Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Latest Episodes:

[REPLAY] Josh Wolfe – Seeing the Lux (Capital Allocators, EP.65) Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

Josh Wolfe is the co-founder of Lux Capital, a $1.5 billion venture capital firm formed to support scientists and entrepreneurs who pursue counter-conventional solutions to the most vexing puzzles of our time. Josh's innovative thought process across his activities offers frameworks and insights applicable across the spectrum of investing. Our conversation covers Josh's early passion for science and finance, building a competitive advantage in venture capital from scratch, sourcing ideas, conducting due diligence, making investment decisions, constructing portfolios, making exits, learning from mistakes, navigating a challenging private equity environment, posting on Twitter, active vs. passive management, dinner table conversation, and life lessons. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Joelle Kayden – Canvassing the Landscape at Accolade Partners, Venture is Eating the Investment World 7 (Capital Allocators, EP.235) Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

My guest on the 7th episode of Venture is Eating the Investment World is Joelle Kayden, the Founder and Managing Partner of Accolade Partners, a $3.6 billion venture fund of funds that invests across early stage, growth, blockchain, and empowerment strategies and one of the most respected firms in the business. Our conversation covers Joelle's nearly two decades in technology investment banking, the launch of Accolade into the dot.com bubble, and its evolution over twenty years. We then discuss her perspectives on the four ways to win in venture capital, assessing culture, adding value as an LP, portfolio construction, re-upping decisions, and investing in the current environment. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Aydin Senkut – Tenacious Sourcing and Founder Support at Felicis, Venture is Eating the Investment World 6 (Capital Allocators, EP.234) Feb 07, 2022

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Aydin Senkut is the Founder and Managing Partner of Felicis Ventures, a $2 billion early stage venture firm that invests in founders building iconic companies that transcend geographic and industry boundaries. Its success has placed Aydin on the Forbes Midas List for the past 8 years. Our conversation covers Aydin's early exposure to entrepreneurship and international business, experience as the first international product manager at Google, and transition into angel investing and founding Felicis. We discuss his investment philosophy, proactive sourcing, and doing whatever it takes to join the cap table and support founders. We close with Aydin's perspective on competition in the venture capital industry.

Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Ali Hamed – Novel Venture Investing at CoVenture, Venture is Eating the Investment World 5 (Capital Allocators, EP.233) Jan 31, 2022

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Ali Hamed is the Founder of CoVenture a $2 billion investor across the capital stack of technology start-ups reinventing the economy of the future. Ali first appeared on the show three years ago when CoVenture's assets were around $100 million. That conversation is replayed in the feed. Our second conversation starts with an update on CoVenture's growth and dives into Crossbeam Venture Partners, CoVenture's venture business. We discuss Crossbeam's sweet spot, sourcing, due diligence, deal dynamics, ownership, and decision-making for follow-on rounds. We then turn to examples in fintech and platforms, and close with how CoVenture's taste for novel assets fits into the venture ecosystem. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

[REPLAY] Ali Hamed - Novel Asset Investing (Capital Allocators, EP.40) Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

Ali Hamed is the co-founder of CoVenture and Managing Partner of the CoVenture VC Fund. CoVenture is an innovative company that identifies and invests in novel assets formed by the intersection of technology and finance. The firm manages an early stage venture capital fund, direct lending fund, and crypto asset index fund, with each taking a creative twist on its market.

Our conversation starts with Ali's entrepreneurial path to the creation of CoVenture, and covers examples of previously unpriced investment opportunities, including produce receivables, employee payroll loans, AirBnB accounts, and loans against employee stock options. We walk through the world of crypto assets and the state of the venture capital industry. Ali's fresh lens on the world offers a fascinating perspective on every aspect of early stage investing.

If I didn't say it in advance, you'll be astounded to hear that Ali is only 26 years old. He's one to watch for the long-term.

