How to Build a New Venture Firm in Public

We have a really killer session for you Up next so stay with me but also a quick Reminder we do do q a on this stage for All of our sessions there are mics in The middle we're not doing Mike Runners I was wrong about that but if you want To ask a question in the next session There are mics I think there and there And of course don't forget we're using Otter for transcriptions and we have More space over in the TC plus Lounge Now this next panel is one that I'm Actually most excited about for the Entire day perhaps venture capital is Absolutely not new solo GPS absolutely Not new but solo GP is building new Firms in public is somewhat new and from A very staid and conservative industry Seen memes and jokes is a welcome change So please welcome to the stage it's Norm May from Supply change Capital Mac from Ruby adventures and Turner from banana Capital and your moderator Anna Heim Thank you Oh yeah Hello so I'm going to start with an Assumption if you're here it's probably Because you've heard of a panelist and If you refer to them it's not because They work for really old Venture firms It's because they are building in public And what I want to ask them and asking Mac actually is why Why yeah

Um I built them public By accident Um for me it was a situation of I was tweeting just to support Founders And teach them about Venture and at a Time where I was also thinking about Launching my own Venture fund and I Noticed that other VCS were starting to Follow me and so I started trying to Connect with other VCS just to learn Like I was trying to learn how to raise Capital as a as a VC and uh what Happened was as I was connecting some of Those other GPS of fun started Committing money to my fund and so I Figured the more I tweet the more Followers I get the more followers I get The more VCS to follow me the more VCS To follow me the more money I raise uh And so that just became it became this Own thing and Snowball Effect that also Resonates with who I am like I am very Much about community of authenticity and Culture and so building in public just Found me and it felt good what about you Turner Yeah similar story can everyone hear me Okay yeah we got you yeah okay uh yeah Similar story for me just Um originally wrote a lot of serious Stuff on the internet and then I started Posting memes a couple years ago and uh Like Max said it just snowballs there's Like a flywheel and it's fun so that's

That's why I do it turn is so much I mean that's one way to look at it but It's also I mean without doing it would You have the same access to Capital Because uh it's not always easy to start A new Venture firm Yeah so for for me I've been investing For the last eight years and the the Desire to go public was really about Access and it was more about the Entrepreneur's access we wanted to be The type of venture firm that is Approachable that doesn't require a warm Introduction One that you can find at an event like This and in 2022 actually a quarter of Our deals came through events and and in Our presence across the U.S so what Started as a way to to find more deals And to allow Founders to find us really Also resonated with investors and we Found that there were investors we were We were speaking to who said I've heard About you from a b c d and we thought Why haven't we yeah why haven't we had a Conversation yet if you've heard about Us from all these other individuals so The we realize is that that there are Some investors who are moved and and Triggered by this this Echo chamber and That the more that someone hears about You the more likely it is that when the Time comes that you're in front of them They will uh they'll they'll be open

About a conversation what about you mark Do you do it more for the LPS for the Founders Uh I do it mostly for the founders right And also for emerging managers right so If you look at my Twitter a lot of this Information is talking to Founders Telling them about what's happening in The market how to pitch to VCS how VCS Think and that post a lot of about what It's like raising a fun things you need To think about as an emerging manager It's really about just sharing access to Information like as a Founder it took me So long to figure out how this world Worked and now some emerging GP I feel The same and so it's just about sharing That information but it's mainly for the Founders and and for other folks and to Be helpful and what I've learned is when You lead with helping first all the Other good stuff comes with it right It's all about trying to support and Help others and people notice that and They notice the authenticity in that and They notice that you're doing it because You genuinely care LPS certain LPS will resonate with that And it makes it a lot easier to find Your tribe when you go about it that way Yeah and in terms of the founders you Attract my assumption was uh Turner Really we talked about that was that it Would attract Founders that are hyper

