Holly Flanagan

Reflecting on the enriching discussions at the recent PEWIN - Private Equity Women Investor Network CIO Roundtable in Boston. It was a joy to hear from panelists Letitia Johnson (Amherst College), Deb Shufrin (Colby College), Abigail Wattley (Williams College), and moderator Sarah Samuels, CFA, CAIA (NEPC, LLC). Some of my key takeaways: From the CIO perspective, alignment with the board is paramount. Portfolios experience ebbs and flows, emphasizing the necessity of a board committed to long-term strategies. Data underscores the repercussions of misalignment—allocators often undermine value by prematurely exiting positions for liquidity needs or reacting impulsively to market fluctuations. Across the board, CIOs prioritize firms that can articulate their competitive edge, foster sustainable organizations with top-tier talent, culture, and succession planning, and demonstrate agility in evolving markets. A robust LP base providing long-term support and institutional guidance is also crucial. Success isn't about funding billionaires—it's about supporting determined individuals committed to sustained success. Privates demand more than short-term commitment—they require a relentless desire to succeed over time. For a deeper dive into the role of CIO, I highly recommend The Counting House by Gary Sernovitz. #CIOInsights #PEWINRoundtable #InvestmentStrategies

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In the context of the Governor’s proposed Mass Leads Act, my colleague Benjamin Downing and I spent some time thinking through Massachusetts' edge in our country’s expanding clean energy economy. In today’s Boston Business Journal, we caution that while Mass has long been a global leader in driving the energy transition, our pole position is no longer a given in an increasingly competitive environment. As we state in our op-ed: “At stake is the significant economic growth that comes from the convergence of multiple new trillion dollar markets for clean energy in electric power, transportation, heating and cooling. Doing nothing will cede this leadership to other states, limit our ability to direct the future of climate change mitigation, and result in the gradual erosion of our workforce.” We focus our recommendations on the need for new demand formation for clean technologies across sustainable cement and steel, and pathways for decarbonizing our natural gas infrastructure with hydrogen and heat pumps. These types of incentives were foundational for securing MA’s leadership in solar and energy efficiency a decade ago and should be replicated for the next phase of the state’s energy transition. https://lnkd.in/ef8x5BdY

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I'm very excited to announce the official launch of my impact investment fund know.capital with a $250,000 donation to the Drexel Food Lab which was founded by the omnipotent and super human Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D., CHE, CRC at Drexel University in 2014. These funds will help build out the physical plant at the lab which will expand its capacity and capabilities to work deeper with industry both large and small, and also create more amazing experiential opportunities for Drexel's undergrad, grad, and certificate students. Jon truly runs a unique and impactful program at Drexel University's College of Nursing and Health Professions, and I can't think of a better partner with whom to embark on this journey. know.capital is an investment fund that invests at least 2/3 of our fee revenue profits in creating and operating unique nonprofit and for-profit social impact initiatives while pursuing maximum return strategies for our investors who bear no financial sacrifice for our philanthropic work. I've been working on this for 12 years (no one has accused me of working fast), and this is a culmination of countless mistakes and trial and error, and just pain and suffering (honestly). And there is more discomfort ahead of course. The pain points that I'm addressing are two fold: 1) "impact investing" is ill-defined and the impact side of the equation is unclear, and 2) nonprofits suffer from structural liabilities of fragmentation, governance structure, and fundraising dynamic that potentially compromise the pursuit of their missions and their ultimate impact. These two pain points have to be addressed concurrently since there is no other mechanism that I've been able to come up other than what I know best (Wall Street's fee business model) that can act as a sustainable funding source for needed social solutions that may not have any ROI prospects. And we need to pay nonprofit professionals more if we are to attract the best talent. We can't ask people to sacrifice "for the greater good" when they are often doing thankless work, getting paid pauper wages, and worrying whether or not they can retire with any level of financial security. From an investor's point of view, it's important to point out that this is not a zero sum equation. We're just offering another solution to investors who may care about also making a social impact of some kind, but with no financial sacrifice (have cake and eat it too). One can still have a traditional wealth manager and investments, one can still donate money to a worthy nonprofit or a university endowment, etc. We just want to expand the pie of what social impact investing and philanthropy could mean, create solutions that can potentially be massively scalable, and direct capital and world-class talent to initiatives that can potentially make the world a better place. Imagine if "Wall Street" can do that. More to come!

