One of the first decisions we had to make in setting up our new VC fund, Versatile Venture Capital, was our CRM and marketing technology infrastructure. I’m very interested in the tech stack of private equity/VC firms, both to improve the efficiency of Versatile VC and also as a focus area for [...continue reading]
5 Innovative Fundraising Methods for Emerging Venture Capital and Private Equity Funds
How do you raise money for your venture capital or private equity fund from family offices and high net worths? I see five innovative new methods for raising capital which emerging managers such as Versatile VC are using, which I’ve ranked in roughly descending order of popularity: Join [...continue reading]
How do you attract family offices and other large investors to your direct investing platform?
One of the best business models ever is creating a marketplace between investors and investment opportunities. However, the challenge with this two-sided market is: how do you get the investors to show up? It’s hard enough to get the retail investors, but the family offices and other large check [...continue reading]
11 Ideas to Organize an Event Family Offices Want to Attend
Lots of event planners and anyone raising capital want to attract family offices. But how? I’ve identified a range of best practices that I’ve seen other organizations use in serving the family office community, in roughly declining order of impact: 1. Advertise that the event is strictly [...continue reading]
New video: How Private Equity and VC Investors Accelerate Portfolio Company Success
I just spoke at the London Business School Multiple:X conference Friday on How Private Equity and VC Investors Accelerate Portfolio Company Success, based on my Journal of Private Equity research study. I've embedded below my presentation and the video. [...continue reading]
Should you give an anchor investor a stake in your fund’s management company?
Raising capital for a new fund is always hard. Should you give preferential economics or other benefits to a seed anchor investor, who makes a material commitment to the fund? These “VCs for investment management companies” are also known as GP Stake investors or fund platforms. According to [...continue reading]
Should Small Emerging Managers Use Placement Agents?
The pros and cons of choosing a placement agent for small funds It would make life a lot easier for emerging managers if they could outsource the entire fundraising process. But can you? Empirically, few small emerging investment managers hire placement agents, particularly in venture capital. [...continue reading]
Launching a Portfolio Acceleration Platform at a Venture Capital or Private Equity Fund
I’ve recently advised a number of emerging private equity and VC funds who are wrestling with the question: What are the highest impact steps they can take to support their portfolio companies? Almost every private equity and venture capital investor now advertises that they have a platform to [...continue reading]
