Superclusters - The Emerging LP Podcast

Superclusters by David Zhou
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Superclusters is a podcast designed to help the emerging LP think like an established LP allocating to venture capital as an asset class. Our goal is to answer one question: How do the world's wealthiest institutions and individuals pick VC firms to invest in?

  1. The Most Frequent VS Most Important LP Conversations | El Pack w/ Adam Marchick | Superclusters

    -6 J

    The Most Frequent VS Most Important LP Conversations | El Pack w/ Adam Marchick | Superclusters

    Adam Marchick from Akkadian Ventures joins David on El Pack to answer your questions on how to build a venture capital fund. We bring on 3 GPs at VC funds to ask 3 different questions. Cocoa VC's Carmen Alfonso Rico asks what belief Adam held firmly for years but changed his mind recently on. Good Trouble Ventures' AJ Thomas asks about how GPs can better communicate risk to first-time LPs. 1517 Fund's Danielle Strachman asks about the world view Adam has that shapes his investing thesis. Over the past twenty years, Adam Marchick has had unique experiences as a founder, general partner (GP), and limited partner (LP). Most recently, Adam managed the venture capital portfolio at Emory’s endowment, a $2 billion portfolio within the $10 billion endowment. Prior to Emory, Adam spent ten years building two companies, the most recent being Alpine.AI, which was acquired by Headspace. Simultaneously, Adam was a Sequoia Scout and built an angel portfolio of over 25 companies. Adam was a direct investor at Menlo Ventures and Bain Capital Ventures, sourcing and supporting companies including Carbonite (IPO), Rent The Runway (IPO), Rapid7 (IPO), Archer (M&A), and AeroScout (M&A). He started his career in engineering and product roles at Facebook, Oracle, and startups. You can find Adam on his socials here: X / Twitter: https://x.com/adammStanford LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adammarchick/ And huge thanks to Carmen, AJ, and Danielle for joining us on the show! OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro [01:22] The anatomy of a good story [02:26] The job of an annual summit [05:35] How often does VC change? [07:25] Narratives LPs are looking for at GPs' AGMs [08:25] "20% overall revenue growth in the portfolio is NOT exciting" [09:01] What founders talk about at an AGM [14:01] How does Adam spend time at an AGM [17:48] Enter Carmen and Cocoa VC [19:35] What did Adam change his mind about [21:09] How does an LP assess GP NPS? [22:16] Picking on-sheet references [24:33] The origin of Cocoa VC [26:08] What is Carmen's superpower? [27:09] What does Carmen want from her LPs? [29:09] The best answers to "what do you want from your LPs?" [31:29] Controversial decisions for the LPAC [33:39] Enter AJ and Good Trouble Ventures [34:25] Communicating risk to your LPs [35:58] What about to first-time LPs? [38:06] Where do first-time LPs come from? [39:50] What inspired AJ's question? [42:14] Is the convo different if LPs reach out vs you reach out? [43:45] The timing of LP conversations: most frequent vs most important [45:59] The trust equation [47:45] How to scale trust with LPs [51:35] How has GPs built trust with Adam? [53:29] How often does Adam keep in touch with his GPs? [56:06] Enter Danielle and 1517 Fund [58:38] What is Adam's mental model? [1:01:43] How does Adam define low entry prices? [1:03:25] Tracking trends as an LP [1:06:55] 80-20 portfolio construction [1:10:37] Would 1517's thesis 15 years ago count as market risk? [1:14:12] Adam's last piece of advice [1:15:46] Akkadian Ventures and RAISE Global [1:17:06] David's favorite moment from Adam's earlier episode Follow David Zhou for more Superclusters content: For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclusters Follow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.com Follow Superclusters on X: https://x.com/SuperclustersLP

    1 h 22 min
  2. NO Diligence is Ever Enough | Anurag Chandra | Superclusters | S6E2