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This San Franciscan has landed in the Big Apple for #NYTechWeek! Here’s why it was important to me to be out here this week and I view NYC as a sister city. ((scroll down for 2 events The Council is hosting today!)) 🏭🏥 Reminder: The Council Fund invests at Pre-seed in Software’s Third Act, the transformation of the essential economy. Our investments span healthcare and industrial sectors like manufacturing, logistics, construction. 🐂 I’m eternally bullish on NY & SF and hate how many pit the two cities against each other. The reality is that a lot of capital and talent flow back and forth between the cities. They need each other to thrive! 🗽🌁 Cities like NY & SF attract young and mid-career talent because of their population density, transient nature, beauty, and reputations as cities where someone new on the scene can make a name for themselves. For the areas we invest in, I’m *specifically* excited about NY because of: 🏗️ Closer proximity to industrial hubs which are scattered across the Midwest / Rust Belt 🏛️ Closer proximity to DC where a lot of regulation around VC, startups, healthcare, onshoring initiatives, and industrial sectors takes place 💰 Many of the large financial institutions that are backing hard tech focused funds and major healthcare initiatives are also headquartered here in NYC 🎯 We’ve got several startups here who are hitting it out of the park, like Dirac and Siena. This has further validated my belief in this ecosystem to support young companies! Today we are kicking off with 2 events on Day 1 of #NYTechWeek 👉 AI Demo Day: The Council, Next Wave NYC, Lynx Collective, Flybridge will host 8 founders and 200+ investors and founders for a pitch competition this evening! Luma: https://lnkd.in/gbdYiJMw 🔜 Can still join the waitlist! Small & Big VCs in Hard Tech: The Council joined General Catalyst, Lux Capital, Iron Prairie Ventures, AlleyCorp, House Of Ventures, Steel Atlas for 2 back to back panels on industrial innovation & collaboration across the capital stack Luma: https://lnkd.in/gj6D4-Au ⏰ Event has passed

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NY Climate Tech Founders! 1) YES PLEASE save the date to join us at #techweek (6/3!), and 2) YES PLEASE share your top NY resources to complete our NY INSIDER GUIDE, in collab with NYCEDC!

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As we approach the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) Annual Conference, it seemed timely to announce that I have stepped into an Operating Partner role with FVLCRUM Funds! Starting with the co-founding of Gun Lake Investments, then an amazing experience consulting for the NMSDC, I've spent a decade+ exploring how minority-owned private capital firms could help Fortune 500 corporations strengthen their supply chains. I could not be more grateful for the support of Benjamin C. and the rest of the FVLCRUM team for the opportunity to continue this work. The world of PE is evolving. McKinsey & Company forecasts that 60%+ of future PE returns will come from operational improvements. That means better determining your customers' needs, how to more efficiently reach target markets, and ensuring that you can deliver your value proposition. With this shift, there's never been a better time for Corporate America to connect with mission-aligned capital firms to drive impact into all communities that they serve.

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If you believe that #Diversity and #Inclusion matter, specifically in times like this, join us on October 30th. We will discuss the challenges and success stories of promoting Diversity in 2024. With me you will find industry leaders who were able to pull it off (!) 💥💥💥 Dorit Dor, Hasan Abasi, Vered Raviv Schwarz, Gal Shaul Guesty, Augury, HAAT Delivery, Check Point Software Power in Diversity Glilot Capital Partners Poalim Tech, Meitar | Law Offices, ESOP - Phoenix, Microsoft, Calcalist כלכליסט #nomatterwhat

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Many VC fund managers are considering placement agents (PAs) to help secure commitments for the first time. Selecting the right PA and setting up a productive working relationship requires careful consideration. In my latest blog post, I explore essential tips for evaluating and working with PAs, including what to look for in their network, how to structure contracts, and best practices for effective collaboration. If you're navigating the use of placement agents, this guide offers practical insights to increase your fundraising success and avoid common pitfalls- full write up linked below. https://lnkd.in/ey-UcnSG Questions? DM me! #VentureCapital #Fundraising #PlacementAgents #InvestorRelations

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It was great to be back in Boston last week, reconnecting with returning Institute members and meeting new market and investment leaders! We are excited for the events and research areas we have coming up in the next few months! #ocio #investmentsolutions #investmentmanagement #investmentconsulting