Online but you said not necessarily Actually so I was curious about that In terms of the type of Founders yeah Yeah uh It's a mixed bag for sure I would say I Just try to invest really early first or Second round of people who want to build Publicly traded companies and there's a Lot of different ways to find people Like that so Um I think I maybe found a really strange Niche that was a very weird Type of content to make but it just Worked really well so how many of your Founders would you say you've met Offline versus online I mean probably everyone you meet online Because someone will email introduce or They'll reach out to you or like a text Intro or Twitter or LinkedIn inbound so Technically everyone or or first second Third degree connection also you're in Michigan so we were saying that's maybe Part of what makes it possible to be Outside of a big Hub is being really Present online yeah there's often times Where I'll meet someone like tomorrow I'm meeting up with a Founder that I Initially met From someone else online we talked and Was like I'll be in San Francisco next Week we should just get coffee so Sometimes I'll meet up with them before

I invest but oftentimes like the first Point of contact is Through the internet in some capacity And your main channel is uh Twitter I Mean X although you also had tick tocks Right but what's your mix of channels Yeah there's a lot of channels um Yeah probably primarily Twitter and then Newsletter podcast tick tock YouTube I've been trying to figure out Um it's really interesting if you're not Making content in YouTube I think it's Probably a pretty undervalued channel to Be using right now from like a a B2B Perspective So those are probably the main ones Yeah but Mike I think you you said it's Also important to find something that's A good fit for you and it's not a short Form for everyone so uh I don't know What would you recommend in terms of Channels that people can use Yeah it really depends on who you are as A person what's authentic to you right Like I meet people all the time it's Like oh I see what you did on Twitter Can I do that like Only if that's what you want to do right Like to to build in public on Twitter Means you're constantly posting you you Got to be vulnerable at times and you Have to want to be front facing like That right so when I come to an event Like this there's going to be a ton of

People know me so as I walk through the Halls it's hard to get more than 10 Steps without somebody stopping you Right or when you take a picture thing Like you have to want to do that that's Not the only way to build in public Though if you're more somebody who wants To be more behind the scenes and do Better with more long form than LinkedIn Could be really good for you Um and even substack or doing a blog Like those things still work people read Those they notice those you don't have This idea where you have to post every Day but you do need to be consistent Right but whatever Channel you choose Has to be authentic to you I have some Friends who do blogs that they only Share with their LPS they're not public At all but it is still them building in Public just building in public for a Specific Community right and so most People don't even know who they are or What their thoughts but their thoughts Are very profound than the people They're reaching get to see that and get The buy into that so it really depends On who you are and what's authentic to You don't just see one of us do Something and be like I'ma copy that Like only if that works for you right Like I was born for the stage I'm Perfect with it like this this is for me Right but like if that's not who you are

Then like don't do this because you know If you're an introvert having a very Strong presence on Twitter as he'll tell You sometimes has you know has pluses And minuses That's it that's a good point so for us Building a public certainly does not Mean Tick Tock or Um or X for us it is more about blogging It is more about LinkedIn more about Thought leadership more about networking With the with other communities of GPS Particularly women or women of color and That's where we do our most of our our Co-building learning sharing and Collaborating I love that word co-building when you're A building in public you're typically Building with a cohort of folks and You're building together like the three Of us literally all built together But also I think here you all did it at A time where it was different and maybe Easier so I don't know if you had to do It again today uh Turner do you think it Would work in the same way like uh start Especially with Twitter Yeah it's a good question uh It's interesting because I kind of Started initially I posted a lot of Really serious things I met a lot of Really good people that way Pandemic hit a lot more people started Paying attention to what was going on

Online and I guess I was positioned to Take advantage of it and then I had I Really don't remember order of Operations but kind of started Sprinkling in uh hey all these people There's all this serious startup content People should I think there's this Opportunity to be a little bit less Serious with the content and I think the Timing was just really good where it Worked very well but I'm not sure if I Would go out and say I'm just gonna Raise a venture fund from posting a Bunch of memes It's a good way to get a top of funnel But if you think about when we're Specifically talking about raising a Venture fund So you need to raise 50 million dollars Somebody's not going to say wow that's a Great meme here's 10 million dollars but It's a good way to fill up the pipeline And maybe meet someone so that's kind of The way I would I guess overarching this whole Conversation that's way to think about Building in public is it's a way to fill Up a pipeline of some kind where they're Raising a venture fund a Founder Acquiring customers raising money for Your company you know insert whatever You're doing uh using content or using The internet is like a pipeline strategy Really at the end of the day

