Tag: superclusters

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S1E3: Eric Woo

Eric Woo is co-founder and CEO of Revere, where he leads product development and investment analysis & due diligence efforts.

Prior to starting Revere, he was Head of Institutional Capital at AngelList, the world’s largest online venture capital investment platform that supports over $10B in assets and has participated in the financing of over 190 “unicorn” companies. At AngelList, Eric worked closely with investors to curate early-stage fund and deal opportunities. He also developed systematic and data-driven strategies for institutional investors.

Over the last 12 years, Eric has helped allocate over $160 million in venture funds and direct co-investments. Notably, he played a key role in establishing the emerging manager investment programs at Top Tier Capital and Northgate Capital, organizations that collectively have more than $15B in AUM. Eric is an acknowledged thought leader in the VC emerging managers ecosystem.

Before his venture career, Eric worked in pricing and risk management for a large insurance company and financial guarantor. He also has experience in online marketing and private market research. A Bay Area native, Eric graduated with a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley and has been a CFA charter holder since 2004.

You can find Eric on his socials here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericjwoo
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericwoo/

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
[03:30] How did Eric pivot from being an engineer to an asset manager?
[09:52] Building emerging manager programs at Top Tier and Northgate
[15:25] How does Eric define conviction?
[17:23] What was the thesis that Eric raised his fund of funds on?
[20:00] How much does an established fund’s portfolio is allocated to emerging managers?
[23:48] How did Eric pitch institutional LPs to join AngelList?
[32:48] How does Eric measure the ROI on hosting events?
[36:24] How does Eric pitch Revere to my relatives?
[39:29] How does Revere rate emerging managers?
[47:49] What are telltale signs of a fund’s outperformance?
[51:36] The value of community
[58:10] What are subconscious decisions LPs make that deserve a double take?
[1:02:09] Why strategy drift is not a bad thing
[1:04:57] What VC firm turned identity into culture?
[1:07:39] What is Eric’s nighttime routine?
[1:09:50] Angel investing is to tipping as LP investing is to ____
[1:13:45] What is one thing Eric recommends GPs do but no one ever listens?
[1:15:18] What is an investment opportunity Eric missed because of what he didn’t do rather than what he did?
[1:18:21] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring!
[1:20:58] Legal disclaimer

SELECT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

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

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S1E2: Beezer Clarkson

Beezer Clarkson leads Sapphire Partners‘ investments in venture funds domestically and internationally. Beezer began her career in financial services over 20 years ago at Morgan Stanley in its global infrastructure group. Since, she has held various direct and indirect venture investment roles, as well as operational roles in software business development at Hewlett Packard. Prior to joining Sapphire in 2012, Beezer managed the day-to-day operations of the Draper Fisher Jurvetson Global Network, which then had $7 billion under management across 16 venture funds worldwide.

In 2016, Beezer led the launch of OpenLP, an effort to help foster greater understanding in the entrepreneur-to-LP tech ecosystem. Beezer earned a bachelor’s in government from Wesleyan University, where she served on the board of trustees and currently serves as an advisor to the Wesleyan Endowment Investment Committee. She is currently serving on the board of the NVCA and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

You can find Beezer on her socials here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/beezer232
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethclarkson/

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
[02:57] Who was Beezer’s first mentor?
[06:57] How did Beezer get to work with the founder of eBay?
[10:45] The strength of diverse backgrounds
[14:11] How Hustle Fund convinced Foundry Group to invest in their fund
[15:27] Why should another venture fund exist in this world?
[19:41] What does proprietary “access” to deal flow mean?
[23:53] Superpowers on the Sapphire Partners team
[25:35] How does Sapphire resolve disagreements?
[27:11] Why does entire Sapphire team meet with GPs?
[28:18] A sneak peek into Sapphire investment process
[33:34] What does Sapphire look for in a pitch deck?
[34:58] The art and science behind Sapphire’s own portfolio construction
[43:37] How does Sapphire look at fund managers’ portfolio construction?
[47:50] Meaningful fund metrics in the first 5-7 years of a VC fund
[52:44] How to think about recycling
[56:15] What keeps Beezer humble?
[58:22] What is an investment opportunity Beezer missed because what she didn’t do?
[1:04:03] Thank you to Alchemist Accelerator for sponsoring!
[1:06:39] Legal Disclaimer

SELECT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE:

“It’s the access and why do the great people pick you that is much harder. And that speaks to what it is that you, the investor, are bringing to the table. There’s an LP-GP corollary to this too. The strongest GPs can pick their LPs, what gives the access from the LP side. So it’s a really different way of saying why are you so special. But it’s repeatable.”

