Zack Miller

It's Earth Month 🌎 and Clear Current Capital's portfolio company, Nosh.bio stands out for truly embodying the ethos of "Think Different." Founders Tim Fronzek and Felipe Lino prioritize core values such as trust, respect, pro-activity, customer-centricity, and positive thinking in shaping their company culture 💫. With a diverse team spanning nine nationalities and four continents, they understand the unifying power of food 🌱. Through scalable and sustainable technology, Nosh aims to provide clean, healthy, and affordable food. They are not only thinking but building, nourishing, and solving problems differently, particularly concerning the longevity and strength of our food system. Be inspired to Think Different. 🍎 Challenge: Many food products are not tasty, affordable, or sustainable. CLEAR + BOLD SOLUTION: Nosh.bio creates ingredients from fungi for cleaner labels, improved taste, and texture in meat and fish analogues, as well as convenience foods, dairy, confectionery, and bakery items while adding nutritional value. Their nutritional and highly functional proteins are naturally produced, low processed, allergen-free, non-GMO, not novel foods, and at cost parity. Nosh's proprietary fermentation process is scalable and sustainable. #innovation #food #foodtech #sustainability #climatesolutions #EarthMonth

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This is a good resource I've stumbled upon. It covers a plethora of VC and startup-related topics and contains links to expand your knowledge. https://lnkd.in/dqkdV4fA TL;DR: "It's the founders, stupid!" These two lines made me hover over: "I know the physical and emotional tolls that entrepreneurs face". "Resources for Managing Founder Anxiety and Depression" I've been one myself, and it's not for the faint-hearted. I struggled and failed many times. From the standpoint of a person working now for a VC fund, the ability to support a founder who was hit with too much at the same time, to know how to listen, mirror and label Chris Voss's style, and a bit of guidance to build confidence back can do wonders. Assisting portfolio companies doesn't have to be just intros and throwing money or unsolicited advice. And what about identifying troublesome founders before investing to prevent assisting portfolio companies from becoming a nightmare flop? Ahh, that's a tricky one. Startups fail for a variety of reasons. At the early stage, we should look at many things, to name a few: product-market fit, go-to-market, blue ocean or zero to one, CAC and LTV ratio, CAP table, passion, leadership potential, intelligence, technical ability, and many, many more. Crunch the numbers. Sure. What about the early stage? Limited information and knowledge when a decision has to be made, and the outcome is impossible to predict because the future is unknown and unknowable. Examine the founders. If you don't read the founders right and overlook some hidden toxic traits and coping mechanisms that mask something that can derail the startup and founders down the road (vulnerable narcissism, antisocial tendencies, Machiavellism, blameshifting or more benign like anxiety-prone, conflict avoidance, burn-out tendency, inability to delegate, perfectionism, risk aversion, etc.), the chances that it will be your next outlier significantly diminish. How many of you saw dead equity on the capable, founders' clash, low morale, a founder playing the sunk cost game with the fund after burning cash, lying, or even more brazen behaviours like experimenting with horse tranquilisers and smoking weed on a podcast? A "Sudden" shift of values with a splash of megalomania could lead to a CEO removal attempt by the board. Or stealing "HER" voice. It is fun to watch as a TV drama, not to deal with as your portfolio. We won't be able to see it all during a few conversations with the founders and not everyone is Wendy Rhoades from Billions. Knowing how to ask a question behind which is a hidden question and being able to detect when founders say what they think we want to hear to get the funding is a good start. Spending extra time learning that is a good investment. A splash of psychology, empathy, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence to become an excellent GP won't harm your ability to identify and help the right entrepreneurs build great companies.

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Curious about impact investing? Join us as Wall Street veteran turned impact investor Michael Lustig chats with Nicky Newfield of Impact Nation! They break down what impact investing is, why it's smart, and why Israel is a great place to start. Watch full interview here: https://lnkd.in/dq6HEzKw #impactinvesting #finance #makeadifference