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From Library Book to Venture Capital: An Unexpected Journey They say success has many fathers, but passion? Passion has just one: curiosity. My path to venture capital wasn't paved with Ivy League connections or a Silicon Valley pedigree. Long long ago… it started with a simple act of determination and a visit to my local library—checking out a single book about venture capital and making a commitment to change everything in my life at the time. While others might have seen a book, I was seeking a roadmap to level up. I put myself on complete lockdown, devouring every page, every insight, every nuanced detail about the world of raising a fund and investing with conviction. My commitment wasn't about finding a career—it was about understanding an ecosystem of innovation and others seeking change. Then came the coffee shops. I'd strategically place that well-worn "VC" book on the table, a beacon for curious minds. And curious they were. Strangers would approach, asking if I was in venture capital. My response was always the same: "Not yet." But something magical happened in those moments. Entrepreneurs would lean in, sharing their dreams, their startup ideas bubbling with potential. Each conversation was like a puzzle piece, slowly revealing the landscape of innovation I was destined to explore. I wasn't just listening—I was learning. Each interaction was a masterclass in entrepreneurial spirit, in the raw potential of human creativity. I was hooked. Completely, irrevocably obsessed. Two decades and 6 funds later… still obsessed. Still saying “not yet”. Venture capital wasn't just a career path—it became my calling. A world where supporting visionary founders could translate raw potential into transformative companies. To anyone who thinks their dreams are too big, or their starting point too humble: your curiosity is your greatest asset. Dive deep. Stay curious. The right opportunity doesn't just find you—you create it. #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #PersonalGrowth #StartupEcosystem Book link: https://lnkd.in/gVErXY33

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Washington DC's Mayor Bowser recently announced that Bloomberg Philanthropies is injecting $9.5M to expand DC's Advanced Technical Center (ATC). Why does this matter? → ATC equips high schoolers with professional skills for high-demand, high-wage careers → Funding builds pathways for students pursuing healthcare professions → Addresses projected DC healthcare professional shortages by 2030 American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten notes: "This grant comes at the right time for the right opportunity. We need to create the next generation of nurses, surgical techs, radiology techs, respiratory techs, and more as we work to fill 4 million open national healthcare positions by 2031." The pilot program's growth is impressive: → Student enrollment doubled in one year → The first cohort earned over $882K worth of college credits These results show what happens when local government, educational institutions, and industry leaders collaborate. They've identified education and career trajectory issues and are tackling them head-on. Long-term public-private collaborations like this pave the way for smoother school-to-career transitions. This benefits society in the long run. https://lnkd.in/eqvE4JDB

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Happy Thanksgiving! Love this perspective on fund diversity and deployment strategy. "For early stage investing, large portfolios (~100 investments) outperform small portfolios (~30 investments). The goal for pre-seed or seed GPs is to invest in a large enough number of companies to maximise the chance of finding outliers (about 2% for ~50x, 5% for ~15x according to data from Dave McClure). From that point, once you have built a sufficiently diversified portfolio, you can consider a strategy to deploy remaining funds into follow-on rounds for best looking companies as "call options". This only makes sense if you think these follow-ons are the best opportunity available for that capital. Evaluate them as you would any other investment. A lot of VCs (and LPs, for that matter) understand the logic of concentrating into winners, but not the first step of building an appropriately sized portfolio. Why? Probably because the former amplifies risk, while the latter reduces it — playing into the principal-agent problem in VC and the "power law" smokescreen. It also happens to be a lot easier to manage a small portfolio. I've spoken to LPs that say they prefer small portfolio strategies because concentrating into winners is more likely to produce >10x returns. In a world where only the top 5% return >3x, it makes ZERO sense to optimise for that level of risk. Especially when you are allocating other people's capital (pension funds, MFOs, sovereigns, etc). "Few investors demand diversified funds, so GPs don’t offer them. A slow and steady 'venture is a numbers game' pitch is much less emotionally compelling than 'I am a rock star who can consistently beat the odds.' And GPs need an emotionally appealing pitch to get funded." - The Pervasive, Head-Scratching, Risk-Exploding Problem With Venture Capital" This is how we built our fund's strategy -- to invest early in a diverse portfolio. Our current partially deployed fund already has 42 bets, averaging a deal every 1.8 weeks. Dave McClure taught us that investing in 50 companies on a 10x lower cost basis leads to close to the same ownership in each one as investing the same capital in just 5 companies. This approach seems advantageous for startups too as it allows us to give an easier yes to diverse and early companies. We are still finding our sweet spot around valuations and portfolio construction, and we are passionate about these core principles. Jamie Rhode, CFA has done many podcasts on this for those who want to hear more about the data. I look forward to fund 2 when we will have enough capital to both make diverse bets (60+) as well as have follow-on capacity for winners when they are, as Dan says, the best available opportunity for that capital. For investors and startups, what do you think about this strategy? https://lnkd.in/gizefUYC Benjamin Rolnik Julia C. Manu Satyavolu Aman Verjee, CFA Sophia Platt

