How I Invest with David Weisburd

Latest Episodes:

E13: Shai Goldman on What Differentiates Venture Funds that Generate 3X+ DPI? Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

Shai Goldman, an investor, writer, and Brex ambassador sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the future of VC from his vantage point. We're proudly sponsored by AngelList, visit https://www.angellist.com/tlp if you’re ready to level up your startup or fund. (0:00) Special message (1:10) Episode preview (3:00) Brex's billboard campaign (5:05) Shai's SVB experience (6:00) Venture activity: comparing 2002, 2008 and 2022 (7:15) did VC firms fare in the last 2 downturns? (8:43) Where is VC going in the next 5 years? (10:50) Competing with a company that has a war chest (12:38) Emerging managers data resource (14:23) Thoughts on startups (15:21) What makes successful emerging managers? (18:50) Sponsor: AngelList (19:53) When being boring is good for the business (22:33) Balancing investing and deploying capital (24:00) 3x DPI and making good money (26:06) Fund returners, grand slams, and outliers (28:54) is the secret sauce in finding the next emerging market? (31:01) On generalists capturing their early stage home-runs (33:10) fundraising in the LP community (35:17) in fund of funds (38:17) LPs exploring emerging managers

E12: Jamie Rhode on Why 95% of LPs Can Only Achieve a 10% IRR when the Mean Return is 50% IRR Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

Jamie Rhode, Principal at Verdis Investment Management, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss data-driven investing, compounding returns, Jamie's investing philosophy, and more. We're proudly sponsored by AngelList, visit https://www.angellist.com/tlp if you’re ready to level up your startup or fund. (0:00) Episode Preview (1:07) Jamie’s data driven approach (2:20) Using duration as an advantage (4:37) Jamie’s first principles approach to VC portfolio construction (7:00) The mean return in venture is 4-5x greater than the median (10:54) Jamie’s strategy and proprietary deal flow (15:30) Sponsor: AngelList (16:50) Comparing Jamie’s philosophy with past guests LPs Michael Kim and David Clark (19:25) Disciplined investing (21:20) Jamie’s red flags for GPs (22:50) Data stack: PitchBook, CB Insights, Burgiss (24:00) Ideal GPs (27:40) Compounding returns (29:40) percentage of venture investors are able to access a strategy that results in 25% compounding? (30:55) Co-investing with other LPs (32:43) Other top tier LPs shoutouts (34:05) Investing in life sciences (38:00) #OpenLP movement and transparency (40:10) Who will be the next great GPs? (44:00) Management fees (46:00) What Jamie would change about the industry

E11: Neil Datta, The Forbes Family Trust's Approach to VC | Is there Alpha in Due Diligence? Sep 26, 2023

Show notes

David Weisburd sits down with Neil Datta, Managing Director of Optima Asset Management managing the wealth of some of the world’s most important people (including the late Queen Elizabeth II). We're proudly sponsored by AngelList, visit https://www.angellist.com/tlp if you’re ready to level up your startup or fund. (0:00) Episode Preview (1:43) Neil’s diverse background (3:00) Why is Optima a management company? (4:47) Why Neil is VC-skeptic (6:35) Diligence and hype (8:09) Institutional diligence on VC (12:00) Which stage to invest into venture capital? (13:15) Portfolio construction for an institutional endowment (16:06) Sponsor: AngelList (17:30) Diversification (18:40) Correlation and lesson from the last crisis (20:40) Diversification within different stages? (21:45) Bullish on healthcare (25:20) LP Advice for Emerging Managers (28:55) Are top LPs comfortable with losing money in the correct way (30:35) Balancing reputation with diligence (32:00) The new SEC guidelines (33:35) Investors complaining about fund expenses (36:00) Fees and carry in VC (37:10) Optima's Star program

E10: Michael Kim | Founder of Cendana Capital on How Small VC Funds Can Return 200X+ Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