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Thanks to the last Israel VC Forum Deal Terms event last week, we now know for a fact that the Israel VC ecosystem is resilient.  Check out the 4 ingredients of the Israeli resilience secret sauce. ☝Seed tickets are up & valuations slightly down which means there are better deals to make for VCs 🤘SAFEs are the best alternative to down rounds 👌Longer Closing Periods = Better Deals (but don’t forget to close ;))  🤫 In comment two Insider insights from Goldfarb Gross Seligman to Keep Your Eye On ☝𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐩 & 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧  As of H1 2024, average pre-money valuations have adjusted (down from $20M in 2023 to $15M), while average ticket sizes are up (from $6M to $7.5M). Cyber (1st), AI, and Fintech deals are leading these higher ticket amounts. Compared to 🇺🇲 trends: the median Seed Round in the US is flat around $15M (according to Carta Q2 2024), with a median investment of $3M. In Israel, the median pre-money valuation is $12M, but the median investment is twice as big at $6M. => Bottom line, VCs can invest in Israeli companies at more reasonable prices, while taking greater stakes for further involvement and performance. 🤘𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 VC funds are now opting for long-term support rather than pay to play for their performing portfolio companies, investing through internal SAFEs rather than down rounds. Why? 1. to prevent down rounds that crush early investors and founders ownership 2. to support thriving startup portfolio facing short-term financial squeezes   3. to help startups avoid venture lending with high-interest rates 4. the critical pay to play investment were largely made in 2023 👌 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐬 = 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 (𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 ;)) The hectic 2-3 day “due diligence” timeframe from 2020-2021 is over. Now, 60% of due diligences take 1 to 2 months, allowing VC funds to find the best long-term opportunities. 3 reasons for this extension: 1. More companies fundraising than investors looking to invest => power is back with VCs 2. Many Investors and founders are on military duty 3. Lead investors seek co-leads to share risks Congrats to the speakers Ayal Shenhav, Guy Gordon, Guy libzon and Nitzan Tuvya for putting this great presentation together! and to the Israel VC Forum team including Danielle Ardon Baratz, Michael Safdie, Eran Bielski, Daniel Roditi, Ilan Regenbaum for providing the greatest insights on the Israeli VC market. And looking forward to the next event! #nomatterwhat #resilience #startupnation #israel #venturecapital

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🌍💡 Embracing Interoperability: The Evolution of Carbon Markets 💡🌍 The landscape of carbon markets is rapidly evolving, with a significant shift towards fungibility and interoperability. What does this mean? We (at the SoHo Global Climate Fund) spoke with leading climate fund manager, Charles Bedford of Carbon Growth Partners, to shed light on this important trend in the carbon markets. It's about creating seamless connections between compliance and voluntary markets, allowing for the exchange and recognition of carbon credits across borders and sectors. This trend marks a pivotal moment in our collective efforts towards combating climate change. By enabling carbon credits to be fungible and interoperable, we're fostering a more efficient and scalable approach to carbon pricing and emissions reduction strategies. Companies and organizations now have greater flexibility to participate in markets that align with their goals. #CarbonMarkets #ClimateAction #Fungibility #Interoperability #Sustainability #Innovation #GlobalImpact

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Another Hoover administration, Republic or Democratic WIll They Change before crash? (Mine is more optimistic though!) Two distinctive elements sustaining us, but still vulnerable, THOUGH I AM STILL ON THE BULLISH SIDE on guessing for a change to expect a more sensible President to surface! 1, a very strong private sector 2, a vigilant global economic regenerative development The current disastrous belief on hinderance to competitive forces! ONE COMMON belief, a stubborm administration. Believing in blockage can prevent self weakness through trade sanctions and limitations! Stopping the vigilant private sectors to gain and strengthen. Read: The Great Depression | The Herbert Hoover Presiden https://lnkd.in/gXcJuFsP The 1920s were a period of optimism and prosperity – for some Americans. When Herbert Hoover became President in 1929, the stock market was climbing to unprecedented levels, ........ In October, 1929, the bubble burst, After the stock market crash, President Hoover sought to prevent panic from spreading throughout the economy. According to Hoover’s economic theory, financial losses should affect profits, not employment, thus maintaining consumer spending and shortening the downturn. Hoover received commitments from private industry to spend $1.8 billion for new construction and repairs to be started in 1930, to stimulate employment. The President ordered federal departments to speed up their construction projects and asked all governors to expand public works projects in their states. He asked Congress for a $160 million tax cut while doubling spending for public buildings, dams, highways, and harbors. 1930 Praise for the President’s intervention was .. .............. Is this repeating, now? Sounds like we are heading into an administration driven STAGFLATION!!! US must change with a better sensible and independent President, yet he or she does not surface!!! Yet we buy more now on judgement of a must happen reversal on anti-competitive policy! Inflation not to come off as wrong policies continues, interest rate will be lowered as policies continue to degrading the economic competitiveness! USD vulnerable on a fake economic buoyancy and wrong maintenance of high interest rate to support the weak USD, just free the economy instead of wrong Federal and Monetary Policies! Then US can stay vibrant! And keep the long term bull run into a replacement investment target of the next cycle! The economy in 2024: Something https://lnkd.in/gRSN2PJR .... A Factor Investor’s Perspective of the Economic Cycle https://lnkd.in/g4TihKUz ........Realistically though, not every investor can allocate to the high decile of Value, Momentum, or Yield while avoiding low Earnings Quality, Financial Strength, and Earnings Growth.

