  Given the shared vision of Marlon and Troy, Cross Culture Ventures made a name for themselves with their cultural investing thesis that focused on companies centered in the convergence of global popular culture and technology.In 2019, Cross Culture merged with M Ventures to create MaC Ventures, one of the few venture partnership “mergers” we’ve seen, where he and the team invest in “ technology companies that create infectious products that benefit from shifts in cultural trends and behaviors in an increasingly diverse global marketplace”. In this episode, Marlon and I discuss the following topics:00:54 - Marlon’s winding journey into venture05:23 - The opportunity he saw to invest in diversity07:40 - How he prepared to launch Cross Culture 8:07 - His unique point of view and value proposition in the venture industry10:12 - What led to Marlon’s decision to merge Cross Culture with M Ventures16:29 - How did his LPs react to the merger of the firms? 17:52 - What are the primary things he sees LPs care about the most?23:02 - The MaC view toward adding values to portfolio founders. 28:11 - How to drive value to LP’s outside of just returns. 30:05 - Why firms struggle to invest in diversity37:20- Marlon’s biggest career mistake in ventureMentioned in this episode:* Mac Ventures* The tangible benefits of diversity in venture* Study on women in leadership rolesI’d love to know what you took away from my conversations with Marlon Nichols. 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

Deena Shakir, General Partner at Lux Capital, discusses her background as the daughter of Iraqi immigrants, Lux's behavior traits, portfolio management as a team sport, establishing company culture, and the significance of data on diversity in venture.

