How to Raise a VC Fund Today, Traits of Top Emerging Managers, Why Everyone is Selling Secondaries, Triple-Layered SPVs | Samir Kaji, Co-founder and CEO of Allocate
Samir Kaji is the Co-founder and CEO of Allocate.
This conversation is a deep dive into the private markets, the evolution of venture capital as an asset class, and how there are now 10x more private investment firms than public companies.
We also unpack why 90% of venture funds simply can’t raise capital right now, advice for anyone raising a fund today, how to stand out as an emerging manager, why secondaries have become a primary driver of liquidity in venture, and how to navigate SPVs as a GP and LP.
We also talk through the AI products they built to evaluate fund managers at Allocate, and how AI is changing venture and company building.
A special thanks to Bolt and Warp for supporting this episode.
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Timestamps:
(5:31) Evolution of the private markets
(17:55) VC markets post-2020
(21:09) Risk / return profiles of various fund sizes
(24:04) Secondaries will drive future venture returns
(33:17) Creative ways to return capital
(36:27) “Curiosity Revenue” in AI
(41:52) Allocate’s Beyond Summit
(43:42) Samir's AI fund analyzer
(46:15) Fintech only 1% of financial services revenue
(50:13) Triple-layered SPVs
(54:50) Breaking down returns in venture
(58:27) How to gauge a fund manager’s access
(1:00:14) Determining appropriate fund size
(1:05:02) 90% of venture funds cannot raise right now
(1:09:50) How to raise a fund today
(1:15:37) ChatGPT roasts Banana Capital
(1:19:56) Traits of the best VCs
(1:22:41) Vetting grit, hustle, and obsession
(1:31:12) Why using AI is table stakes
(1:36:49) Value of podcasts
Check out Allocate
The Peel episode with Eric Vishria
Samir’s Venture Unlocked Podcast
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Mark Suster and Samir Kaji on the 2024 Venture Market, IPOS, and Secondaries | E1899
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Todays show:
David Weisburd hosts Mark Suster, Samir Kaji, and Jason Calacanis to discuss the 2024 venture market (1:24), VCs selling secondaries (23:04), IPOS in 2024 (45:56), and much more!
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Timestamps:
(0:00) David Weisburd hosts Mark Suster, Samir Kaji,, and Jason Calacanis
(1:24) Thoughts on IVP raising $1.3 Billion for their 18th fund and different angles on the current fundraising market
(14:28) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/twist
(15:53) Mark's strategy today for DPI (Distributed to Paid-In Capital)
(23:04) VCs selling secondaries and best practices when disclosing selling after hitting targets
(28:00) MEV - Get $30,000 off your first three months at http://mev.com/twist
(29:21) Thoughts on strip sales, continuation funds, and exotic secondary vehicles. When should GPs pursue that strategy?
(40:56) Northwest Registered Agent - Get a 60% discount on your next LLC at - https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
(45:56) F-Prime's 2024 State of Fintech Report, the IPO market in 2024, and early stage fintech
(54:47) Kleiner Perkins and how a firm reboots
(1:03:01) The apprenticeship model in Venture Capital, and mistakes GPs make when interacting with LPs
(1:17:44) Rapid-fire segment on top recent investments
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Mentioned on the show:
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/ivps-new-fund-shows-growth-investors-are-ready-to-get-off-sidelineshttps://techcrunch.com/2024/02/03/mamoon-hamid-and-ilya-fushman-of-kleiner-perkins-more-than-80-of-pitches-now-involve-ai/
https://fprimecapital.com/blog/the-2024-state-of-fintech-report
https://www.bland.ai
https://kuberahealth.com
https://www.stonealgo.com
https://giggster.com
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd
Check out: https://10xcapital.com
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Follow Jason:
X: https://twitter.com/jason
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
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Thank you to our partners:
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(40:56) Northwest Registered Agent - Get a 60% discount on your next LLC at - https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
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Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
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20VC: What Does It Take To Raise A Venture Fund Today, An Analysis of The Explosion of Seed Financing & Why IRR No Longer Takes Centre Stage with Samir Kaji, Senior Managing Director @ First Republic Bank
Samir Kaji is what one might call, a master of all things seed stage and micro VC financing. Over his 18 years in venture capital, Samir has assisted or advised over 700 companies and 300 VC firms and has completed tech financing transactions totaling over $4.0 billion in committed capital. Today, Samir is the Senior Managing Director @ First Republic Bank where leads the technology banking team managing venture capital and startup company relationships. He joined First Republic in 2013 from Silicon Valley Bank, where he was also a managing director.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Samir made his entry into the world of VC from the ground up and has come to advise and assist on over $4Bn worth of capital commitments?
2.) Where is the micro VC and seed market today? What is the overview? What has fundamentally changed over the last few years? Are all increases in capital supply good or is this too much? Why is Samir concerned by valuation bloat at seed?
3.) How are LPs reacting to this explosion in seed and micro fund managers? How does this differ when assessing the differing classes of LP from institutions to HNWs and family offices? What are the likelihoods of 1st-time funds attaining institutional capital?
4.) How should potential managers think about the right fund size to raise? How long a timeline should be given to the raising of micro and seed funds? What exceptions are there to this timeline? How does the role of multiple closings play into this timeline?
5.) How does Samir differentiate between raising a fund and building a franchise? What does this mean about how a certain set of anagers not only engages in the fundraising process but also depicts the narrative?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
Samir's Fave Book: Hard Thing About Hard Things
Samir's Fave Blog: Strictly VC, AVC by Fred Wilson
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Samir on Twitter here!
Likewise, you can follow Harry on Snapchat here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.
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20 VC 093: Where Is The Micro VC Market Going with Samir Kaji @ First Republic Bank
Samir Kaji is the Managing Director @ First Republic Bank, a leading private bank and wealth management company on Sand Hill Road. Samir, has 13 years of banking experience, working with venture capital and private equity clients in Silicon Valley. Prior to joining First Republic, Kaji worked for Silicon Valley Bank. Samir writes an awesome blog on the VC, investing and startup scene at (http://pevcbanker.com). All the data and research mentioned in today's show is provided by the kind team at Mattermark, check them out here!
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Samir made his way into the wonderful world of venture and technology?
2.) We often hear the term, Micro VC bandied around, are there any common characteristics and criteria that discern Micro VCs from traditional VCs?
3.) Why has there has been this massive growth of the seed stage funding environment? What is driving this end of the funding cycle? Is it being damaged with the rise of AngelList syndicates?
4.) What trends and emerging themes has Samir seen come out of this exponentially expanding sector? What effect has AngelList had on the MicroVC market?
5.) What are Samir's thoughts for the future of seed funding? What do you think the seed funding landscape will look like in 20 years time?
6.) Why do smaller funds tend to outperform larger VCs?
Items Mentioned In Today's Episode:
Samir's Fave Blog or Newsletter: Dan Primack: TermSheet, Ezra Galston: Breaking VC
Samir's Fave Book: Phil Jackson: A Team In Search Of It's Soul, Adam Grant: Give & Take
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Samir on Twitter here!
If you would like to see a more colourful side to Harry with many a mojito session, you can follow him on Instagram here!