Michael Kim, founder and Managing Partner of Cendana Capital sits down with David Weisburd and Erik Torenberg to discuss his thesis of creating a fund of funds at seed stage, insights into the changing landscape of VC from the 90s to today, and whether VC should recycle capital. Cendana Capital has invested in Forerunner Ventures, K9 Ventures, and IA Ventures. If you’re ready to level-up your startup or fund with AngelList, visit https://www.angellist.com/tlp to get started. (1:00) Episode Preview (2:15) Michael’s journey from international relations, to investment banking, to Silicon Valley (5:07) Why Michael started Cendana and the opportunity he saw (7:30) How has Michael’s thesis changed with the influx of capital? (8:30) Nano program (13:15) Challenges of scaling funds (16:50) Sponsor: AngelList (17:55) Economic tradeoffs for different fund sizes (19:20) Management fees as non-recourse loans (20:30) Ownership percentages and returns (23:17) Contrasting fund of funds platforms with a concentrated portfolio approach. (26:27) Bringing institutional capital into early-stage and esoteric strategies. (33:11) The LP reset and the current VC landscape (34:00) The denominator effect and dry powder in the market (41:00) The paradox of VC success and importance of fund selection (44:57) Portfolio construction (49:00) Which fund managers Michael will bet on, and why.

E9: David Clark | Investment Director at VenCap on What Every LP Gets Wrong About Power Laws Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

David Weisburd sits down with David Clark, Investment Director at VenCap International PLC to discuss his viral post about power laws in venture capital, manager predictability, adverse selection in VC, and what percent of startups go to zero. If you’re ready to level-up your startup or fund with AngelList, visit www.angellist.com/tlp to get started. (0:00) Episode Preview (2:40) David Clark's data set of over 250 early-stage funds (4:40) Power laws and fund returns (9:20) Survivorship data and challenges in emerging managers data (12:30) Succession in VC (14:36) Sponsor: AngelList (18:43) How do you back the top 1% of companies (21:30) Ownership percentages and returns (29:00) Follow on that a fund should reserve at every stage (36:30) Ten year predictions for VCs and LPs

E8: Apurva Mehta of Summit Peak on Why Fee Sensitivity Leads to Adverse Selection in Venture Sep 05, 2023

Show notes

David Weisburd sits down with Apurva Mehta, the co-founder of an early stage fund of funds at Summit Peak and formerly an institutional investor at endowments (Juilliard, Cook Children’s Hospital) to discuss power laws in portfolios, alpha in early stage investing, and what differentiates a great LP. If you’re ready to level-up your startup or fund with AngelList, visit https://www.angellist.com/tlp to get started. (1:00) Episode Preview (1:44) Why Apurva went from the institutional world to co founding Summit Peak Partners (2:57) How can early stage funds compete with Andreessens and Sequoias (3:28) How do you separate alpha in early stage investing? (8:06) Inefficiencies in the early stage market (16:24) Sponsor: AngelList (14:06) Generalist vs Specialist firms in portfolio construction (19:39) What is Apurva looking for in reference calls when doing diligence on emerging managers? (24:29) What differentiates a great LP? (29:14) Asset classes from most to least desirable (31:20) What fees and carry is Apurva seeing from the top quartile managers (34:13) What will happen to new firms? (36:18) Founders Fund’s strategy (36:45) Power law returns in Fund one portfolio (38:43) Apurva’s preferred ownership model (41:00) Summit Peak’s niche

E7: Samir Kaji | Founder and CEO of Allocate on How the Top 5% of LP’s Invest in VC Aug 28, 2023

Show notes

David Weisburd and Erik Torenberg sit down with Samir Kaji, the co-founder and CEO of Allocate. In this episode, they talk about what differentiates truly elite emerging managers, what VCs get wrong in portfolio construction, what fees VCs are charging today, and his predictions about where the venture ecosystem is going by 2025. If you’re ready to level-up your startup or fund with AngelList, visit https://www.angellist.com/tlp to get started. (1:00) Episode preview (1:33) The evolution of Samir’s perspective on the venture market from his early days at SVB and First Republic, to founding Allocate with a mission to make private markets more accessible (3:46) In Samir’s experience, what separated Kirsten Green (Forerunner Ventures) and Joe Londsale (8VC) from other emerging managers? (4:46) Samir’s critical advice to emerging managers not on the same level as the Kirsten Greens and the Joe Lonsdales (8:14) Is VC a contrarian game?Or an access game? (10:17) Does valuation matter? (11:44) Is there a need for another investment platform? (13:30) How Samir evolved the product with LPs in mind (15:30) Sponsor: AngelList (18:00) How Samir would advise a customer to invest in venture and what percentage would he put in a venture portfolio among the different strategies and funds (20:00) Venture is actually a combination of different sub asset classes (22:00) The market in Q3 2023: top managers, management fees and carry? (25:30) Where Samir sees venture going by 2025 (30:50) What to avoid when pitching LPs (32:06) Minimum viable fund size (32:20) Tools that emerging managers can use to help them scale (33:20) How much staffing do emerging managers need? (35:30) How to get in touch with Samir