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Today, I am incredibly excited to announce Claure Group’s investment into K Health, the leading AI Primary Care platform, and partner with Co-founders Allon Bloch and Ran Shaul. As we explore the evolving AI landscape, we've observed significant investments in AI infrastructure—such as energy, semiconductors, data centers, and LLMs—while the application space remains largely untouched. K Health is one of the few companies we've encountered that successfully uses AI to impact millions of lives. They are addressing some of healthcare’s greatest challenges by providing accessibility to faster, higher-quality, lower cost primary care on a large scale. Over the last seven years, K Health has developed the industry’s first AI model for primary care that has been published together with leading research physicians from Mayo Clinic. This has enabled K Health to introduce a virtual AI co-pilot for physicians to handle patient intake. The co-pilot takes patients through a personalized chat, gathers important information from their electronic medical records (EMR), and provides an AI-generated medical report with insights that enable doctors to make high quality diagnosis and treatment decisions. This frees up doctors to focus more on the interaction with patients and helps them make more informed decisions. And because K Health is integrated with health systems, it can efficiently arrange any needed follow-up physical visits, such as diagnostic tests and specialty care. Trusted by leading U.S. health systems, such as Cedars-Sinai, K Health has already been able to increase primary care access by 15%. We look forward to supporting K-Health’s journey to revolutionize the future of healthcare. Read full press release here: https://lnkd.in/eXJAaqmh

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Delivering incremental EBITDA, beyond the deal thesis. Come to hear our perspectives on value creation with mid-market firms. See you on 17 and 18 June! #altiusstrategicconsulting #ebitdar Naresh Kumar Paul Hudson Steve Denison Sumit Srivastava #valuecreation

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Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, some of the most successful VC investors, have made their fortunes by investing early in companies that have changed the world, such as Facebook, Airbnb, and Reddit. Now, they plan to expand their strategy and raise money for their first private equity fund. From an outside perspective, they seem interested in capitalizing on the current market downturn and acquiring quality companies at more attractive prices. A16z, with its strong track record and credibility, is well-positioned to succeed in the PE world. Their openness to investing in new sectors like AI and blockchain, their robust social presence, and the right network to access top deals position them well to be a big success. What are your thoughts on a16z’s plan to enter the PE space? #a16z #privateequity

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6 VC/PE firms that raised funds last week 1️⃣ Norwest Venture Partners - $3 billion fund to invest in early and growth-stage startups in enterprise, consumer and healthcare businesses across India, Israel, and North America. 2️⃣ Stride Ventures - $165 million to invest in consumer-centric brands, financial services, and clean-tech sectors. 3️⃣ IvyCap Ventures Advisors Private Limited raised 2,100 Cr to invest in early-stage startups in sectors such as climate tech, clean tech, and space tech. 4️⃣ Kedaara Capital raised $1.73 billion to invest in sectors such as banking, healthcare, consumer and software. 5️⃣ Capria Ventures raised 153 crore for its India Opportunity Fund. 6️⃣ ChrysCapital - $700 million continuation fund. That’s positive news that these firms have closed fundraising in the last 7 days. But if we look at each of their fundraising timeline, it’s scary & suprising. Ivycap Ventures announced their first close at 1,608 Cr for the fund two years ago in feb 2022 but closed the fund last week. Stride Ventures planned to raise $200 million but closed the fund at $165 million, lesser than their fund II of $200 million. So funds are taking more time to raise than under usual circumstances due to LPs being cautious to invest in VC for the past 2 years right? But Kedaara Capital raised the largest ever Indian PE fund of $1.73 billion in just 4 months. What do you think of this?  #Venturecapital #PrivateEquity #FundraisingTrends Source: Various Media