“The good and the bad of being an LP is that you’re the peanut gallery to the show. So yes, a VC doesn’t exist unless LPs back them. The LPs are limited partners. We’re limited, which is there for a reason. You’re not driving the bus. There’s humility in that. I liken it to being a parent. There’s all sorts of things you take pride in in your kids. But at the end of the day, it’s your fund; it’s not me. You’re the one making the choices. The same way, it’s the entrepreneurs that make the companies.”

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

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Launching Superclusters

Hello friends,

I did a thing.

I started a podcast.

So why the name Superclusters?

I’ve always been a fan of easter eggs. Cup of Zhou also happens to be one of them. Superclusters is another. But this time, rather than leaving it for surprise, I’d love to spell out why and with that, the purpose of this podcast.

In the startup world, we always say startups are the stars of our universe. They shine the brightest and they light up the night sky. We also have tons of aphorisms in the startup world. For instance, “Aim for the stars, land on the moon”. Startups are often called moonshots. They need to achieve escape velocity. And so on.

So if startups are the stars of the universe, galaxies would be VC firms that have a portfolio of stars.

And if galaxies were VC firms, superclusters would be LPs. Superclusters are collections of multiple galaxies. For example, the supercluster that the Milky Way is in is called Laniakea (Hawaiian for “immense heavens,” for the curious).

So why a podcast on the LP world?

  1. The LP industry in ten years will be much bigger than it is today. We are not even close to the TAM of it.
  2. The LP industry will be a lot more transparent than it is today. FYI, as many of you know already, the industry is very opaque. Many want and still like to keep their knowledge proprietary. But what’s proprietary today will be common place tomorrow. I’m not here to share anyone’s deepest, darkest secrets, or anyone’s social security number. That’s none of my business. But the tactics that make the greatest LPs great are already being shared over intimate happy hours and dinners between a select few. And it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches up. We saw the same happen with the VC industry, and now people are moving even more upstream.
  3. I think of content on a cartesian X-Y graph. On the X-axis, there’s intellectual stimulation. In other words, interesting. On the Y-axis, there’s emotional stimulation, or otherwise known as fun. Most financial services (for instance, hedge fund, private equity, venture capital, options trading) content tends to highly index on intellectual stimulation and not emotional. And for the purpose of this pod, I want to focus on making investing in VC funds fun AND interesting.

You can find my podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts for now. In full transparency, waiting on RSS feed approval for the other platforms, but soon to be shared on other platforms near you.

You can expect episodes to come out weekly with ten episodes per season, and a month break in between each to ensure that I can bring you the best quality content. 🙂

You can find my first episode with the amazing Chris Douvos here:

Or if you’re an Apple Podcast person, here’s the Apple Podcast link.

Thank you’s

I am no doubt flawed, clearly evidenced by my verbal “ummmm’s” and “likes” in the podcast. But nevertheless pumped to begin this journey as a podcast host. I expect to grow in this journey tackling the emerging LP space and running a podcast, and I hope you can grow with me. So, any and all feedback is deeply appreciated. Recommendations of who to get on. What questions would you like answered. Formats that you find interesting. I’m all ears.

That said, I’m grateful to everyone who made this possible. My mighty editors, Tyler and JP. Without the two of you, I’d still be struggling telling head from tail on how to do J-cuts and L-cuts. The sole sponsor for the pod, Ravi and Alchemist. And while the pod itself is separate from Alchemist altogether, Ravi pushed me to make it happen. And for that and more, I am where I am now. Every single LP who took a bet on me for Season 1 when all I had for them was an idea and a goal. Chris. Beezer. Eric. Jamie. Courtney. Ben. Howard. Amit. Samir. Jeff and Martin.

And to everyone, who’s offered feedback, advice, introductions and pure energy to fuel all of this. Thank you!

And to you, my readers, I appreciate you taking time out of your busy day when there are so many things that fight for your attention, that you spend time with me every week! If I could just be a bit more self-serving, if you have the chance to tune in, I’d be extremely grateful if you could share it with one LP or one GP who could take something away from it.

Cheers,

David

P.S. Don’t worry. I’ll still continue to write on this blog weekly about everything else in between. That’s a habit I’m not willing to give up any time soon.

P.P.S. I’m already working on and recording for Season 2 of the pod, and I can tell you now that things will only get spicier.

P.P.P.S. Due to a million bugs and a half, I’m still working on launching a dedicated website for the podcast (superclusters.co), but until then, I’ll be sharing the show notes of each episode here.

Stay up to date with the weekly cup of cognitive adventures inside venture capital and startups, as well as cataloging the history of tomorrow through the bookmarks of yesterday!

The views expressed on this blogpost are for informational purposes only. None of the views expressed herein constitute legal, investment, business, or tax advice. Any allusions or references to funds or companies are for illustrative purposes only, and should not be relied upon as investment recommendations. Consult a professional investment advisor prior to making any investment decisions.

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