    29 SEPT.

    NO Diligence is Ever Enough | Anurag Chandra | Superclusters | S6E2

    “There are a thousand ways to put lipstick on the pig and there are a thousand skeletons [in the closet]. I’ve only seen five or six because I’ve only seen three startup experiences. And so you need to deputize as many people as you possibly can to essentially triangulate.” — Anurag Chandra Anurag Chandra has spent over two decades in Silicon Valley as an investor, operator, and allocator. He has helped lead four venture capital funds, managing over $2.0B in aggregate AUM. Anurag has also been a senior executive in three enterprise technology startups, two of which were sold successfully to public companies. He is currently the CIO of a single-family office with an attached venture studio and a Trustee for the $4.5B San Jose Federated City Employees Retirement Fund, serving as Vice Chair of the Board, and Chair of its Investment and Joint Personnel Committees. You can find Anurag on his socials here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anchandra/ X / Twitter: https://x.com/achandra41 OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro [02:10] Why is what Anurag is wearing a walking contradiction? [06:08] The man without a home, but comfortable in everyone's home [10:17] The Stanford Review [12:55] The four @%#-holes of America [20:13] How did Anurag schedule regular coffee with Mark Stevens? [25:31] Mark Stevens' advice to Anurag about staying top of mind [26:42] How often should you email someone to stay in touch? [30:33] Why should you be an asymmetric information junkie? [34:21] Where should you find asymmetric information in VC? [36:02] The 'Oh Shit' board meeting [40:09] How San Jose Pension Plan views GPs [43:55] Defining the 'venture business' [49:09] Process drives repeatability [54:06] How San Jose Pension Plan built their investment process from scratch [58:43] What is a risk budget? [1:01:52] What did San Jose Pension Plan do about their risk budget? [1:05:05] The people who changed Anurag [1:11:10] Post-credit scene Follow David Zhou for more Superclusters content: For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclusters Follow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.com Follow Superclusters on X: https://x.com/SuperclustersLP

    1 h 14 min
  3. How to Not Get Fired When Changing Your VC Strategy | El Pack w/ Beezer Clarkson | Superclusters

    22 SEPT.

    How to Not Get Fired When Changing Your VC Strategy | El Pack w/ Beezer Clarkson | Superclusters

    Beezer Clarkson from Sapphire Partners joins David on El Pack to answer your questions on how to build a venture capital fund. We bring on four GPs at VC funds to ask four different questions. Precursor Ventures' Charles Hudson asks what is the one strongly held belief about emerging managers that she no longer believes is true. NextView Ventures' Stephanie Palmeri asks how much should an established firm evolve versus stick to their guns. Humanrace Capital's Suraj Mehta asks what the best way to build brand presence is. Rackhouse Venture Capital's Kevin Novak asks if you've deployed your capital faster than you expected, what's the best path forward with the remaining capital you have left? Beezer Clarkson leads Sapphire Partners‘ investments in venture funds domestically and internationally. Beezer began her career in financial services over 20 years ago at Morgan Stanley in its global infrastructure group. Since, she has held various direct and indirect venture investment roles, as well as operational roles in software business development at Hewlett Packard. Prior to joining Sapphire in 2012, Beezer managed the day-to-day operations of the Draper Fisher Jurvetson Global Network, which then had $7 billion under management across 16 venture funds worldwide. In 2016, Beezer led the launch of OpenLP, an effort to help foster greater understanding in the entrepreneur-to-LP tech ecosystem. Beezer earned a bachelor’s in government from Wesleyan University, where she served on the board of trustees and currently serves as an advisor to the Wesleyan Endowment Investment Committee. She is currently serving on the board of the NVCA and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. You can find Beezer on her socials here. Twitter: https://twitter.com/beezer232 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethclarkson/ Check out Sapphire's latest breakdown on if venture is broken: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/venture-broken-what-2000-priced-early-stage-rounds-tell-clarkson-sjvjc/ And huge thanks to Charles, Suraj, Steph, and Kevin for joining us on the show! OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro [01:22] Where does Beezer's advice come from? [04:03] Charles and Precursor Ventures [04:47] What's something Beezer used to believe about seed stage venture that she no longer believes in [08:04] Why did Charles choose to bet on pre-seed companies? [10:21] What did LPs push back on when Charles was starting Precursor? [12:18] Definition of early stage investing today [14:38] Steph and NextView Ventures [18:13] When do you stick your knitting or move on from the past as an established firm? [30:48] Is venture investing in AI fundamentally different than investing in other types of companies? [32:52] Does competition for a deal mean you've already lost it? [36:09] Suraj and Humanrace Capital [36:54] How should emerging managers build their brand? [38:38] The audience most emerging managers don't focus on but should [40:39] How much does visible brand presence matter? [43:47] Useful or not: Media exposure in the data room [45:40] Backstreet boys [46:37] Kevin and Rackhouse Venture Capital [47:28] What Kevin is best known for [48:03] Updated fund modelling when you're ahead on your proposed deployment period [58:00] The typical questions Beezer gets on LPACs [1:03:22] Is venture broken? [1:06:41] David's favorite Beezer moment from Season 1 Follow David Zhou for more Superclusters content: For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclusters Follow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.com Follow Superclusters on X: https://x.com/SuperclustersLP