Yeah I want to double down on that Building in public and getting like Popular on any platform All it does is help you build the top of Funnel it doesn't necessarily guarantee That you're going to get funded right so You know in my first 90 days of Fundraising doing the Twitter strategy I Did over 1100 meetings that only soft Circled 3 million because at the end of The day if once you get in front of Somebody and you're asking them for Their money or their institutions money You got to be on your game right like The the building and public stuff gets You interest and gets people paying Attention to you but you still have to Have the ability you know they still Have to want to invest in you or invest In your fund because you have a thesis Because you have a point of view because You have a product right it's not good Enough just to be popular right like That's that's not going to guarantee you The money what it will do is give you a Very wide funnel to then figure out who Are the people who want to invest in What you're doing but it's not get it's Not a guarantee like just because you Have a hundred thousand followers on Twitter doesn't mean you're going to get Funded Yeah another another way to think about That is uh followers on Twitter don't

Even mean anything anymore to be honest Like It's just like Tick Tock at this point Where it's all about the algorithm and It's basically First off what format is the platform Prioritizing and right now Twitter is Heavily prioritizing video there's like No secret elon's like I'm trying to make A super app I'm trying to compete with Tick Tock I'm trying to compete with YouTube he's boosting video in the feed And then It's also things like watch time or view Time how long are people spending on the Content so you might have you'll Probably see like there's I think There's been like memes about how it's Either CBS or New York Times has like 12 Million followers on Twitter and their Tweets get like a thousand views or Something Um I think Elon will specifically say Things like that like making fun of some Of these accounts that are on there so Just to kind of get back to it like it Doesn't really matter how many people Follow you it's really about like Understanding what the audience wants on Whatever rails or channel that you're Using Um so it's just another way to think About it Other channels I mean is it more

Rewarding right now to be blogging than To be on Twitter well I was I was Actually going to share where we found The most benefit and I wanted to share Some of our stats as well did you say 1100 meetings Okay Um when we started raising capital for Supply change uh in early 2021 we Started logging all of our Prospect of LP meetings and in the first six months We we had about 400 of them so 1100 kind Of Illicits a physical reaction to about 400 it yielded nine those meetings Yielded 19 investors and 2.1 million and So that's that's the capital that got us In business right we we closed on the 2.1 million we made our first two Investments and then again we were very Public about what we were investing in We showcased right the the manifestation Of that thesis and then used that to Continue to build our co-investment Network so where we found a lot of value Beyond the the prospect of LP base was Really in growing our co-investment Network so we had a few MBA fellows who Sat down and worked with us and Developed an investor ecosystem map we Said who invests in food who invests in Food Tech and who's investing out there With the diversity lens and where do all Three of these come together so it Helped us you know communicate our

Thesis that helped us community educate The investment Gap we saw in the market And it helped us go out there and say Who should we be building a Co-investment relationship with either Upstream or Downstream and then we went Out and did that so being public helped With that co-investor Network and then Also It's it's helped us ensure that the the Inbound deals that are coming our way Are really relevant to the thesis Because we're we're you know it's it's Pretty targeted yeah that makes sense Also when you said that you don't Require intros you still need people to Understand what you're about exactly That makes sense and Mac you mentioned Being vulnerable and I think we haven't Touched yet so much on the downsides of Building in public do you have thoughts On that Yeah so what's mentioned being Vulnerable that was more about the Authenticity right so when so if you're Building in public like on X or on Um uh Tick Tock or something like that You you want to leave with information That's what people come come for you Want to share a bit about yourself so Like I talk about my favorite sports Team or I take pictures of food I cooked Or my dog right so people feel like you Know you're human and then every now and

