All Questions

Listing VCs on public stock exchanges has not been successful to date. There are a few instances in Israel and a couple in London. Such a structure adds many inconvenient requirements for fund managers. Also, startups don't like to have ...

Listing VCs on public stock exchanges has not been successful to date. There are a few instances in Israel and a couple in London. Such a structure adds many inconvenient requirements for fund managers. Also, startups don't like to have their internal data (valuation, business updates) publicly exposed via investor reports.

Generally speaking, increasing or decreasing an LP's capital commitment post-admittance is accomplished via a simple change agreement countersigned by all parties (a new LPA is not required). In the case of an increase, a "catch-up" ca...

Generally speaking, increasing or decreasing an LP's capital commitment post-admittance is accomplished via a simple change agreement countersigned by all parties (a new LPA is not required). In the case of an increase, a "catch-up" capital call is usually sent. In the case of a decrease, it can only decrease to the amount the LP may have already paid-in. In summary, the requirements are that the requested decrease not go below any paid-in capital (or other measures may need to be discussed), and that the proper paperwork is put into place so that fund accounting can reflect this change appropriately. 

The amount of capital that you close on is your fund size, not your target. In other words, if you have a fund target of $10m and you do a 1st close on $1m, your fund size is $1m until you close on more capital. 

The amount of capital that you close on is your fund size, not your target. In other words, if you have a fund target of $10m and you do a 1st close on $1m, your fund size is $1m until you close on more capital. 

As of the end of 2024, you can not filter LPs based on country of residence or geography directly in the pipeline. However, you can Tag LPs based on their country or region, and then filter based on Tags. This is good functionality to ad...

As of the end of 2024, you can not filter LPs based on country of residence or geography directly in the pipeline. However, you can Tag LPs based on their country or region, and then filter based on Tags. This is good functionality to add, so we will add it to the roadmap.

Cap table adjustments for the ManCo are managed by the firm’s legal counsel. There are no short cuts here because mistakes in this are have severe consequences and are often fatal. We dedicate significant time to cap-tables during Decil...

Cap table adjustments for the ManCo are managed by the firm’s legal counsel. There are no short cuts here because mistakes in this are have severe consequences and are often fatal. We dedicate significant time to cap-tables during Decile Launch since the consequences are so severe. The most critical component is that you must be extremely careful about whom has ownership in the ManCo. Owners of the ManCo have ownership in all future funds. Therefore you must avoid giving ownership to people or entities or investors who are not build the Firm with you over multiple funds.

Generally speaking, venture fund advisors (management companies and the underlying individuals in the standard Decile structure, registered as Exempt Reporting Advisors) are exempt from BOI reporting so long as they 1) meet certain crite...

Generally speaking, venture fund advisors (management companies and the underlying individuals in the standard Decile structure, registered as Exempt Reporting Advisors) are exempt from BOI reporting so long as they 1) meet certain criteria and 2) make certain filings. You may find this article generally helpful regarding this topic.  With respect to the GP Entity, if it is an entity controlled by a venture fund advisor, it is generally exempt as well. A Limited Partnership is also generally exempt from BOI reporting so long as it is a pooled investment vehicle, as defined by FINCEN. 

TL'DR - No. All Limited Partners must go through an AML/KYC prior to being accepted into the fund during an proper institutional grade LP onboarding process. This is because banks perform significant compliance checks on onboarded LPs. W...

TL'DR - No. All Limited Partners must go through an AML/KYC prior to being accepted into the fund during an proper institutional grade LP onboarding process. This is because banks perform significant compliance checks on onboarded LPs. When a bank determines that an LP is not compliant, they typically shut down the bank account and often report this action to the regulatory authorities. 

A search fund functions in a similar way to venture capital funds and PE funds where the fund manager raises capital from investors and deploys it into companies with the goal of creating a liquidity event. However, the execution of the ...

A search fund functions in a similar way to venture capital funds and PE funds where the fund manager raises capital from investors and deploys it into companies with the goal of creating a liquidity event. However, the execution of the approach is much different. The fund searches for companies to acquire, which are usually legacy small business with strong metrics. Once the company is identified, the fund acquires the company and installs new leadership with an ambitious plan to scale the business. After holding the company for some time (typically 5+ years), the fund typically pursues a liquidity event via an exit.