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💡Milken Global Conference 2024: Key takeaways for institutional allocators Hershel Harper, CIO, UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust: "It's all about manager selection for us: how they govern and manage risks. We view it as an active engagement process to really understand how the [portfolio] companies and their boards & executives are integrating ESG and thinking about a broader set of risks. Boards need to hold CEOs accountable. " Derek Rozycki, Head of Responsible Investing, Mubadala: "We were formed as a development company in Abu Dhabi and these [ESG] issues, i.e., environment, how you’re treating your workforce, how you’re working with your communities, etc., are fundamental to the success of our investments. Private markets are more responsive to ESG integration vs. public markets." Andrew Siwo, Head of Sustainable Investments, NEW YORK STATE COMMON RETIREMENT FUND "We don’t have another planetary option. And that’s not going to go away, whether you like the term "ESG" or not." Carine Smith Ihenacho, CCO, Norges Bank Investment Management "Need investors who can really think long term and can sit through a transition. Maybe there’s a lack of patience from institutional investors. Companies, supply chains, and energy systems need time to change. Institutional investors have to think about how they are supporting companies through this transition." Rossitsa Stoyanova, CIO, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) "We look at sustainable investing across our portfolio. We customize ESG for the company vs. standardizing across industries, e.g., for data centers, think about how to (eventually) use renewable power." Bruce Flatt, CEO, Brookfield Asset Management "There is an investment boom going on globally that is going to contribute to an enormous amount of wealth creation and industrial growth around the world. The money that’s getting invested into the [energy] transition of the global economy and getting carbon out of the system is $10s, if not $100s of trillions. The digitization of everything, and AI is only the newest portion of it, between fiber, towers, data centers and the rewiring of the economy. And all that is productive."

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Here’s a question investors are often asked: When evaluating early stage companies, how much time do you spend on due diligence around future exits? It’s not surprising we hear this question a lot. Also not surprising: it’s got a wide range of answers depending on the firm. Some don’t spend much time here at all. Others make it a point to put meaningful time in as part of their process. Our current thinking: take the time to do the work on public market comps. At Alpaca VC, we spend significant time understanding how public market investors will  realistically value a business based on margin profile, product, business model & TAM. In short, we want to know: how will this company be valued at scale when we get taken out? Yes, we can acknowledge that the journey toward exit is a windy road and that there may be pivots along the way, but there are still public market companies that have a business model similar to the early stage company you're evaluating. And you can always look at gross profit multiples if you think the margin profile will change over time. So we still do the work on the comps. Quantitative metrics we look at when making the comparison to public market comps include EBITDA multiple, revenue multiple, Gross Profit multiple or all of the above. As part of this process, it’s also important to factor in the public market company’s year-over-year revenue growth as this will also significantly impact the multiple it trades at. Simple example: if you have two public market companies with similar business models and similar margin profiles, but one's growing 100% year over year, and one's growing 50% year over year, then obviously the DCF (discounted cash flow) analysis is going to spit out a very different valuation for the one that's growing faster. Why this matters: When you take all of that information into account as you evaluate an early stage business, you can begin to create a realistic picture of how this company will be valued in the public markets at exit - or how an acquirer will value the company for an acquisition. Strategic acquirers may, of course, pay a premium, but we won’t underwrite for that. This allows us, for example, to form conviction around valuation based on revenue and gross profit predictions. If we think they can do $100M of revenue five years from now, we use this diligence process to form a thesis about whether the characteristics above (product, margin, business model, etc.) will cause the company to be valued at $200M vs. $500M vs. $1B at exit. Curious how other early stage investors think about underwriting an exit and how much time they’re spending on public market comps even though these companies are in their infancy.

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The data speaks for itself—raising a second fund is harder than ever. In 2013, over 60% of first-time VC managers successfully raised a second fund. Fast forward to 2023, and that number has plummeted to just 12.4%. It's a challenging landscape, but kudos to all the backers making it happen! Here are some tips for managers looking to raise Fund II: 🔍 Do Your Research: Identify and qualify potential LPs early. Focus on those who align with your vision and avoid wasting time on those who aren't interested. 🤝 Leverage Your Network: Connect with other general partners who have recently raised funds similar in size to yours. They can provide valuable insights into which LPs are actively deploying capital and which ones are on the sidelines. 🏃‍♂️ Think Long-Term: Remember, fundraising is a marathon, not a sprint. Persistence is key. Don't let a “no” discourage you—every rejection brings you one step closer to a “yes.” #fundraisingtips #investorrelations #growthmindset

