Randall Hunt

VC Market Update: Riding Out the Post-Boom Bumps. 2021's high-flying valuations and growth have given way to a more complex reality. With longer private timelines, tough exit markets, and capital tightness, startups face unique challenges—but also fresh opportunities. For those navigating today’s VC landscape, strategic planning is key. Whether it's balancing growth with capital efficiency or exploring secondaries smartly, there’s a path forward. And with boosts from AI and future rate cuts, brighter days could be ahead!

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I used to think LPs only invested in emerging VC / PE firms for better returns. That’s true…sort of They obviously first and foremost want high returns, but in building our firm and studying the industry I’ve learned that LP motivations are more nuanced than that To understand why an LP really might invest in us, I start with the assumption that they could invest that $ in Blackstone (or a similar large PE firm with top quartile track record) What could we offer that is incremental, and how should we position ourselves in that way? 1. Smaller funds can be higher upside — LPs may be looking for higher risk / higher return opportunities, so we have to emphasize the path to outlier returns. This means discussing not only their expected value but also the distribution of outcomes, and how that might differ from the rest of their portfolio 2. Harder to partner with successful firms later — LPs are often looking to build long-term partnerships with firms that will be around for many fund cycles, and that is about more than just returns. It’s important to emphasize not just the strategy of this fund but also the vision of the firm we’re building 3. Co-invest opportunities — Some LPs don’t care about co-invest, others only invest in funds for co-invest. When speaking with the latter, we emphasize that we have a disciplined and repeatable process to generate and share co-invest opportunities (easy to say, harder to execute) 4. Learning and thought partnership — We have LPs that invested in us because they have conviction in or personal passion for health & wellness and want to learn more about the ecosystem. For these folks we might talk through investment opportunities they see that are in our industry, or invite them to industry events. We also spend a ton of time writing quarterly letters to help them track the industry and learn from our companies It takes years to know where our returns will ultimately shake out, and we’ll have no reason or permission to exist if they aren’t good In the meantime it’s crucial to recognize and deliver on these other needs of our LPs, to provide the experience that they signed up for

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I so enjoyed this conversation with Jeffrey Tockman! He provides profound, yet actionable insights for businesses looking to grow through referrals. #TheFutureofPrivateEquity #businesspodcast

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Surprising to see two mega mergers getting past antitrust: - The $53B Chevron-Hess merger - The DirecTV-Dish merger where AT&T is selling its stake in DirecTV for $7.6B to TPG and DirecTV buying Dish for $1 and taking on its $10B in debt What does it mean for consumers? And what does it mean for the M&A market? These approvals may signal a shift in antitrust policy. Looks like they're prioritizing global competitiveness over strict market share considerations. This might invite additional scrutiny on how these mergers impact innovation in bigtech. These mega mergers usually tend to have a strong impact on consumer choice and pricing. The industry dynamics will be closely watched by regulators and investors.

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💡Benchmarks in the investment industry serve as a standard for measuring the performance of securities, mutual funds, or investment managers. They provide a reference point for analyzing allocation, risk, and return of a portfolio, enabling investors to make informed decisions. Thanks Peter Walker for keeping us all informed!! Can’t wait for this!! Follow and get on the waitlist for this one! #benchmarks #fundraising #Capitalraise #founders #womenshealth #femhealth #medtech #wellness

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PE buyers who fail to start value creation / integration planning PRE-CLOSING can run into a bunch of costly downstream issues. Thanks to Kison Patel for sounding off on why this is. Roll the tape! ▶️ #PrivateEquity #MA #ValueCreation

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That’s very accurate. PE Buyout Funds. Publicly traded parent companies with corporate VC arms scooping up the most profitable sector-specific subsidiaries. Fund of Funds get more popular and much more strategic. Family Offices dominate the landscape. Not investment advice.

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Having a Cars and Capital event tomorrow in Southern California with Oren Klaff. If you want to join message me. https://lnkd.in/gDQ4D39u Oren Klaff Bridger Pennington #InvestorEvent #FamilyOffice #InvestmentOpportunity #CarlsbadEvent #PrivateEquity #WealthManagement #InvestmentConference #CapitalRaising #NetworkingEvent #IndustryLeaders #FinancialGrowth #InvestorsMeetup #WealthBuilding #BusinessGrowth #InvestmentForum

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🔎 A graph every VC manager should be following right now. PE's exit to investment ratio has hit a ten year low Most LPs invest a multiple of their VC allocation in PE. The less liquidity coming from larger buckets, the less divestments that can be made into the asset class 🔮 Similarly if this starts picking up, the allocation doors could start to re-open... #VC #venturecapital

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A big part of making AI usable is enabling testing to provide the necessary assurance that outputs make sense. Distributional is leading this capability.

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PE professionals surveyed (2022) attribute >50% of investment returns to the quality of leadership. (Credit: Teneo) Read: ● MOST All PE folks understand the strong link between leadership and performance. And... ◕ SOME PE folks are intentional & disciplined about hiring and selecting leadership. Yet... ◔ FEW PE folks are actually investing in developing leaders. I'm working on something to bridge that gap, and help PEGs unlock more "leadership alpha." Details in the comments ⤵️

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The M&A market has been impacted by regulatory challenges that have widened spreads and created uncertainty in deal closings. Anusha Rodriguez, Head of Research & Due Diligence and Head of Alternative Investments for Oppenheimer Asset Management, is joined by Jake Turner, an Associate Portfolio Manager at Kite Lake Capital Management, to discuss the drivers of merger arbitrage and the potential risks and returns. Together, they cover catalysts for deals such as technological innovation, revenue cliffs, growth expectations, and synergies. Additionally, they evaluate cross-border deals and consider regulatory complexities and geopolitical tensions. https://bit.ly/4bOyf68 #ThePowerofOppenheimerThinking #LetsTalkFuture #EventDrivenInvesting

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Perfect explanation of the TronMedia playbook!

