“The bigger you get, the more established you get, the more underwriting emphasis goes into how this team operates as a structure rather than is there a star?” – Matt Curtolo
Matt Curtolo, CAIA is a seasoned private markets investor and allocator with over two decades of experience at leading financial institutions. Throughout his career, he has been directly responsible for allocating more than $6 billion in commitments to private market investments and maintains relationships with hundreds of general partner relationships across the full spectrum of private capital strategies.
Most recently, as Head of Investments at Allocate, a venture-backed fintech startup. Matt built the investment capability from the ground up, broadening access to top-tier venture capital opportunities for the private wealth market. Prior to this, he served as a senior leader at MetLife, serving on the investment committee, co-managing their global alternatives portfolio and leading the firm’s US Buyout portfolio. Earlier in his career, Matt led all private equity activities as Head of Private Equity at Hirtle Callaghan, a large independent outsourced Chief Investment Officer (oCIO). Matt’s foundational experience was gained at Hamilton Lane during its early growth phase, before it became the world’s preeminent private markets allocator, in research, investment and client-facing roles. Matt currently holds several advisory positions that span start-ups, asset management firms and fund of funds. He also manages his own advice practice, providing GPs with strategic guidance on strategy, fundraising and investor relations.
You can find Matt on his socials here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-curtolo-caia/
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also watch the episode on YouTube here.
OUTLINE:
[00:00] Intro
[04:24] What town did Matt grow up in?
[04:37] Why is that town significant from a sociological perspective?
[08:43] Why is Matt fascinated with the Detroit Lions?
[11:08] What is it like cheering for the underdog?
[13:02] How does Matt break down deal attribution in partnerships?
[18:04] GPs’ karmic bank account
[21:29] What is the kindest thing anyone’s done for Matt?
[23:24] How did tennis enter Matt’s life?
[26:35] Historical examples of VC management/leadership structures
[29:33] Underwriting track record between senior and junior investors
[32:23] How Matt approaches diligence after reading the data room
[39:30] How do you know when you’ve asked enough questions?
[42:37] The three classes of questions for GPs that influence investment decisions
[45:34] Remote culture
[50:16] Cadence of in-person gatherings in remote teams
[52:48] The two (and a half) types of conversations to always host in-person
[58:37] The last great idea Matt had on a walk
[1:02:05] The legacy Matt wants to leave behind
[1:04:37] Post-credit scene
SELECT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
- Allocate
- ”An Individual LP’s Guide to Investing Like an Institution” with Samir Kaji
- “Bringing the Endowment Approach to Emerging Managers” with John Felix
- Matt Curtolo’s Medium
- MetLife
- Hirtle Callaghan
- Roseto, Pennsylvania
- The Two Rosetos by Carla Bianco
- Roseto degli Abruzzi
- The Roseto Story: An Anatomy of Health by John G. Bruhn and Stewart Wolf
- Detroit Lions
- Barry Sanders
- VHS (video home system)
- New York Mets
- Patrick O’Shaugnessy
- Invest like the Best with Patrick O’Shaugnessy
- Joe Villiano
- DeSales University
- Peter Barris
- New Enterprise Associates (NEA)
- Meritech Capital
- Mark Twain
- Zoom
- Google Meet
- Microsoft Teams
- Riverside
- Ash Ketchum
- Pokemon
- Sylvester Stallone
- Over the Top (1987 film)
- Paige Doherty
- Behind Genius Ventures
- Nintendo 64
- Mario Kart 64
- Pokemon Snap
- Wave Race 64
- GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)
- University of California, Berkeley
- Commodore 64
- Jumpman
- Impossible Mission
- “Your Pitch Deck = Your HotOrNot Photo” by Matt Curtolo
- Abe Finkelstein
- Vintage Investment Partners
- “How One of VC’s Biggest LPs Builds Relationships” with Abe Finkelstein
- Activision Pitfall!
- Polaroid
- Atari 2600
SELECT QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE:
“Partnerships are incredibly hard to evaluate because not only are you evaluating each of the individual’s capabilities independently, but is it a one plus one equals three situation?” – Matt Curtolo
“The bigger you get, the more established you get, the more underwriting emphasis goes into how this team operates as a structure rather than is there a star?” – Matt Curtolo
“Data gives me questions, not answers.” – Matt Curtolo
“The dopamine you get from planning something versus the actual experience itself are wildly different.” – Matt Curtolo