Good morning 👋
I’m dealing with my first sick day in probably a year, and I’m writing this from my bed.
And it’s a Monday.
Energy levels are low.
Switching gears - here’s a quick breakdown on what’s going on with college endowments and why it is becoming harder for them to play a meaningful part of the venture funding market.
Today’s highlights
Why endowments are facing pressure
Why you shouldn't back anything without an MVP
A list of AI agents to build right now
TOP
what’s happening with endowments?
This thread is interesting for a number of reasons.
Endowments play a huge part of the VC equation, and they represent 15-20% of LP capital.
Here’s why that could be changing:
Endowment tax proposals. Nothing has been formally announced yet, but the endowment excise tax could be bumped anywhere from 1% - 21%.
NIL. For anybody who follows college sports, you’re already aware of how NIL has changed everything. Colleges are now forced to pay up to compete for talent. That means that operating college athletics at a competitive level has gotten more expensive, and endowments are being used more and more to cover the operating costs. More capital spent on NIL = less spent on LP commitments.
DOGE. Many of these endowments have been receiving federal funding for years; that is quickly being reduced / eliminated via DOGE.
Lack of DPI. We’ve covered this, so no need to beat a dead horse. If you can’t show results, you can’t expect re-ups.
GP / LP Mastermind
The “anti-conference” for fund managers 🌴
We don’t like conferences, so we created our own version that we would actually look forward to going to.
📆 Dates: April 24-27, 2025
📍 Location: Miami, FL
ℹ️ Other details:
Small group of 6-10 LPs, GPs, and partners
Golf and padel
Boat charter
Private dinners
No outside sponsors
We’ve already confirmed half of the guests, we only have space for a few more, and applications close in under a month.
If you’re interested, we’d recommend letting us know sooner rather than later …
TWEET
HEADLINES
Google co-founder Larry Page reportedly has a new AI startup (TechCrunch)
The Founder Institute seeks to raise its first venture fund (Pitchbook)
Pandemic-era VC dry powder is still piling up (Pitchbook)
MEMOS
Chima: Interoperability for AI agents
Superpower: The all-in-one health membership for elite performers
Documenso: The DocuSign killer
LINKS
📋 A Founder’s Guide—Essential Management Advice for Startups: Tomasz Tunguz of Venture Capitalist shares his 8 key pieces of advice that founders and leaders should keep in mind
❗️ The “Red Pen” Trick to Improving My Writing: Taking a red pen to your writing can help sharpen your thinking and produce a focus on clarity
🤔 Company Blogs Are No Longer Worth the Investment: The blogs may be dying (due to several reasons) but the content isn’t so the need is to shift resources to more effective strategies
🔧 Founders—Are You Raising Enough? Or Too Much? Here’s the Tool You Need: The VC Corner offers a free SaaS & Uses Calculator that can produce real numbers so you aren’t raising based on vibes
🤖 The List of AI Agent Startups I Would Build Right Now (and Want to Invest In): Product Market Fit lists 10 niches that AI could improve and enhance
MEME
BOARDROOM
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- Clay
(Founder @ Confluence.VC | GP @ Outlaw)
