All Questions

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Would You Consider Selling GP Stake or Offering AUM Discount to Attract an Anchor Investor?

All had the following from a potential anchor LP (willing to do 25%+) who is keen to invest 'Would you consider a sale of any part of the GP or a price concession on aum to a possible anchor?' From all I've read this seems to be a polite but firm no. Any counterpoints or counterarguments?

Top answer:

It’s normal for anchors to ask for preferential terms, which you can manage in a side letter. That being said, anchors tend to delay closings and are very difficult to work with. So, to qualify them before wasting time with them, send th...

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Hi VC Lab Family what are your thoughts on adding a link to the Fund pitch in the Newsletters?

Hi VC Lab Family what are your thoughts on adding a link to the Fund pitch in the Newsletters?

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I think it’s better that you don’t because you can’t really control if someone forwards it and the newsletter is usually a broader audience. We like to send the deck to super qualified leads that came from introductions. Then, for people...

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What is an Anchor Funder and How Does Equity Allocation Work for Female Founders?

We are in the process of getting our thesis validated by a few trusted advisors in our network and one of them make the following suggestion: _you would benefit from a corporate grant as anchor funder. OR go for a $10mn equity allocation from VC firm who need female founders._ We are not familiar with the concept of an anchor funder - does anyone have additional context they can share? Also curious if anyone has taken the equity allocation approach and can provide some additional context there. Thank you!

Top answer:

That is bad advice from a previous age when such things mattered. The world has changed, and the advice is therefore wrong. Is it possible to get corporate backing? Yes, but it takes 18+ months and is very slow and painful. Will a VC p...

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What's the general opinion on listing portfolio companies on the website while still raising?

What's the general opinion on listing portfolio companies on the website while still raising?

Top answer:

It's ok to do so if you want. Just make sure the site doesn't mention the fund or the thesis. You can mention the Firm however (the name of the ManCo) and a very high level description of what the Firm does.

 -  Mike Suprovici
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Q: What is the Accepted Assessment Framework for Measuring Impact of Firm Dealflow and Portfolio Companies?

Impact Fund Q: has anyone settled on an accepted assessment framework they are going to use to measure the impact of their firm dealflow and portfolio companies? Thanks in advance for sharing any thoughts and/or resources.

Top answer:

Founder Institute created For Progress, which you can check out here: https://fi.co/progress

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Is it Better to Focus on One LP Type or Mix Different Profiles for an Effective Investment Strategy?

Is it recommended to have an LP strategy or is mixing different profiles a “good” problem? We have large Japanese VCs European CVCs Swiss Family Office and rich individuals at the gate. Do we take them all or is it better to focus on one LP type?

Top answer:

Your best ROI per unit of time spent for your first closing is high net worth individuals. The others are better for your 2nd close or Fund 2 because they typically don't invest in new managers.

 -  Mike Suprovici
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How much time should a fund manager spend advising founders while closing Fund I?

How much time can a fund manager spend helping founders to gain trust? Considering all the time needed for closing Fund I, how should time be allocated? 

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A fund manager probably needs to spend 20 hours per top Rockstar company, spread over a few months.

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Can Accelerator Portfolio Companies Be Moved to a New Fund Without Involving Passive Shareholders?

On *Warehousing* ...Adeo Mike and anybody with experience in *Accelerator related funds*: If the passive shareholders of the *accelerator* are not necessarily LPs of the new fund were you able to move the portfolio/part of the portfolio to the new fund? And if so how (any suggestions)? Thanks!

Top answer:

It’s virtually impossible/very difficult for you to transfer an interest that you don’t own 100%.

 -  Mike Suprovici
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How to Cover Legal Expenses for a First Fund Before Closing Without Paying Out of Pocket?

Any insights on covering legal expenses for a first fund prior to closing the fund? Local VC estimates $50-60K for initial legal work all of which are recoupable from post-close admin fees. But are people just paying this out of pocket or what?

Top answer:

Legal fees can be an organizational expenses and paid by LPs. It can cost a lot more for legal work depending on the setup etc… You should only work with law firms that specialize in VC fund formations.

 -  Mike Suprovici
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How Should We Quantify the Attractiveness of Past Deals for Limited Partners: Exact Valuation or Descriptive Terms?

In the #4 question it's not clear how to quantify how each Past Deal will be attractive to Limited Partners. Should we write a valuation of the future rounds of the Deals in exact numbers or just write 'very attractive' or 'not attractive'?

Top answer:

You need to use numbers, preferably exits or markups. If you can't get these metrics, then look for revenue increases or some other clear indication of value creation and growth.

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Is a 25% Fund of Funds Proposal with These Terms Typical, Aggressive, or Worthy of a Counteroffer?

We had an interesting fund of funds proposal for 25% of our fund. *Do you know if the proposal is typical or aggressive or have advice for a counter?* This is the offer at a high level: • 40% of commitment allocated to initial investments of our fund. • 60% of commitment allocated to co-investments in subsequent funding rounds within our portfolio ventures as selected by the FoF (we don't receive any carry) • Option for FoF to lead subsequent funding rounds (for individual portfolio companies) as Lead Investor • 1 IC seat (we're okay with it)

Top answer:

You’re not going to be able to honor these terms because they are dependent on the company. What if the company doesn’t want them to lead? These are definitely NOT standard terms.

 -  Mike Suprovici
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Do Anchors Seeking Favorable Terms Align with HBS Study Findings on Traditional Private Equity?

Is it worthwhile or advisable to politely push back on anchors requesting favorable terms with resources we find that suggest that 'In contrast to traditional private equity settings none of the interviewed [for this HBS study] anchors sought fee breaks or other preferential economic terms. Some were attracted by the ability to shape the direction and legal structure of the fund or serve on the LP advisory board?' Mike made mention in a previous AMA that such favorable terms actually don't meaningfully move an LP closer to investment anyways which was interesting.

Top answer:

Avoid anchors in Fund 1s and avoid favorable terms for any LP

 -  Mike Suprovici
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Is it Safe to Use High-Multiple Fund Model Results Before Thorough Validation and Scrutiny?

My fund model is coming in really high multiples. I am suspicious. Have sent to my team for additional layers of extreme validation and scrutiny but I’m afraid to put these numbers in the deck until I can really really defend them. Does anyone else have this issue? I feel tempted to pull some standard off the shelf numbers and put them in for now until we can validate these further and I feel more solid in them…but they’d be wrong. Thoughts?