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Looking forward to Future Proof in Huntington Beach a few weeks. The worlds of alts x wealth are continuing to intersect, so I'm excited to be talking about these trends through the lens of private credit with Oaktree Capital Management, L.P.'s Danielle Poli, CAIA and Cliffwater's Phil Huber, CFA, CFP®. Future Proof (Matt Middleton, Michael Batnick, CFA, Ben Carlson, CFA, Joshua Brown, & team) have done a tremendous job of bringing the leaders of the wealth management industry to create an event at the intersection of finance x fun. At Broadhaven Ventures by Broadhaven Capital Partners, we see the worlds of wealth management and private markets converging in a number of ways as there's a technology market structure evolution in private markets similar to what equities, fixed income, and derivatives went through, and there's a business model market structure evolution in alternative asset management (multi-strategy platforms, consolidation), so we've taken a comprehensive approach to investing in and building companies and funds in private markets. 💸 Investing @ Broadhaven Ventures by Broadhaven Capital Partners: We've invested our own capital into a number of leading companies in private markets like iCapital (personal investment, early employee), Carta, Republic, 73 Strings, LemonEdge, bunch, AltExchange, Allocate, & more. 📝 & 🎙: Content & Community @ Alt Goes Mainstream: We've built the meeting place for private markets, bringing together the leading minds in private markets to educate and inform the space on the latest trends, hosting C-level execs from the likes of CalSTRS, Blackstone, Blue Owl Capital, Hamilton Lane, Franklin Templeton, Man Group, Russell Investments, Fidelity Investments, Bernstein Private Wealth Management, Manulife, iCapital, Arax Investment Partners, Partners Group, & hosting a Monthly Show, the Monthly Alts Pulse with iCapital Chairman & CEO Lawrence Calcano. ⚒ & 💸 : Building & Investing Cantilever Group: We have partnered with experienced operators, advisors, and investors in the GP stakes space in Todd Owens, David Ballard, & Ben Drylie-Perkins to invest our own capital into and help them build what will be an industry-leading GP stakes fund for middle-market alternative asset managers. Look forward to seeing industry leaders across alts and wealth at Future Proof!

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Evercore ISI, Research Division Senior MD & Senior Research Analyst Glenn Schorr and I drop the beat on F.R.E.A.M. in the latest Alt Goes Mainstream Going Public show. Hear Glenn discuss F.R.E.A.M. and why fees rule everything around me in alternative asset management, just like Wu-Tang Clan said in the '90s (C.R.E.A.M. - cash rules everything around me). We cover some of the most pressing topics in alternative asset management, including: * How alternative asset managers balance fee generation with returns. * Does major growth still lie ahead for alternative asset managers? * Why “fees rule everything around me,” but so does alpha generation. * Why does distribution (almost always) win in asset management? * What’s the most valuable aspect of a publicly traded alts manager having a public currency? * What is Glenn keeping his eye on for next quarter? https://lnkd.in/e5jagG9U

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An Entrepreneurial Board of Directors A Value Maximization Model For Public Companies #corporategovernance #governance #boardsofdirectors #shareholdervalue #performance #capitalism #institutionalinvestors

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Welcome to “What’s Your Point?” where wealth meets clarity in two minutes. This episode’s guest is NY divorce attorney Sandra Radna (Attorney At Law) (spelled correctly this time!) making the point that you can have some karma in divorce. Listen here. Holly Jamison, MBA Patricia Janco-Tupper #AskBison #BisonWealth #Packy #AskPacky #divorce #divorceplanning #suddenlysingle

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Reflecting on my conversation with Denny Chared, CEO of DC Finance, really highlights the art of building influential networks and leading high-stakes financial conferences worldwide. Denny's approach to connecting people and capital is not just effective but inspirational. Join us in exploring these pivotal strategies for anyone looking to scale their influence in finance. 💼 #LeadershipInsights #FinanceInnovation https://lnkd.in/gsVFsUVY

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