E6: Steve Chasan | Head of Investments - Rothschild Foundation on how GPs Can Navigate the VC Reset Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

David Weisburd sits down with Steve Chasan, the Head of Investment at the Rothschild Foundation and for other philanthropic endowments led by Lord Jacob Rothschild. In this episode, they go deep into the LP mindset, covering the best practices he looks for in GPs and emerging managers, whether pricing discipline exists in VC, and describing the conversations LPs are having internally that GPs never get to hear. If you’re ready to level-up your startup or fund with AngelList, visit www.angellist.com/tlp to get started. (0:00) Episode preview (1:51) Steve’s evolution from philosophy to finance to the endowment side (2:51) Steve describes his approach and the challenges of being an LP at an endowment (4:13) Why is it that now is a good time to invest while people are having trouble fundraising? (5:41) Diversification and the Swensen approach, which many institutional investors follow (6:51) The principal-agent problem for LPs and GPs (9:22) What are some best practices that LPs look for in GPs, outside of returning 10x? And what should GPs avoid? (10:12) Style drift (12:56) What are some ways LPs can differentiate themselves in the market? (13:58) Steve’s LP perspective on co-investing (15:28) Does studying philosophy offer an investing advantage? (16:47) Sponsor: AngelList (17:52) Which things do VCs systematically get wrong? (20:50) Steve’s predictions for venture over the next 5-10 years (22:00) How can VCs prepare themselves for this reset (23:20) What technologies and sectors is Steve really interested in right now, with great upside. (25:51) Investing in AI (27:25) Advice and best practices for emerging managers

E5: Jonathan Hsu | Co-Founder of $1.6B AUM Tribe Capital on What Data Shows is Product Market Fit Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

David Weisburd sits down with Jonathan Hsu, Co-Founder and General Partner of Tribe Capital and one of the top data scientists in the space. Hsu is a physicist-turned tech entrepreneur-turned VC. In this episode, they discuss the importance of growth patterns and product market fit (PMF) in venture capital. Tribe conducts intensive data work on approximately 400 companies annually, a unique dataset that cannot be purchased or obtained from other sources. If you’re ready to level-up your startup or fund with AngelList, visit www.angellist.com/tlp to get started. (0:00) Episode preview (1:15) Jonathan’s evolution from a physicist to a founder to FAANG operator to VC (3:00) The big data revolution in Silicon Valley (4:35) Jonathan’s learnings from early Facebook and what differentiated the company for its success (6:17) Pattern recognition around Product Market Fit (10:17) Using data in Venture investing (12:17) What experienced VCs all regret (15:04) Sponsor: AngelList (17:09) Hardcore benchmark analytics for startups (23:27) Venture capital efficiency (25:57) AI and investing (27:27) Jonathan’s prediction for future of VC

E4: Dr. Abe Othman of AngelList | Data, Research, and Quantitative Investing in Venture Capital Aug 07, 2023

Show notes

David Weisburd and Erik Torenberg sit down with Dr. Abe Othman, the Head of Data Science at AngelList and the Head of the Investment Committee at the AngelList Quant Fund. Dr. Abe has one of the largest and most granular private market data sets in the world of nearly 15,000 startups. In this discussion we dive deep into the data: power laws, what Dr. Abe’s research tells us about which companies to avoid at all costs, and whether alpha truly exists in venture capital. If you’re ready to level-up your startup or fund with AngelList, visit www.angellist.com/tlp to get started. (0:00) Episode preview (1:37) Unintuitive impact of power laws in venture capital (12:02) Explaining Power Laws to the layperson or finance professional in other asset classes (14:17) Sponsor: AngelList (18:50) Does the research reveal what percentage of early stage companies are identifiable as top 1% opportunities? (20:21) The value of signals (i.e. founders alma maters) (23:23) Pricing efficiency of startups (29:00) Markup rates and loss ratios (32:45) How does the quant fund fit into the model? (37:31) Solo Gp's tend to hustle harder than traditional incumbent funds (39:36) Dr. Abe’s view on how the LP community and broader ecosystem has evolved on these topics (46:28) AUM drift in venture capital

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