Ian Park is a Partner at Primer Sazze, a firm dedicated to investing in ambitious talent across East Asia and North America. Prior to Primer Sazze, he was a venture capital allocator at Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), one of the largest sovereign wealth institutions in the world, where he focused on investments into venture managers and founders. He’s also amassed a fervent following of AI, VC, and LP fans over the years through writing his newsletter and his YouTube channel. Prior to KIC, he’s built his investing repertoire at VMG Partners and Bertram Capital after leaving the world of consulting.
Ian studied mathematics and economics at University of Minnesota and earned his master’s degree in economics at Boston College. He’s also got his master’s in computer and information technology from University of Pennsylvania as well.
You can find Ian on his socials here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/park-ian/
Substack: https://moneybehindthemoney.substack.com
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
[02:26] From Boston to SF
[10:58] How does Ian diligence a GP’s ability to source?
[13:37] The three things Ian looks for in emerging managers
[17:04] Best practices on sharing insights
[26:37] A typical week at KIC and conversations with GPs
[30:42] How to best approach co-investment opportunities as an LP
[33:38] How does Ian get to conviction on a direct deal
[39:19] What funds should you invest in if you prioritize co-investments?
[43:23] What does Ian look for in a Fund II/III that’s not TVPI, DPI, or IRR?
[47:26] Relationship management best practices with GPs
[53:30] The good, bad, and ugly at a sovereign wealth fund
[1:00:00] What is Ian investing in at Primer Sazze?
[1:10:20] What has Ian learned over the years as a content creator?
[1:16:57] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring!
[1:17:57] If you liked the episode, would greatly appreciate a like and a share!
SELECT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
- Primer Sazze
- Korea Investment Corporation (KIC)
- Kevin Kelly
- McKinsey & Company
- Signalfire
- Warren Buffett
- NVIDIA
- Sendbird
- Moloco
- Noom
- FiscalNote
- SpaceX
- Sequoia Capital
- a16z
- “Software is Eating the World”
- Marc Andreessen
- Erica Wenger
- Park Rangers Capital
- “Elephants, Not Unicorns” by Erica Wenger
- Benchmark
- Bessemer Venture Partners
- Bessemer’s research
- Louis Pasteur
- Accel Partners
- The prepared mind at Accel Partners
- Rick Zullo
- Equal Ventures
- Equal Ventures’ Insurance Index 2024
- Matt Levine
- Matt Levine’s Money Stuff
- Chris Neumann
- Panache Ventures
- The Quiet Part Out Loud
- Pitchbook
- Techcrunch
- Greylock Partners
- Space Capital
- Chad Anderson
- “How VC funds win over Institutional LPs: my favorite IR practices” by Ian Park
- “Telltale Signs of When Risk is High”
- VMG Partners
- Episode 1 of Ian’s YouTube channel (Korean)
- Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses
- Apple Vision Pro
- Ian’s Slash Page
SELECT QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE:
“Regression is trying to figure out why this happened, and machine learning is more about what’s going to happen.” – Ian Park
“The three things I’m looking for in emerging managers are first, information; second, network; third, it’s more about co-investments.” – Ian Park
“VCs should publish their thoughts as soon as possible – be it on YouTube or be it on a blog. You have to tell people what you think, and you have to claim that’s your idea too, so you can get some credit.” – Ian Park
“My rule of thumb is five years for 1X [DPI] for PE funds, and seven years for VC funds.” – Ian Park
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