    1 h 10 min
  4. How to Read Investors Like a Book | Thorsten Claus | Superclusters | S6E1

    15 SEPT.

    How to Read Investors Like a Book | Thorsten Claus | Superclusters | S6E1

    “You need to make space for weird types of conversations to happen on the fringes that really inform you what’s going on at the frontier.” — Thorsten Claus Thorsten Claus is a venture investor and builder with more than 15 years of private equity and venture capital experience. He has raised nine funds, managed over $4.8B across global platforms, and led or overseen more than 120 direct investments, generating returns of 3x–7x net to investors. His current work focuses on dual-use technologies at the intersection of defense, security, and national resilience. Guided by the discipline of Howard Marks, the systems-level thinking of the Consilience Project, and a commitment to internalizing externalities, he invests in teams and technologies that strengthen sovereign capability and long-term societal stability. Beyond capital, Thorsten is a hands-on builder. He machines defense-critical and space components, restores historic race engines, and writes on production systems and resilience at blog.thinkstorm.com. This grounding in physical production complements his investment practice, keeping judgment tied to real-world constraints. You can find Thor on his socials here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thorstenclaus/X / Twitter: https://x.com/thinkstorm OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro [02:31] Downhill skateboarding [05:58] How do you see behind a corner when downhill skateboarding? [07:42] Hill hunting [10:15] How long does it take to go down the Sierras? [11:41] The most important part of the body for downhill skateboarding [16:02] David's dumb question of the day [17:25] The accident that pivoted Thor's life [19:34] The first race car Thor bought [20:51] Why Thor is a terrible race car driver? [23:52] How did Thor come to use the race oil that Porsche Racing uses? [24:59] The 3 things you need to welcome fringe conversations [27:07] Just another David misattribution [27:34] Truth is difficult these days [29:20] How do you prioritize which advice to take? [30:33] Thor's weird definition of risk [31:59] How do you know if someone is giving you authentic advice? [34:40] How does Thor understand someone's past without asking about it? [39:42] Lessons from fictional storytelling in diligencing GPs [43:22] Questions and responses that reveal a GP's past [46:10] Books that Thor read to ask better questions [49:18] What is the USMC Christmas Tree? [53:40] The Christmas Tree in an investor's portfolio [57:49] Can beggars be choosers? [1:00:41] The difference between capital formation and fundraising [1:03:00] Production vs product for a GP [1:06:54] Thor and cardistry [1:10:21] What are moments that reminds Thor we're still in the good old days? [1:13:50] The post-credit scene Follow David Zhou for more Superclusters content: For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclusters Follow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.com Follow Superclusters on X: https://x.com/SuperclustersLP

    1 h 17 min
  5. How to Increase Dialogue with your LPs | El Pack w/ Kelli Fontaine | Superclusters

    11 AOÛT

    How to Increase Dialogue with your LPs | El Pack w/ Kelli Fontaine | Superclusters

    Kelli Fontaine from Cendana Capital joins David on El Pack to answer your questions on how to build a venture capital fund. We bring on three GPs at VC funds to ask three different questions. The Council's Amber Illig asked what happens when a solo GP is incapacitated or passes away. Oceans Ventures' Steven Rosenblatt asked why most LPs follow the decision-making of other LPs. NeuCo Academy's Jonathan Ting asked what LPs think about GPs asking for help. From investing in great fund managers to data to investor relations, Kelli Fontaine is a partner at Cendana Capital, a fund of funds who’s solely focused on the best pre-seed and seed funds with over 2 billion under management and includes the likes of Forerunner, Founder Collective, Lerer Hippeau, Uncork, Susa Ventures and more. Kelli comes from the world of data, and has been a founder, marketing expert, and an advisor to founders since 2010. You can find Kelli on her socials here: X/Twitter: https://x.com/kells_bells LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellitrent/ And huge thanks to Amber, Steven, and Jonathan for joining us on the show! OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro[01:26] Kelli's new data discoveries[04:32] How did Kelli underwrite a manager with no LinkedIn?[06:19] Is too much data ever a problem?[08:18] Vintage year benchmarking[09:49] Telltale signs on GPs' social profiles[10:57] Data Kelli wishes she could collect[15:59] Enter Amber and her new podcast[18:08] Amber's background and The Council[19:08] How does Amber define top companies?[24:25] How can a solo GP set the firm up well in case they're no longer there?[26:11] Kelli's number one fear with solo GPs[28:30] Best practices for generational transfers[32:28] Solo GPs and their future plans[36:51] Enter Steven and Oceans[42:38] Would Kelli ever include AI summaries as part of the get-to-know-someone phase?[44:18] Why do LPs follow other LP's decision-making?[48:43] What are the traits of an LP who is likely to have independent thinking?[51:16] Why don't LPs talk directly with founders?[57:59] Enter Jonathan and NeuCo Academy[1:00:05] Is Kelli seeing more secondaries firms?[1:01:56] How often should GPs lean on LPs for help?[1:07:22] Are most LPs helpful?[1:12:21] What kinds of questions does Kelli get from her own GPs?[1:15:39] Kelli's last piece of advice Follow David Zhou for more Superclusters content:For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclustersFollow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.comFollow Superclusters on X: https://x.com/SuperclustersLP