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New + Smaller Managers: Raising Assets = #1 PRIORITY Performance does not raise assets❗Marketing Does 💪 ✅ Optimize Marketing = Success Raising Assets. "Performance" brings ATTENTION, it doesn't get ALLOCATIONS. ⚠There's a lot of hype + wrong information about raising assets offered via "social media", "videos", "podcasts", "boot camps", "conferences", "masterclasses" and "parties" = Wasted Time + Money. 81% of smaller managers do not have a MARKETING PROCESS. 76.4% of hedge funds "TAP OUT" their network within ONE year. 89% of all hedge funds fail to reach $100 million AUM. Raising assets without a MARKETING PROCESS is next to impossible. Get the "DETAILS" + "FACTS" + "PROCESS" + "PROOF": https://lnkd.in/dDscFx4K Since 2011, Johnson & Company has been the ONLY firm specializing in helping "sub-institutional" ($0-$50 MILLION AUM) managers execute the "marketing process" at the level required to raise assets.

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Raising Assets: THE most important challenge for new & smaller managers. Most fail raising assets despite "performance"+ an exceptional track record. WHY? MARKETING = #1 factor for successful fundraising.   Almost every new and smaller manager firmly believes all that’s needed to raise assets is “PERFORMANCE”. THAT'S FALSE = DATA PROVES IT.   Lots of managers, maybe even YOU, have "performance" but fail raising assets.   FACT: New or smaller managers that want to succeed raising assets must be completely prepared and fully equipped to consistently execute a structured, disciplined and focused "marketing process".   However.... #1 = 81% of smaller managers do not have a marketing process. #2 = Most new and smaller managers are highly-skilled in trading, investing or research and do not have "marketing experience and skills".   The lack of "marketing process, experience and skills" means marketing is grossly misunderstood, under-estimated and poorly executed, which leads to struggle and failure raising assets. FACT: Most new and smaller managers rarely get AUM beyond personal capital and small amounts from "family & friends". Raising assets is harder than ever for new and smaller managers: WHY???   1) Investors are risk-averse, highly-skeptical, stringently selective and uniquely demanding. 2) There are thousands of venture, private equity, private credit and hedge fund managers and funds in active fundraising: Fundraising is hyper-competitive. 5 crucial points for new + smaller managers: 1. "PERFORMANCE" DOES NOT RAISE ASSETS: The decision to invest in a new or smaller manager goes far beyond "performance" as THE single metric. 2. “Pitching”, “Posting” & “Parties (conferences)” to raise assets are a complete waste of time for new and smaller managers! 3. The marketing process for new and smaller managers is completely different than for "more-operationally seasoned", "institutional" funds with larger AUM. 4. There's a lot of BS, scams and wrong information about marketing and raising assets for new and smaller managers. 5. In a hyper-competitive and crowded capital raising climate, the quality and execution of the marketing process determines success raising assets. Since 2011, Johnson & Company has been the ONLY firm specializing in marketing for "sub-institutional" managers. What do I do that's "PROVEN"? A. Eliminate the BS, hype and wrong information about marketing and raising assets to GET RESULTS. B. Deliver the "marketing process, experience and skills" that optimally position a new or smaller manager to GET RESULTS. C. Partner with a manager to provide "step-by-step" assisted execution of the marketing process at the level required to GET RESULTS. GET THE FACTS + GET THE PROOF:https://lnkd.in/gRetGVzA Do YOU have the “high-quality marketing process" necessary to raise assets? Are YOU getting RESULTS?   If not? Then it's time for "Marketing Alpha".   Let's have a "no-nonsense" conversation: bryan@johnsn.com

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I've been thinking a lot about pricing lately. As a challenger SaaS (and more) in the insurance vertical, Turris has some massive advantages over incumbents and later-stage startups: 1️⃣ Building without a Massive Value Overhang: While it might have been great to raise tens of millions on a valuation in the hundreds of millions (or even billions!) with little relative revenue, those companies now need to show they can produce that revenue. 2️⃣ Lower Development Costs: The cost of development is rapidly decreasing. Those of us who started building in the last 12-18 months can quickly take advantage of these savings without the disruption of massive layoffs or operational overhauls. How do these advantages relate to transparent pricing? If you're transparent with your pricing and no one else is, you get to set the market rate for solving your customers' problems. Thanks to the above advantages, we can offer significant value at a lower price than our competitors. This positions us to win market share and pressure competitors to lower their prices. The price of software is coming down, like it or not. If you're a challenger startup, use this trend to your advantage by publishing your pricing. Instead of trying to extract maximum value from each customer, offer a great solution at a fair price for everyone.