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What is a fractional COO? In private equity, there's no room for missed targets. Here's what you need to know about leveraging Interim Execs. Q4 is approaching, and the pressure is on to hit the number. But before you rush to hire, ask yourself—do you really need a full-time executive? Interim Executives can assess and implement quickly. But their value depends on the specific challenges the company is facing. Here are the common scenarios where an interim COO makes sense: -         You’ve never had a COO before -         Internal resistance to change is killing execution -         Unexpected turnover, exposing a critical leadership gap -         High-stakes projects require cross-functional oversight and aggressive progress -         Performance targets are not being met -OR- hypergrowth is straining current processes Interim Executives excel at delivering rapid, tangible results. -         They are process experts -         They bring fresh perspective and industry expertise -         They quickly diagnose root cause and implement change With our network of on-demand executives, I can source high-caliber candidates within 3-5 days. Most of our network is comprised of former consultants who are adept at: -         Diagnosing complex problems -         Getting there faster using proven frameworks and best practices -         Bringing a methodical, data-drive approach to optimize performance When has leveraging an Interim Exec helped you finish strong? Comment below! #PrivateEquity #Operations #InterimExecutive #BusinessGrowth #Q4Results

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VC exits next 10 years - much fewer IPOs - much smaller strategic M&A - PE will become the norm I explain in this clip how it will affect VC Full episode: https://lnkd.in/gaJ-TWZE

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SPVs → just a step in the overall VC Fund Manager Goal It is my belief that many people start syndicates to go on and raise a traditional venture fund. Most folks want to raise capital from institutional/higher net worth LPs, have capital they can deploy at their discretion, and also be able to make a living and build a true VC firm with management fees (remember, syndicate management fees are minimal). After all, this is how traditional venture capital works and what many, I would say most folks in venture, strive to do. It should not come as a surprise that many syndicate leads start with the SPV ecosystem to build a track record and an LP-base to level-up to go on and raise a fund, where the GP can have full capital deployment discretion and take larger management fees. Most syndicates are likely unable to raise a fund, therefore, only the higher quality syndicates put in the work to position them to go on to raise a fund. Even though I've been excited to double/triple down on syndicates, I equally can understand the rationale to wanting to build a traditional venture fund, and institutionalize your firm. As a reminder, we see many folks enter the syndicate ecosystem because it is a good place to establish yourself as a potential fund manager. Starting with SPVs allow for: 1. Faster way to start investing with outside capital 2. Way to build a track record (with outside capital) 3. Gain experience w/LPs & learn to operate (in some ways) similar to a traditional fund 4. Start building relationships with potential fund LP’s, VCs & founders. 5. Better pricing & flexibility of an SPV versus a traditional Venture Fund. Those who leave the syndicate ecosystem to raise a venture fund have graduated from the syndicate ecosystem (i.e the minor leagues) into the big leagues. So, while they may be gone (or less active) in syndicating deals, they have made it to the destination they were looking to achieve. Some of us like living in the SPV grind though... -- Powered by Sydecar, Last Money In is the most actionable Venture Capital newsletter with 50k subscribers. Written by Zachary Ginsburg and Alex Pattis, the global syndicate leaders with 800+ VC SPVs closed.

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A PE Operating Partner's job description simplified: → Select the right portfolio company CEO. → Help make that CEO wildly successful. Pour your energy, talents, and mindshare into doing these 2 things well, and everything else (inc. generating returns) becomes easier. #PrivateEquity #PE #ValueCreation

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Want to be a Venture Capital Scout? Scout for Syndicate leads. I’m biased, but I think SPV/Syndicate leads are some of the best connections for VC scouts. As a syndicate lead, I’ve leaned into working with VC scouts the past 3-4 years. It's been a great way to gain unique access to deal flow and many of my most exciting portfolio companies have come from various “scouts”. Given the deal by deal investing strategy and ability to share carry with those who support sourcing & diligence, it’s become increasingly common for syndicate leads to actively partner with scouts and share carry or upside in the SPV. What’s in it for the scout? Deal x deal carry. While there are multiple traditional VC scout models that exist, the syndicate scout model is pretty straightforward. If you source a deal and support diligence, the syndicate lead is going to share some of the carry with the scout, and likely a more meaningful amount than a traditional venture fund. This is of course an SPV, so you are getting carry for the specific deal you sourced and not fund-level carry. A little more background on why the SPV model aligns with VC scout deal sourcing… Syndicate leads are structured (and many times set up) to invest in more companies than a traditional venture fund. In order to consistently bring LPs high quality deals, it makes sense to partner with folks in your network who have strong deal flow. Most times the carry split from syndicates will be more generous than that of a traditional venture fund. Syndicates do not necessarily have a certain number of portfolio companies they can invest in, meaning as long as they are getting access to quality deals that LPs want to participate in, then they will: 1) Be more likely to say yes and run the SPV into that investment and 2) Be more willing to provide a higher carry split, especially if you as a scout show you can repeat this with more future access In summary, if you are going to scout for venture funds, you might as well explore doing so with syndicates and capitalize on deal by deal carry/upside. Disclaimer: If you are scouting deals because you want to get into VC, working with traditional VCs is likely better from a networking standpoint, but if you are scouting to capitalize on carried interest/upside, I think the SPV lead route can be more attractive, and more frequently. -- Interested to see if you are a fit for our new Deal Sheet accredited investor product? Explore Deal Sheet to access 100-200+ of the best SPV startup (pre-seed to pre-IPO) investment opportunities per year. Deals are curated by Zachary Ginsburg & Alex Pattis (deployed > $200M across 750+ SPVs) across 50+ syndicate leads.

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