When VC Funds Become Firms, Part 2 | Lisa Cawley, Ben Choi, Jaclyn Freeman Hester | Superclusters

“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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