The brackets in the base PACT agreement are placeholders for jurisdiction-specific legal references.  The language in the bracket is suggested language. For example, if you're in the US or launching a fund in Delaware, you can remove the...

The brackets in the base PACT agreement are placeholders for jurisdiction-specific legal references.  The language in the bracket is suggested language. For example, if you're in the US or launching a fund in Delaware, you can remove the brackets and the PACT will then work in Delaware. If, on the other hand, you plan to launch the fund in a different jurisdiction, you can replace the content in the brackets to match that jurisdiction.

Decile Group promotes and adheres to the Mensarius Oath (https://decilegroup.com/mensarius-oath/). In general, the principles of the Oath are enforced by the community. When a member of the community feels that the Oath has been violated...

Decile Group promotes and adheres to the Mensarius Oath (https://decilegroup.com/mensarius-oath/). In general, the principles of the Oath are enforced by the community. When a member of the community feels that the Oath has been violated, then it is up to the individual or entity in question to either dispute the accusation or reconcile the breach. So far, the community has done an excellent job of self policing, and, when there has been an incident, the individual or entity in question has been removed from the community until the breach has been reconciled.  The Mensarius Oath v2As a financial professional investing with personal or investor capital, I pledge to uphold these values. If determined by myself or a panel of my peers that I have violated these values without reconciliation agreed between all involved parties, then I will voluntarily leave the industry. Integrity: I vow to invest with integrity, ensuring my actions benefit humanity and consciously avoid harm to any parties. Excellence: I commit to maintaining the highest professional standards, setting an exemplary ethical benchmark in finance. Fairness: I endeavor to be fair in my dealings, standing against abuse of power, unfair advantage, seduction, corruption, or mistreatment. Equality: I pledge to promote inclusivity and equitable treatment in all financial endeavors, consciously working to reduce inequality. Respect: I promise to treat individuals and opportunities with the respect and the attention deserved in business interactions. Transparency: I affirm to be transparent and honest in dealings with investors, founders, and colleagues. Confidentiality: I swear to safeguard private, confidential, or personal information, keeping it safe from public or other unwanted disclosure. Growth: I am resolved to embrace feedback from clients and peers, committing to ongoing personal and professional growth.

The business model of early stage startups is often a guess that gets refined by constant customer development. In this context, red flags are not knowing who the actual customer is, not being diligent with customer development, and not ...

The business model of early stage startups is often a guess that gets refined by constant customer development. In this context, red flags are not knowing who the actual customer is, not being diligent with customer development, and not running tests to understand pricing and demand. It is also a red flag when a Founder doe not appear to care about revenue.

Use the FAST Agreement for all advisory work (https://fi.co/fast). The agreement provides a compensation framework based on the stage of the startup and the level of assistance using a percentage of the total startup value, which is rele...

Use the FAST Agreement for all advisory work (https://fi.co/fast). The agreement provides a compensation framework based on the stage of the startup and the level of assistance using a percentage of the total startup value, which is relevant in the early stages. These percentages are then converted into actual grants by the company and the Board when new grants are issued. As a result of being issued as a percentage, advisors do not need to understand the cap table or outstanding shares.

TL'DR - Don't do it. You will struggle to raise from professional LPs and it's incredibly difficult and expensive to execute an evergreen strategy in VC. As a result, the VC Lab accelerator does not support evergreen funds. It is not re...

TL'DR - Don't do it. You will struggle to raise from professional LPs and it's incredibly difficult and expensive to execute an evergreen strategy in VC. As a result, the VC Lab accelerator does not support evergreen funds. It is not recommended to use an evergreen structure for Venture Capital funds, especially for emerging managers.LPs will be un-familiar with the evergreen structure in VC, because it's unusual, difficult to execute and there is no example of a successful evergreen VC fund. It will make the fundraising process even more challenging that it is with a normal closed-ended VC fund. In addition, to execute an evergreen strategy, funds have to be able to mark the assets to market in between rounds of financing so that LPs can get liquidity. These structure is incredibly difficult to execute with startups and introduces enormous complexity.

Typically, you select "Pooled Investment Vehicle" for the LP Entity (the fund)

Typically, you select "Pooled Investment Vehicle" for the LP Entity (the fund)