For daily thoughts on the venture landscape, follow me @samirkaji on Twitter. Chris Douvos is the Founder of Ahoy Capital, a boutique Fund of Funds that focuses primarily on allocating into early-stage venture capital funds, while selectively co-investing directly into companies. Chris started his career at Morgan Stanley while still at Yale earning his MBA. From there he worked at Princeton University’s endowment fund where he got his start in venture before moving onto The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF). At TIFF he decided that the right strategy was to make “heroic investments” and invest in very early stage, and often unproven managers. This method paid off as Chris was one of the first institutional Limited Partners to back First Round Capital (and remains so). Chris then went on to Venture Investment Associates  (VIA) prior to spinning out to start Ahoy Capital in 2018. Ever engaging, Chris covers a whole host of emerging VC topics and he and I discuss the following:6:20 Why Chris started a fund that invests in emerging managers and how he’s arbitraging people’s inattention to get to true outsized returns.9:00 The process for raising a FoF, and what his LP’s are looking for. 10:59  Ahoy’s portfolio model on managers, and why he thinks concentration is the right avenue for them. 11:54 Why looking at past performance shouldn’t always be the leading indicator in evaluating firms, and why he looks at other specific factors. 13:35 His thoughts on GP/Thesis fit 16:51 How he was introduced to Josh Kopelman of First Round Capital 22:13 Why you need to be able to articulate a sustainable competitive advantage; funds that are good examples of this25:21 Why Chris looks to invest in Venture business builders, not option seekers28:18 The “return the fund” mental model managers should use. 33:00 Why there’s currently a need for liquidity in the ecosystem and why SPACs and direct listings are helpful37:25 Why he’s excited about the diversity, equity, and inclusion GP investments 39:25 Thoughts on Rolling Funds42:18 Chris’ missed investment opportunities43:11 How to pitch Chris (and Fund of Funds in general). Mentioned in this episode:* Ahoy Capital* David Swenson’s Pioneering Portfolio Management* Chris’ blog post: “All About the Benjamins”* Micro VC - Smaller is better, but the math is hard. I’d love to know what you took away from my conversations with Chris Douvos; Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest.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 this episode, we speak with Nate Williams, Co-founder and Managing Partner at UNION Labs. Nate Co-founded UNION Labs in 2018 with his partner, Chris Kim while an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at Kleiner Perkins.Nate is a seasoned Operator and angel investor including August Home, where he served as Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Business. Following their acquisition in 2017, he went on to join KPCB as EIR where he spent time helping entrepreneurs and sourcing investments including Proxy. While EIR, Nate formed a thesis on the opportunity in verticalized IoT which he published in TechCrunch and began to see a lane for a new type of fund.UNION Labs is an early stage firm that both backs and builds companies. They deploy venture investments, as well as manage a structured EIR co-creation program to incubate companies. The core firm focus is on the commercial application of deep technology in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics, that solve real-world problems in smart cities, intelligent homes, or connected transportation. Since its inception, UNION has made five investments, been the lead on three deals, and averages 11% ownership across its current investments.In this episode, Nate and I discuss the following:03:04 - What it was like being an EIR at Kleiner Perkins, and what he learned.06:51 - The dramatic changes in the venture capital industry over the past decade.13:16 - The venture studio concept and when and why it makes sense for a seed firm like theirs to co-create a company.16:47 - Why growth in new corporate venture capital funds may signal a lack of alignment between Fortune 500 companies and Sand Hill Road.17:47 - Nate’s three-pronged approach to raising funds, aka “The Sandwich Strategy.”23:51 - Why transparency is so important both for both Limited Partners and General Partners26:11 - A key observation UNION made early in fundraising from LPs.33:18 - The structural advantages of being a small and specialized fund35:40 - Why deep tech doesn’t automatically mean capital intensive and doesn’t have to include hardwareMentioned in this episode:·       UNION Labs·       Nate’s thesis on the opportunity on verticalized IoT in TechCrunch·       Elizabeth Yin on Venture Unlocked·       OpenLP·       Charles Hudson’s podcast·       Laurence Toney’s post on Quora, “What Is An Entrepreneur in Residence? What Do They Do? How Does It Work?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 this episode, we speak with Soraya Darabi, Co-Founder and General Partner of TMV.  The firm primarily focuses on investing at the seed stage through Series A and is active in areas such as the future of work, education tech, logistics and mobility, and sustainable solutions. While not specifically diversity-focused, the firm’s portfolio is nearly 2/3rd comprised of female or minority-led companies.Earlier in her career, Soraya served as the Manager of Digital Partnerships & Social Media at The New York Times, where she spearheaded social media and digital partnerships. In 2009, she co-founded Foodspotting, named “App of the Year” by both Apple and Wired (later acquired by OpenTable, then Priceline). Over the years, she has been named one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” for which she was featured on the cover of the magazine. Additionally, Soraya founded and manages Transact Global, a community for female investors to share ideas on firm building and investing.Soraya founded TMV in 2016 with her business partner Marina Hadjipateras. Each utilized their unique backgrounds  -- Soraya in social media and entrepreneurship and Marina in working for her family’s global shipping business. TMV is committed to investing in diverse, purpose-driven founders serving large markets, and leverages a strong operating team to help drive value well beyond what typical seed firms might be able to provide.In this episode, Soraya and I discuss the following:07:46 - Soraya’s definition of a purpose-driven fund10:49 - Key lessons she learned in raising her first, proof of concept fund12:46 - Why TMV and venture is really a services business13:56 - How they prepared themselves between fundraises for scale17:03 - TMV’s deal structure and process for mentoring investments20:35 - The benefits of the TMV’s Venture Partner program27:43 - Why she thinks there will soon be diversity mandates from LPs31:10 - The story of Transact Global34:49 - The GP she most respectsMentioned in this episode:* TMV* Soraya’s podcast Business Schooled* The Venture Hacks Bible* The Operator Collective* All Raise* Darshan Somashekar of TMV’s TechCrunch post on why he left ed tech to go into gamingI’d love to know what you took away from my conversation with Soraya Darabi. 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 this episode, we speak to industry veteran Greg Sands, who founded Costanoa Ventures after spending 13 years at Sutter Hill Ventures. Prior to Sutter Hill, Greg serves as the first product manager of Netscape (where he wrote the initial product plan and coined the name “Netscape”). He founded Costanoa Ventures as a boutique early stage firm to solve for a gap he saw between seed stage funds and larger lifecycle firms. The firm primarily invests in B2B seed stage companies in categories such as the Future of work, Fintech, Data/Machine learning, and security. Although the firm employs a traditional craft approach to venture capital investing, their model is unique in many ways including the incubation/co-creation of companies and the use of in-house operating partners to add value to portfolio founders. In this episode, Greg and I discuss:* What was it like leaving Sutter Hill and raising a fund for the very first time as a solo-GP. * The role of having mentors and champions around you when starting off.* How he thinks about hiring team members. * What it means to build and maintain a culture designed for durability. * Why they take a relatively concentrated approach to investing, and how this translates to portfolio construction theory. * Why venture is a service business. Mentioned in this episode:* Costanoa VenturesI’d love to know what you took away from my conversation with Greg Sands. 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. 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 just a few short years, Fifth Wall Ventures, which focuses on investing in companies in the “built world” economy, has quickly become one of LA’s largest venture firms with over $1.2B in committed LP capital. I met Co-Founder Brendan Wallace when he and Brad Greiwe started Fifth Wall nearly five years ago and the trajectory of the firm has been nothing short of astounding.  Brendan started his career at Goldman Sachs in real estate investment banking after graduating from Princeton. What’s always struck me over the years is Brendan’s unique vision on how he thinks about building a consistent alpha generating firm. In this episode, Brendan and I cover:* How to manage a LP based with both corporates and financial LPs. * Providing value add and driving synergies between his LPs and portfolio companies. * Why the conventional wisdom that large fund sizes are a direct line to weakening performance isn’t always the case if certain characteristics are present in the firm’s model. * How he thinks about developing and managing a platform that includes advisory, operations and investing. * Why he doesn’t think the traditional venture model is well constructed for outsized returns at scale.* How different type of fund products under one roof can drive cross-over value and improve return profiles. Mentioned in this episode:* Fifth WallI’d love to know what you took away from my conversation with Brendan Wallace. 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. 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

Leo Polovets, Founding Partner of Susa Ventures, discusses topics such as building a venture thesis, the differentiation of VC firms, the importance of being helpful to founders, and portfolio construction. He also talks about the early days of Susa Ventures, the challenges of operating with a small fund size, and the process of raising funds and determining fund sizes. Additionally, he emphasizes the need for curiosity and open-mindedness in investing.