    1 h 24 min
  6. 81% of America is Underfunded | Vijen Patel & Grady Buchanan | Superclusters | S5PSE1

    4 AOÛT

    81% of America is Underfunded | Vijen Patel & Grady Buchanan | Superclusters | S5PSE1

    “19% of our GDP attracts about 55% of capital inflows, aka venture activity, and 81% is underinvested.” – Vijen Patel Vijen Patel is an entrepreneur and investor. He founded The 81 Collection, a high growth equity firm in boring industries. Previously, he founded what is now known as Tide Cleaners. He bootstrapped what eventually became the largest dry cleaner in the country (1,200 locations) before selling to Procter & Gamble in 2018. Before Tide Cleaners, he worked in private equity, McKinsey & Company, and Goldman Sachs. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two kids. You can find Vijen on his socials here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijenpatel/X / Twitter: https://x.com/itsvijen Grady Buchanan is an institutional and risk-based asset allocation professional with a passion for bringing venture capital to those who have the interest. He founded NVNG in late 2019 and oversees investment strategies, the firm’s venture fund pipeline, manager sourcing, due diligence, and external events. Before launching NVNG, Grady worked with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation’s (WARF) $3B investment portfolio, focused on private equity and venture capital initiatives, including fund diligence, investment strategy, and policy. Grady is based in Milwaukee, WI. You can find Grady on his socials here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gradynvng/X / Twitter: https://x.com/GradyBuchanan OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro[02:41] The pressure of quitting a PE job for dry cleaning[05:09] Vijen's self talk as a founder[06:50] How to overcome doubt[09:00] How Vijen learned customer success[10:35] What did Pressbox become?[12:41] The dichotomy between society's needs and what gets funded[14:19] How did Grady go from selling pancakes to being an LP?[23:51] Why did Grady think he bombed the LP interview?[29:15] What is The 81 Collection?[32:22] How did Vijen meet Grady?[34:39] How is Vijen fluent in Spanish?[36:40] How did Grady meet Vijen?[42:21] How did Grady underwrite 81 Collection?[44:44] What about Vijen made Grady hesitate?[48:35] What's one thing about 81 Collection that could've gone wrong?[50:33] The 3 things that create alpha[52:42] Why does NVNG have the coolest fund of funds' names?[53:47] The legacy Grady plans to leave behind[56:06] The legacy Vijen plans to leave behind Follow David Zhou for more Superclusters content:For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclustersFollow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.comFollow Superclusters on X: https://x.com/SuperclustersLP

    1 h 1 min
  7. How Many Exceptions Are Too Many? | El Pack w/ John Felix | Superclusters