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Fabrice Grinda – Canvassing Seed Stage Marketplaces at FJ Labs, Venture is Eating the Investment World 4 (Capital Allocators, EP.232) Jan 24, 2022

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Fabrice Grinda is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and founder of FJ Labs, a venture capital firm that backs a diversified portfolio of startups in marketplace businesses. The firm takes a founder-friendly, non-institutional approach, employing heuristics to formulate quick decisions. Our conversation covers Fabrice's path as a serial entrepreneur and lessons learned building and investing in marketplaces. We discuss FJ Lab's unique investment process focused on four investment heuristics and expeditious decision making. We then turn to its position in the venture ecosystem and investable themes in the coming years. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Florian Bartunek – Equities in Brazil at Constellation Asset Management (Manager Meetings, EP.27) Jan 20, 2022

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On today's Manager Meeting, Greg Dowling interviews Florian Bartunek. Greg is the Co-CIO and Head of Research for Fund Evaluation Group, an institutional OCIO and investment consultant with $83 billion in assets under advisement. Florian is the founding partner and CIO of Constellation Asset Management, a long-only asset manager focused on Brazil with approximately $3 billion in AUM. Florian founded Constellation in 1999 alongside Jorge Paulo Lemann and 3G and brought in Steve Mandel's Lone Pine Capital as a partner in 2007. Their conversation starts with Florian's career in investment management, his passion for reading, and an overview of Brazil's business environment and equity market. They then turn to Constellation's investment philosophy, team, portfolio construction, and investment examples. Lastly, Florian discussed opportunities and risks in Brazil, and his prediction for Brazil in the next World Cup. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Sean O'Sullivan – Start-up Development at SOSV, Venture is Eating the Investment World 3 (Capital Allocators, EP.231) Jan 17, 2022

Show notes

Sean O'Sullivan is the founder of SOSV, a $1 billion global venture capital firm that seeds 150 companies a year through start-up development programs that support entrepreneurs across hardware, bioengineering, China, mobile apps, and the blockchain. Sean has pretty much done it all. He grew up on welfare, found his way to technology in the 1970s, and started his first company in his early 20s. That company, called MapInfo, was the original street map technology well before the days of the internet. Sean formed more companies and began angel investing with the proceeds. Along the way, he created twenty patents for ride sharing, coined the term cloud computing, appeared in Ireland's version of Shark Tank, and formed a series of start-up development programs to support early-stage entrepreneurs. Our conversation covers Sean's path to entrepreneurship and investing, accelerator strategy, sourcing ideas, working with entrepreneurs, preparing businesses to exit SOSV's programs, investing in follow-on rounds, drivers of success, and positioning in the venture ecosystem. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Chris Douvos – The LP's Perspective from Ahoy Capital, Venture is Eating the Investment World 2 (Capital Allocators, EP.230) Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

Chris Douvos is the Founder and Managing Director of Ahoy Capital, where he invests in early-stage venture funds and co-invests alongside his managers. Chris has been a fixture in venture capital for nearly two decades and was an early guest on the show back in 2017. That replay is posted in the feed. Our conversation offers an LP perspective on the venture landscape, covering the current environment, range of players in the early stage, and how Chris is navigating the landscape. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

[REPLAY] - Chris Douvos – Venture Capital's Super LP (Capital Allocators, EP.14) Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

Chris Douvos is Managing Director at Venture Investment Associates, a fund that invests $1B in commitments to venture capital funds. Chris is responsible for the management of relationships with the funds' managers and the identification and development of new manager relationships. He is the author of an entertaining blog about venture capital entitled SuperLP – Adventures in Investing, available at SuperLP.com.

Prior to joining VIA, Chris spent seven years co-heading the private equity program at The Investment Fund For Foundations, or TIFF. In this role, he was responsible for another $1 billion in new capital commitments. Before joining TIFF, Chris worked on Princeton University's endowment team. He started his career as a strategy consultant at Monitor Company. He is a graduate of Yale University and the Yale School of Management.

Our conversation starts with Chris' path to venture capital, through strategy consulting, investment banking and an endowment investment office. We talk about perception and reality in venture investing, exciting areas of future innovation, and the nuts and bolts of research, portfolio construction and decision making when running a portfolio of venture funds.

When Chris pulls off his suit, the red undershirt of the Super LP remains. He's a charismatic guy with great insight into how the venture capital game is played and draws many parallels from venture to investing in general.

Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

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