lisa cawley - Cup of Zhou

October 7, 2024October 7, 2024

When VC Funds Become Firms, Part 3 | Lisa Cawley, Ben Choi, Jaclyn Freeman Hester | Superclusters

“When you bring people in as partners, being generous around compensating them from funds they did not build can help create alignment because they’re not sitting there getting rich off of something that started five years ago and exits in ten years. So they’re kind of on an island because everybody else is in a different economic position and that can be very isolating.” – Jaclyn Freeman Hester

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.

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 and Part 2 of this 3-part mini series.

Brought to you by Alchemist Accelerator.

OUTLINE:

[00:00] Intro
[01:55] Lisa on documenting the how and why behind decisions
[05:52] Ben on leadership transitions at VC firms
[08:08] GP commits by young GPs at established firms
[11:56] What makes Kauffman Fellows special
[14:33] Should Kauffman sponsor Superclusters?
[15:34] A rising tide raises all ships
[16:41] Partnerships that choose to stay together
[18:21] Jaclyn on leadership transitions at VC firms
[25:48] The economics of succession planning
[31:28] Lisa on succession planning vs wind-down planning
[33:10] Jaclyn on pros & cons of succession planning & committee decisions
[41:50] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring!
[42:51] If you liked this 3-part series, do let us know with a like or a comment below!

SELECT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

SELECT QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE:

“If it’s not documented, it’s not done.” – Lisa Cawley

“If somebody is so good that they can raise their own fund, that’s exactly who you want in your partnership. You want your partnership of equals that decide to get together, not just are so grateful to have a chance to be here, but they’re not that great.” – Ben Choi

“When you think about succession planning, you actually have to take a step back and think: Is that even going to be my approach? Do I need to think about succession planning or am I really talking about wind-down planning? And when I stop raising a subsequent fund.” – Lisa Cawley

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 Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperclustersLP
Follow Superclusters on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@super.clusters
Follow Superclusters on Instagram: https://instagram.com/super.clusters

September 30, 2024September 30, 2024

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.

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:

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

September 23, 2024September 23, 2024

When VC Funds Become Firms, Part 1 | Lisa Cawley, Ben Choi, Jaclyn Freeman Hester | Superclusters

“There’s this amazing, amazing commercial that Michael Phelps did, […] and the tagline behind it was ‘It’s what you do in the dark that puts you in the light.’” – Lisa Cawley

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.

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.

Brought to you by Alchemist Accelerator.

OUTLINE:

[00:00] Intro
[02:03] The job that goes unseen by others at a VC firm
[09:01] The psychology of curiosity
[11:12] The story of Charlie Munger and Robert Cialdini
[14:17] Lisa’s perspective on the intangibles of firm-building
[17:41] Heidi Roizen and why glassblowing builds relationships
[21:09] The people you surround yourself with
[23:06] Jaclyn’s perspective on the intangibles
[26:23] Examples of how to communicate strategy drift
[27:34] Ben’s perspective on the intangibles
[33:19] The metric many LPs don’t use but should use to evaluate GPs
[36:16] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring!
[37:17] If you enjoyed Part 1, and want to see Part 2 and 3 sooner, leave a like or a comment!

SELECT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

SELECT QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE:

“The job and the role that goes most unseen by LPs and everybody outside of the firm is the role of the culture keeper.” – Ben Choi

“You can map out what your ideal process is, but it’s actually the depth of discussion that the internal team has with one another. […] You have to define what your vision for the firm is years out, in order to make sure that you’re setting those people up for success and that they have a runway and a growth path and that they feel empowered and they feel like they’re learning and they’re contributing as part of the brand. And so much of what happens there, it does tie back to culture […] There’s this amazing, amazing commercial that Michael Phelps did, […] and the tagline behind it was ‘It’s what you do in the dark that puts you in the light.’” – Lisa Cawley

“At the end of the day, the job is to take a pile of money from your LPs and give them a bigger pile. And giving them back a really big pile is the legacy thing. […] And consistently insane returns are hard. That, to me, are the firms that go down in history.” – Jaclyn Freeman Hester

“In venture, LPs are looking for GPs with loaded dice.” – Ben Choi

July 29, 2024July 29, 2024

Why an LP of GPs is Uniquely Valuable | Lisa Cawley | Superclusters | S3E5

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. She’s been covering venture capital for more than a dozen years, since 2010 at Ernst and Young, a private investment firm, and now to Screendoor.

Lisa is a proud graduate of Loyola University Maryland where she’s earned her MBA and MS in Finance, as well as her BBA in Accounting, with a double minor in Information Systems and Spanish. Lisa is a CFA Charterholder and holds a CPA from the State of Maryland. In addition, she’s also a member of Class 29 of the Kauffman Fellows.

You can find Lisa on her socials here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/31mml/
Screendoor: https://www.screendoor.co/contact

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.

Brought to you by Alchemist Accelerator.

OUTLINE:

[00:00] Intro
[03:43] How swimming has influenced Lisa’s life to date
[11:16] How does Lisa evaluate competitive spirit in others?
[14:36] The importance of understanding LP side letter terms
[21:33] Investing as a team AND individual sport
[23:45] Screendoor as the LP of GPs
[28:43] How does Screendoor align incentives with their GP advisors?
[31:05] How do GP advisors get assigned to portfolio managers?
[35:09] LP-GP fit
[37:46] Generation 1 vs Generation 5 of a family office
[43:19] How does firm-building differ from fund-building?
[49:09] Reference checking a fund manager’s “unique” value-add
[55:24] Which two life lessons would Lisa canonize in a time capsule?
[57:36] What was in Lisa’s last OS update?
[1:01:23] The different facets of education in Lisa’s life
[1:09:09] Final words on being thoughtful as an LP
[1:14:05] Post-credit scene
[1:25:27] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring!
[1:26:29] If you enjoyed the episode, I’d great appreciate it if you shared it with 1 other person!

SELECT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

SELECT QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE:

“[Swimming, like venture] is both a team and individual sport.” – Lisa Cawley

“If you are governing things from a point of a legal document, whatever that may be and having to refer to that in order to trigger a behavior, that often to me feels emblematic of a transaction, not a relationship.” – Lisa Cawley

“Performance is everybody’s right to continue to do their business in venture.” – Lisa Cawley

“You can be a critic while still helping somebody, and you can be a critic while still giving empathy and doing so with respect.” – Lisa Cawley

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: