E38: Lessons from Investing in 400 Startups with Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures

Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures. Precursor is a generalist pre-seed firm based in San Francisco that invests in startups from all over. We talked about the importance of founder-centric investing, portfolio construction, and the balancing act of taking money off the table with winners. Charles has made over 400 investments at Precursor and has a lot of insights to draw upon as a result. 

We also covered:

• How fewer than one-in-five firms make it to fund five.
• Why building a firm with staying power is crucial.
• How fundraising can be stressful for various reasons at various stages.
• Liquidity in early-stage investments is becoming normalized.
• LPs have varying expectations regarding returns and liquidity.
• Why market size forecasting is challenging; focus on founders instead.
• Early employees may not always be the best hires.
• Entrepreneurial talent comes in various forms and backgrounds.
• Venture capital is maturing as an asset class.
• Founders can reach out directly to Charles for opportunities.

Investing in Startups is hosted by Joe Magyer and produced by Seaplane Ventures.