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FocuSight 集视医疗 🥊 The world’s first provider of amblyopia treatment solutions for all ages. 🌐 Spotlight on Marathon Venture Partners #portfolio startup: FocuSight FocuSight is a groundbreaking company revolutionizing vision care with its innovative brain-science-based solutions. Partnering with leading institutions like the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hong Kong University, and Tsinghua University, FocuSight utilizes functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to delve into the neurological underpinnings of eye diseases. This research has led to the discovery of fundamental damage sites and the development of targeted treatments, resulting in 20+ research findings and 10+ SCI publications, including papers in the prestigious journals Cell and ARVO. 🧩 Core products include: 1.Amblyopia treatment for all ages FocuSight’s innovative AR device leverages the clearest diagnostic and treatment mechanism, proven effective in a successful clinical study of 60 adult cases. This solution delivers immediate results, boasts a 99% increase in healing speed, and achieves a 78% improvement rate within three months across all age groups. Compared to similar products, FocuSight’s device is over 60% lighter, seamlessly integrating into daily life without disrupting home activities, exercise, or learning. 2.Postoperative training products for strabismus the world’s first and only post-operative treatment plan for strabismus that utilizes binocular attention point stimulation. Developed in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fudan Ophthalmology Department, this innovative approach focuses on stimulating specific brain areas and reshaping neural pathways to improve binocular fusion and stereopsis in patients with strabismus. This 3-month post-surgical training program represents the only truly effective treatment plan targeting brain area damage and promoting long-term visual function recovery. 🧬 Check out more companies in Marathon Venture Partners' portfolio at http://www.marathonvp.com/. 🔬 References: http://www.focusight.ltd Follow Marathon Venture Partners, Ray Yang, as we navigate the healthcare world to provide effective, efficient, and affordable solutions for people.

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Want to be a Venture Capital Scout? Scout for Syndicate leads. I’m biased, but I think SPV/Syndicate leads are some of the best connections for VC scouts. As a syndicate lead, I’ve leaned into working with VC scouts the past 3-4 years. It's been a great way to gain unique access to deal flow and many of my most exciting portfolio companies have come from various “scouts”. Given the deal by deal investing strategy and ability to share carry with those who support sourcing & diligence, it’s become increasingly common for syndicate leads to actively partner with scouts and share carry or upside in the SPV. What’s in it for the scout? Deal x deal carry. While there are multiple traditional VC scout models that exist, the syndicate scout model is pretty straightforward. If you source a deal and support diligence, the syndicate lead is going to share some of the carry with the scout, and likely a more meaningful amount than a traditional venture fund. This is of course an SPV, so you are getting carry for the specific deal you sourced and not fund-level carry. A little more background on why the SPV model aligns with VC scout deal sourcing… Syndicate leads are structured (and many times set up) to invest in more companies than a traditional venture fund. In order to consistently bring LPs high quality deals, it makes sense to partner with folks in your network who have strong deal flow. Most times the carry split from syndicates will be more generous than that of a traditional venture fund. Syndicates do not necessarily have a certain number of portfolio companies they can invest in, meaning as long as they are getting access to quality deals that LPs want to participate in, then they will: 1) Be more likely to say yes and run the SPV into that investment and 2) Be more willing to provide a higher carry split, especially if you as a scout show you can repeat this with more future access In summary, if you are going to scout for venture funds, you might as well explore doing so with syndicates and capitalize on deal by deal carry/upside. Disclaimer: If you are scouting deals because you want to get into VC, working with traditional VCs is likely better from a networking standpoint, but if you are scouting to capitalize on carried interest/upside, I think the SPV lead route can be more attractive, and more frequently. -- Interested to see if you are a fit for our new Deal Sheet accredited investor product? Explore Deal Sheet to access 100-200+ of the best SPV startup (pre-seed to pre-IPO) investment opportunities per year. Deals are curated by Zachary Ginsburg & Alex Pattis (deployed > $200M across 750+ SPVs) across 50+ syndicate leads.

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