The latest perspectives from #OpenLP, a resource for the venture community to hear from a diverse group of LP and GP voices.
LP & GP Voices
A Guide to Raising Your Fund in Public
Ryan Hoover & Vedika Jain
Weekend Fund raised its latest fund from over 350 LPs, crediting some of the world’s most talented marketers, engineers, designers, salespeople and founders financially invested in its success. This post imparts wisdom, pros, cons and lessons learned on a community raise, with input from others who have done the same.
This Downturn Will Show Us Which LPs Actually Believe in Diversity
Sara Zulkosky
Sara Zulkosky, Co-Founder & Partner of Recast Capital, shared in Crunchbase News how the downturn will show us where LPs truly stand on diversity: Investing in the perceived "safer bet" vs believing diverse and emerging managers can drive meaningful returns.
Investment Director at VenCap International plc David Clark shares his thoughts on LinkedIn about the current state of the venture capital market. While the next 24 months will be exceptionally challenging, it's not all doom & gloom. He remains short-term cautious and long-term bullish.
Most smaller venture funds are not highly technical finance gurus. Semil Shah shares lessons learned from Haystack’s (unintended) good financial hygiene from the early days, including the importance of a real CFO, spreading out bank accounts, and sophisticated cash management.
Dr. Lan Xuezhao, Founder and Managing Partner of Basis Set Ventures, joins the podcast to discuss investment strategy in AI, her unique perspective on venture and her background as Corporate Development Strategy lead at Dropbox.
Emerging Venture Fund Managers Had Few Banking Options to Begin With. After Silicon Valley Bank's Collapse, Where Do They Turn Now?
Melia Russell
Anecdotally, SVB & other regional banks met many needs of a VC fund, and in particular for emerging managers with a smaller fund size. With commentary from Beezer Clarkson, Jenny Fielding, Elizabeth Yin, Turner Novak and others, Business Insider's Melia Russell discusses the banking challenges emerging managers may now face.
Nonprofits Push Startup Diversity Aims During Silicon Valley Bank Crisis
Reed Albergotti
The diversity and environmental data requests from pension funds and other institutional investors often cover a venture capital firm’s portfolio of startups, according to half a dozen industry insiders. They have ramped up in recent months, as economic headwinds for the venture capital industry have given more power to its investors to make demands.
Elizabeth Yin recently posted a thread on Twitter about the question she receives quite often: "How do you successfully raise money for a fund when you don't know who potential LPs even are?" In light of this common question, resurfacing her long-form blog on how Hustle Fund raised its Fund I.
PitchBook Analyst Note: The Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
Nalin Patel, Kyle Stanford, Max Navas, Vincent Harrison & Kaidi Gao
PitchBook's latest analyst note breaks down the immediate impact of SVB's failure, the broader implications for venture lending and what a future venture capital market could look like without Silicon Valley Bank.
"I'll Walk Away From Anything": Kara Swisher Calls the Shots
Charlotte Klein
The ultimate media insider is juggling podcasts, writing a memoir and texting with “half the planet.” (“She has a coffee before bed,” says Ben Smith.) Swisher opens up to Vanity Fair about her career, including leaving The New York Times, and laments journalists’ lack of business savvy.
1,100+ Notable Signatories Just Signed an Open Letter Asking “All AI Labs to Immediately Pause for at Least 6 Months”
Connie Loizos
More than 1,100 signatories, including Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and Tristan Harris of the Center for Humane Technology, have signed an open letter that was posted online Tuesday evening that calls on “all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.”
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