“We overcomplicate almost nothing as LPs. And this is a criticism of myself. And I think we oversimplify almost everything. Because by definition, we’re the customer of the end product. […] LPs watch the movie, but don’t read the book.” – Ben Choi
We’re doing a three-part series with some of our fan favorites over the last three seasons on the LP perspective of succession-planning and VC firm-building.
Lisa Cawley is the Managing Director of Screendoor, a highly respected LP of GPs, investing in firm-builders by firm-builders, with a unique model for partnering with allocators to access the emerging manager ecosystem.
Ben Choi manages over $3B investments with many of the world’s premier venture capital firms as well as directly in early stage startups. He brings to Next Legacy a distinguished track record spanning over two decades founding and investing in early-stage technology businesses.
Jaclyn Freeman Hester is a Partner at Foundry. Jaclyn helped launch Foundry’s partner fund strategy, building the portfolio to nearly 50 managers. Bringing her unique GP + LP perspective, Jaclyn has become a go-to sounding board for emerging VCs.
You can find Lisa on her socials here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/31mml/
Screendoor: https://www.screendoor.co/contact
You can find Ben on his socials here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/benjichoi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bchoi/
You can find Jaclyn on her socials here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jfreester
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaclyn-freeman-hester-70621126/
And huge thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Alchemist Accelerator: https://alchemistaccelerator.com/superclusters
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also watch the episode on YouTube here.
You can also find Part 1 of this 3-part mini series here.
Brought to you by Alchemist Accelerator.
OUTLINE:
[00:00] Intro
[02:00] Questions Ben asks GPs to see if they’re thinking long-term
[06:50] Questions Jaclyn asks GPs to assess long-term thinking
[09:45] What does leverage look like for a GP?
[20:13] The role of AI internally at a firm
[21:06] Advice to people looking to take junior VC roles
[25:33] Questions Lisa asks GPs to assess long-term thinking
[29:19] When does a fund turn into a firm?
[31:26] Lisa: What do LPs often oversimplify vs overcomplicate about firm-building?
[35:31] Ben’s answer to oversimplification vs overcomplication
[41:00] What do emerging and established GPs oversimplify and overcomplicate?
[45:06] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring!
[46:07] If you can’t wait for Part 3 of this conversation, leave us a like or comment!
SELECT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
- Screendoor
- Next Legacy
- Foundry Group
- Why an LP of GPs is Uniquely Valuable | Lisa Cawley | Superclusters | S3E5
- How to Build a Multi-Fund VC Firm | Ben Choi | Superclusters | S1E6
- Qualitative Signals to Look for in Emerging GPs | Jaclyn Freeman Hester | Superclusters | S2E9
- Homebrew
- Gandalf
- Mike Maples Jr.
- Pattern Breakers with Mike Maples Jr. (fka Starting Greatness)
- “Breakthrough Lessons: You are Yoda, not Luke” on Pattern Breakers
- Luke Skywalker
- Yoda
- Star Wars
- Frodo Baggins
- The Lord of the Rings
- Iron Man (character)
- Nick Fury
- Spider-Man
- Iron Man (2008 film)
- Captain America (character)
- Bucky Barnes
- Captain America: The First Avenger (film)
- Eric Bahn
- Elizabeth Yin
- Shiyan Koh
- Hustle Fund
- Haley Bryant
SELECT QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE:
“How do you get the most out of the least amount of people? […] I don’t think getting more bodies solves it. I think getting high leverage from a smaller set of resources is better.” – Jaclyn Freeman Hester
“If I hire someone, I don’t really want to hire right out of school. I want to hire someone with a little bit of professional experience. And I want someone who’s been yelled at. […] I don’t want to have to triple check work. I want to be able to build trust. Going and getting that professional experience somewhere, even if it’s at a startup or venture firm. Having someone have oversight on you and [push] you to do excellent work and [help] you understand why it matters… High quality output can help you gain so much trust.” – Jaclyn Freeman Hester
“What’s your right to win? Why are you going to be a founder and talent magnet? Why does the world need you as a firm? Why does the world need you as a VC? And how do you define success?” – Lisa Cawley
“We overcomplicate almost nothing as LPs [about the firm building process]. And this is a criticism of myself. And I think we oversimplify almost everything. Because by definition, we’re the customer of the end product.” – Ben Choi
“LPs watch the movie, but don’t read the book.” – Ben Choi
“Ultimately, Job #1 as an emerging GP is to be a great investor. We want you to be a great investor that lasts the test of time. But if you’re a mediocre investor that lasts the test of time or a great investor that doesn’t last the test of time, we prefer the second.” – Ben Choi
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