Bain Capital->Leveraging a private equity/VC firm’s proprietary relationship network

Hunt Club recently became a sponsor of my websites. Hunt Club enables you to recruit vetted talent, faster. We leverage our proprietary referral network of 25k business leaders to source talent proven to perform better and stay longer at companies.  Clients include Bain Capital, Tiger Global, WestCap, and FJ Labs. Darren Herman, an Operating Partner...

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JETRO and Coolwater bringing Fund Accelerator Program to Japan VC ecosystem

Coolwater Capital, often referred to as the “Y Combinator for emerging venture capital funds,” has partnered with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) to bring its program to the Japanese venture capital ecosystem. Over the last five years, Coolwater has built the most successful accelerator for emerging funds in the United States, having launched over 200 venture...

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Databases of limited partners investing in emerging VC funds

I’ve collected numerous lists of allocators focused on emerging VC fund managers. Of course, I emphasize you’re not going to be very effective if you just bulk-email these allocators. Please do your background research and pitch each LP based on how you uniquely fit their criteria. I’ve met few emerging managers who had success with...

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VC and Free Market Values

Liberty Ventures is a community “building the ecosystem of purpose-driven leaders committed to a free and prosperous future to build their businesses and so their impact.” I recently presented Coolwater Capital model to their members. Libery Ventures asked me how we align with their values.  I responded: Two of our key values are innovation and...

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Announcing launch of MiniVC: my AI avatar (free)

After some experimentation, I built and launched MiniVC, an AI avatar of myself. Check it out! It requires a subscription to ChatGPT Plus. You might ask: how is this different from off-the-shelf ChatGPT? It’s designed to draw primarily from my research, 2 published books, and over 100 public presentations at leading universities and finance/tech conferences.  This...

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What should VCs do with zombie companies?

Inevitably, some of a VC’s portfolio companies will become “zombies”: not dead, but not growing. They have some technology and revenues, but morale is low. The CEO is hinting he’d like to get into VC or otherwise find a soft landing. Finding a buyer is difficult, because the company is not exciting to anyone, including...

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