How does venture complement a portfolio oriented more toward the long term?
Jill Frankle, VP, Hartford Stag Ventures
Replied Nov 24
If you look at venture capital, it is a long-term asset class. The time from initial investment to exit for many venture companies ranges between 6 and 8 years. We believe it is important to consis...
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How do corporate venture capital investors define what is strategic and relevant for their firms?
Jill Frankle, VP, Hartford Stag Ventures
Replied Nov 23
When evaluating prospective opportunities, it is classic due diligence: Has the company established product–market fit? Are there beta customers or a pipeline of customers that you can speak with t...
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How are endowments and foundations thinking about opportunities in venture capital?
Timothy Milanich
Replied Nov 17
We've done a lot of direct deals on the early-stage side, some funds on the later-stage side, and everything in between. Our initial idea, in 2012, was to plan for seed-stage venture to be 5% or 10...
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As COVID-19 continues to reshape traditional business practices, how can LPs and GPs work together to establish trust in new partnerships?
Jonathan Abrams, Co-founder & General Partner
Replied Nov 10
LPs could generate good will with GPs by committing early, and building real partnerships, rather than waiting to commit until the final close.
What are some good companies that have started in the last recessions?
Joseph Jacks, Founder
Replied Oct 26
One of the partners at OSS Capital and the world's leading Open-Source IP/licensing attorney, Heather Meeker, authored this piece on "Investing in the Red Zone."
https://coss.media...
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How can LPs take a more active role in supporting venture fund managers?
Jonathan Abrams, Co-founder & General Partner
Replied Oct 22
LPs could develop programs that can help seed new fund managers with appropriately sized checks, help fund managers get in business with deal warehousing facilities, and have specific efforts to su...
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Where are foundations and endowment LPs looking for new opportunities in VC investment?
Amy Chen, CIO
Replied Oct 19
In the last year we've allocated to Europe more than other international markets. European venture has been much more attractive from a value-orientation than the U.S. It's much more focused on rev...
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What kinds of questions should LPs be asking venture fund managers?
Jonathan Abrams, Co-founder & General Partner
Replied Oct 05
There is typically a lot of emphasis on fund managers' access, value add, and portfolio construction. LPs should be asking fund managers more about picking and decision making. LPs should probably ...
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Where should LPs be looking for new opportunities in VC? Are there geographical regions or specific verticals that stand out as primed for investment?
Jonathan Abrams, Co-founder & General Partner
Replied Sep 29
StepStone's analysis of Preqin data says that 31% of the top 5 vintage funds were first-time funds, and 51% were funds raised by firms less than 5 years old. This confirms the reporting from Cambri...
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How are insurance LPs getting involved in strategic ventures?
The venture capital asset class is a very small percentage of our portfolio. Historically, going back to the '80s and '90s, Mutual allocated significantly to venture capital, but that has changed o...
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