    28 JUIL.

    How Many Exceptions Are Too Many? | El Pack w/ John Felix | Superclusters

    Pattern Ventures' John Felix joins David on El Pack to answer your questions on how to build a venture capital fund. We bring on three GPs at VC funds to ask three different questions. Atria Ventures' Chris Leiter asked about the common mistakes LPs make when underwriting solo GPs. Garuda Ventures' Arpan Punyani asked how quickly do most LPs get to conviction. First 10 minutes? First meeting? Geek Ventures' Ihar Mahaniok asked how LPs evaluate Fund IIs when the Fund I has no distributions. John Felix is a General Partner and Head of Research at Pattern Ventures, a specialized fund of funds focused on backing the best small venture managers. Prior to Pattern, John served as the Head of Emerging Managers at Allocate where he was an early employee and helped to launch Allocate's emerging manager platform. Prior to joining Allocate, John worked at Bowdoin College's Office of Investments, helping to invest the $2.8 billion endowment across all asset classes, focusing on venture capital. Prior to Bowdoin, John worked at Edgehill Endowment Partners, a $2 billion boutique OCIO. At Edgehill, John was responsible for building out the firm's venture capital portfolio, sourcing and leading all venture fund commitments. John started his career at Washington University's Investment Management Company as a member of the small investment team responsible for managing the university's now $13 billion endowment. John graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a BSBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship. You can find John on his socials here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfelix12/Twitter: https://x.com/johnfelix123 And huge thanks to Chris, Arpan, and Ihar for joining us on the show! OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro[02:20] What's changed for John since our last recording?[04:08] What is Pattern Ventures?[06:22] Why is Pattern's cutoff for funds they're interested in at $50M?[07:32] How does John define noise?[09:34] Do non-sexy industries require larger seed funds?[11:36] How does think about overlap in the underlying startup portfolio?[15:22] Enter Chris and Atria Ventures[18:03] Should solo GPs scale past themselves?[24:14] Partnerships have more risk than solo GPs[26:10] How does John think about spinouts from large VC firms?[27:53] The psychology of being a partner at a big firm versus your own[30:38] Enter Arpan and Garuda Ventures[31:26] Geoguessr[32:52] Garuda's podcast, Brick by Brick[34:52] How quickly do LPs know they intuitively want to invest in a GP?[38:02] The analogy to what GPs do to founders[43:50] There are many ways to make money[44:57] Quantifying intuition as an investor[49:12] Enter Ihar and Geek Ventures[49:36] How do LPs evaluate Fund IIs when Fund I has no DPI?[53:01] How do you know if a GP did what they said they were going to do?[54:47] What if the key value driver is off-thesis, but everything else is on-thesis?[56:21] Is signing 1 uncapped SAFE per fund reasonable?[57:14] What is the allowable percentage of exceptions in a fund?[1:01:32] Good vs bad exceptions[1:06:06] Reminders that we are in the good old days[1:07:31] John's last piece of advice to new allocators[1:09:00] David's favorite moment from John's last episode Follow David Zhou for more Superclusters content:For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclustersFollow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.comFollow Superclusters on X: https://x.com/SuperclustersLP

    1 h 15 min
  8. Uncompensated Risks in VC | Wendy Li | Superclusters | S5E12

    21 JUIL.

    Uncompensated Risks in VC | Wendy Li | Superclusters | S5E12

    “It’s not the probability; it’s the consequence. It’s not the probability when something goes wrong. It’s the consequence when it goes wrong.” – Wendy Li Wendy Li is the co-founder and Chief Investment Officer at Ivy Invest, a fintech investment platform bringing an endowment-style portfolio to everyday investors. Before Ivy Invest, Wendy was Managing Director of Investments at the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, where she built the Investment Office from the ground up and managed a $4 billion portfolio. Prior to Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, Wendy was Director of Investments at UJA-Federation, investing across a broad range of asset classes. Wendy began her career in the Investment Office at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University and is a CFA charterholder. You can find Wendy on her socials here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-li-cfa/X / Twitter: https://x.com/askwendyli OUTLINE: [00:00] Intro[02:29] Wendy's family's history with Columbia University[07:55] The importance of understanding family history[11:09] Why Wendy chose to work at The Met[15:16] How did Wendy know in the interview that Lauren would be her mentor?[19:18] Specialist vs generalist in 2006[22:58] Pros and cons of using AI as an LP[29:02] The 80-20 rule for how an LP thinks[29:29] The one mistake EVERY SINGLE LP makes[33:27] What is the Takahashi-Alexander model?[39:38] Who do you learn from when your LP institution is so small?[41:22] The wisdom of an open-sourced LP reading list[45:34] What is headline risk?[47:09] What does 'uncompensated risk' mean?[50:20] Why now for 'endowment-in-a-box'[55:07] Wendy's proudest dish from her mom's recipe book[57:09] Wendy's last piece of advice Follow David Zhou for more Superclusters content:For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclustersFollow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.comFollow Superclusters on X: https://x.com/SuperclustersLP

    1 h 1 min
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À propos

Superclusters is a podcast designed to help the emerging LP think like an established LP allocating to venture capital as an asset class. Our goal is to answer one question: How do the world's wealthiest institutions and individuals pick VC firms to invest in?

Informations

  • Création
    Superclusters by David Zhou
  • Années d’activité
    2023 - 2025
  • Épisodes
    63
  • Classification
    Contenu explicite
  • Copyright
    © Superclusters by David Zhou
  • Site web de l’émission
    Superclusters - The Emerging LP Podcast

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