How I Invest with David Weisburd

Josh Porter, Co-Founder & General Partner at FirstLook Partners, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss FirstLook’s process for evaluating and selecting emerging managers. They also cover typical terms for co-invest, managing conflicts of interest, and the importance of strong personal relationships in venture capital.

Dionne Chingkoe and Samer Yousif of Insight Partners sit down with David Weisburd to discuss Insight’s direct and fund of funds investment strategies. They cover the importance of adding value beyond capital to both founders and emerging managers, the landscape of multi-stage VCs investing in emerging managers, and check size driving fund strategy for GPs. Insight Partners’ 20/20 Vision Capital Fu...

Venus Phillips, Managing Director at Kresge Foundation, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the Kresge Foundation’s venture strategy. They cover mission-driven investing, opportunities and risks investing in China and India, and building true partnerships between general partners and limited partners.

John Merrill, Partner at GroveStreet sits down with David Weisburd to discuss GroveStreet’s $10.5B SMA model. In addition, they talk about the keys to building long-term SMA relationships, a highly selective set of criteria for managers and reasons why GP’s should prefer rigorous, discerning LPs vs. fast-followers.

Jamie Rhode sits down with David Weisburd to discuss Screendoor’s strategy of backing emerging managers. In addition, they discuss friction points between LPs and emerging managers, leveraging insights from GPs and LPs in manager selection, and how to diligence a first time fund.

Ben Black, Co-Founder of Akkadian Ventures, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the RAISE Global Summit, the largest LP/GP conference. This is a masterclass on how venture capital GPs can raise venture capital funds and develop long-term relationships with LPs. David and Ben also delve into what differentiates the top venture funds, the importance of operational excellence in fund entrepreneu...

Alex Edelson, Founder of Slipstream Investors, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the benefits and tradeoffs of investing in venture capital fund of funds. They also touch on Slipstream’s investment thesis, portfolio construction, and due diligence process.

Peter Teneriello, former Senior Portfolio Manager at Texas Municipal Retirement System, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss how TMRS deployed $1B into venture capital. In addition, they discuss institutional allocation pacing models, the importance of aligned investment teams and why investors may allocate to median performing managers.

Jeff Smith, Managing Director of Private Investments at the Smithsonian’s endowment, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the Smithsonian endowment’s advantage in accessing the best managers in venture capital. They also discuss the importance of continually allocating throughout cycles, knowing when to exit, and communicating effectively with LPs. They conclude by covering what Jeff looks for...

Muthu Muthiah, CIO of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta sits down with David Weisburd to discuss how he developed the governance, systems, and team to deploy $2 billion dollars at Inatai Foundation. They also delve into the endowment style investment philosophy, the importance of asset allocation relative to manager selection, and the venture strategy at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Erin Harkless Moore, Senior Director of Pivotal Ventures, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss Pivotal Ventures’ $1B mission to drive equality and returns. In addition, they discuss how Pivotal works to close the gender gap, ways to manage teams more thoughtfully and the capability of venture dollars to drive exponential impact.

Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise Asset Management, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the institutional investment case for Bitcoin and digital assets. In addition, they discuss the diversification benefits of digital assets for portfolio construction, bull arguments for Bitcoin, and expanding the GDP of the internet through increasing use cases of public blockchains.

Eric Satz, CEO of Alto, sits down with David Weisburd to discuss how startups can access $13 trillion in retirement capital. In addition, they discuss why to invest in alternative assets via retirement capital, strategies for personal venture portfolio construction and how cryptocurrency fits into alternative asset investing.

Chris Rizik, CEO of Renaissance Venture Capital sits down with David Weisburd to discuss Renaissance’s unique approach to venture. In addition, they discuss how large corporations participate in venture, when to admit a loss vs. doubling down and signals of a strong fund manager.

Trish DiGirolomo, investment manager at Babson College sits down with David Weisburd to discuss scaling Babson College’s endowment via disciplined strategy and process. In addition, they discuss the advantages of patience and a focus on cash on cash returns, criteria for manager selection, and leveraging experienced alumni in the investment process.

Erik Iverson and Mike Partsch of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) sit down with David Weisburd to discuss how WARF supports innovation while driving financial returns. In addition, they discuss the case for investing in life sciences, how inventions turn into portfolio companies and the importance of maintaining relationships through market cycles.

Michael Downing sits down with David Weisburd to discuss emerging manager venture funds, the MDSV Capital Extension Program, and the effect of market conditions on fundraising. They also discuss the role of MDSV in the venture capital landscape, portfolio construction, LP expectations, and Michael’s background as an entrepreneur and investor. The conversation wraps up with a discussion on the impo...

Jordan Nel sits down with David Weisburd to discuss how to spot winning venture funds. In addition, they discuss portfolio construction and concentration, the scalability of venture funds and difficult conversations with GPs.

Claude Grunitzky sits down with David Weisburd to discuss Claude's journey as a venture-backed founder, securing an investment from Goldman Sachs, the importance of mentorship in venture capital, and Claude’s approach to spotting potential. They also delve into the creation of The Equity Alliance, the firm’s investment process, and their involvement with Serena Ventures.

Eric Poirier sits down with David Weisburd to discuss insights from the platform’s investment data on nearly $6 trillion in assets. They also talk about the top performing asset classes, the future of asset management and how to manage talent to scale a business.

Robert Rodriguez sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the role of creativity in filmmaking, cost-effective film production, and the influence of technology and AI in film. The discussion also covers Rodriguez's film fund, strategies for creating profitable movies, and the importance of living a creative life.

Eric Sippel sits down with David Weisburd to discuss criteria used to identify top quartile managers, GP follow-on strategies and how LP value-add can increase alpha.

Frank Tanner sits down with David Weisburd to discuss Anthony 'Pomp' Pompliano's role at Morgan Creek as well as the company's origin, growth, and guiding principles. They dive into understanding power laws in venture capital, early-stage investing, and Morgan Creek's manager selection process.

Harisha Haigh sits down with David Weisburd to discuss the art of building and managing relationships in venture capital. They delve deep into Northwestern's venture and crypto strategies, dissect common mistakes made by top VCs, and evaluate the ideal characteristics of a venture manager. They also discuss the leading indicators of success of a venture fund, investment decision-making processes w...

Hunter Somerville sits down with David Weisburd to discuss StepStone's unique approach to venture capital, their transition to leading deals, and their full life cycle approach to investing. They delve into accessing companies in the secondary market, identifying potential in emerging managers, and StepStone's value-add to funds and companies.