Good morning 👋
Everybody wants to raise a venture fund until they realize how much work goes in to closing new LPs.
I’ve talked to a lot of GP friends about the right amount of LPs you should target for your next fund, and today’s piece is about answering that question for different types of funds.
Let’s get into it.
Today’s highlights
Data on the number of LPs it take to raise a fund
A fundamental flaw of the “everyone will build their own apps” movement
A list of companies backed by OpenAI
TOP
How many LPs does it take?
A question I’ve been thinking about a lot recently:
What is the right number of LPs for a first-time fund?
Regardless of how small the number, an LP is an LP, and you have to make yourself available to them 24/7. You can see how this becomes a bandwidth constraint for solo GPs.
This is great data to answer the original question and help newer fund manager think through how many conversations (and with what types of check writers) you need to be having in order to close your next fund.
A few other questions to think through:
How do these numbers differ between spinouts and other emerging managers?
How has the number of LPs per fund changed over time?
What is the correlation between DPI and number of LPs per fund?
How do minimum check sizes change between the different AUM buckets shown?
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
OpenAI’s startup empire: The companies backed by its venture fund (TechCrunch)
Hamilton Lane launches its first secondaries-focused evergreen fund (Pitchbook)
Kindred Ventures’ Steve Jang sees a future for AI wearables despite Humane pin flop (Pitchbook)
MEMOS
Chima: Interoperability for AI agents
Superpower: The all-in-one health membership for elite performers
Documenso: The DocuSign killer
LINKS
💲 The Unwritten Rules of Fundraising: The grind is real…95% rejection rate so it’s a numbers games that can be improved by preparation, intention, and persistence
🪤 How I Deal With Rejection as Someone Who Gets Rejected Most of the Time: Founder VC has transformed rejection from an obstacle into an accelerant using one key tool—a feedback filter that’s sharper than a steel trap
🏔️ Pure Independence: Morgan Housel writes that independence—financially, intellectually, morally—is one of the highest goals you can achieve
🤔 Big Funds, Bigger Problems—The Flawed Math of Venture at Scale: The “Power Law” concept changes at a certain scale and the incentives that drive venture capitalists begin to erode
🔥 Rising Stars—10 Startups with Strong Momentum and Success Signals: Data-Driven VC shares its’ “Picks of the Week”
MEME
BOARDROOM
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- Clay
(Founder @ Confluence.VC | GP @ Outlaw)