Then you share a vulnerability right That makes you real it's like you know Oh I bombed a pitch yes just like Founders I bomb pitches right I've had a Hard day I was late for a meeting I was In a meeting I had to go to the bathroom So bad I couldn't concentrate like That's just a human thing we've all Experienced that and those are the kind Of things that get people to state that Gives people a feeling and and I think That's how you build a community a Community that lasts But when you think about the downsides About building in public means when you Build in public it's not just the Positive stuff and when you start Building a public that's all it is is All the positives but as you do it over Time you got to share the good with the Bad And sometimes when you're building in Public that means you're speaking out a Lot it's not hard to say something That's going to offend somebody or it's Going to rub somebody the wrong way or It's going to lead you to get DMS from Somebody saying hey I'm disappointed in What you said That very quickly can lead to a viral Moment where an entire platform you feel Like an entire platform is attacking you And we've all seen examples of this The thing is though those moments in

Time are actually short but when you're In it it feels like the world is against You and you know those moments as a Human you feel it that can lead to Anxiety that can lead to panic attacks That can lead to depression like those Things happen and then you look up three Weeks later and everybody's mad at Something else and it's like it never Happened right but those moments in time When you're in it there's no way it's There's nothing you can do to get out of It there's nothing you can do to stop it Because now the internet has a license To you because you have so many Followers people that put you on this Pedestal and because you've built in Public and so you got to be public on The good and the bad And the bad sometimes when you're Sharing it yourself you're controlling The narrative but you don't always get The control of the narrative and then Those moments when you don't and it's a Negative thing That can be a rough thing to go through Yeah I think another thing kind of Expanding on that is when you're Creating anything Just burnout is a real thing so let's Say you're Mac every day you're you know Tweeting blogging tick-tocking YouTube Whatever you're doing And you've done it for a year straight

And suddenly you're like I just gotta keep doing this like it's Very hard so I think you want to figure Out what are you uniquely good at Whether like you're very good at one Specific Niche topic or type of format Whether you're really good at these like You know daily Vlogs for two minutes Telling people what happened Um Nicole wished off with shop Ventures Does a very good job on Tick Tock of These like here's a summary of my day It's like it probably takes her like 10 Minutes to do and it's like a three Minute video she's really good at it Just naturally made for that for me I Was instead of cracking a joke in the Group chats just like I'll just tweet it Inside of 10 people seeing it it's like A million people see it so and and that Was very easy for me to do it was just I Was doing it anyways Um I know it's kind of one thing I ran Into personally was probably five six Years ago I was writing very serious Longer posts on very serious topics I had my second kid and I was just like There's no way I can keep doing this Um so I think it's just something to Think about it's just like burnout and How do you design a system to like Consistently participate in the Discourse of doing something in public And I mean it's not even really content

Creation it's just everything like if You're trying to really be an engineer And you hate coding don't be an engineer Like just figure out what you're Actually good at or you enjoy doing Because it's just so much easier so I Would kind of conveying that into like How you think about maybe not even just A venture fund but like if you're a Startup founder or you're doing anything Like make sure you're doing things that You're uniquely good at and enjoy doing Because it's just easier to do them Longer longer term yeah do you sometimes Find it too time consuming and wish you Hadn't done it in terms of being more Public than the average firm yeah yeah And and to be clear we don't we don't do The daily you know the daily stuff quite As much but Um what we what we do do really brings Us a lot of value in terms of Co-investors networking with other GPS Thought leadership in the community Which we think is really important and Then our our ecosystem of of the the Reality check right the the reality of Responsibility within our households the Reality of you know not taking a salary While we're building out a venture firm And before we close Capital all of those Conversations which can be real big Downers Um you know the the highs and and the

Lows where you question the big Decisions in your life and whether you Know you should backtrack and find a Real job all of those conversations Happen within these mini ecosystems that But for for us and our firm tend to be You know tend to be among women or People of color those are the Affinity Groups where where we really find the Value of the of the real and the raw Conversations uh where where we Commiserate and we celebrate and we take Turns trying to you know pull each other Into optimism So I would say no The the value of all that we do means That we we get to continue you know Doing this job and and that we get to do It with people we enjoy working with but Also a workaround that some people found With just sharing stuff they were Creating anyway like LP updates the only Thing here is that LPS love exclusive Content so I'm curious how you balance That because the love stuff that's Created just for the for them yeah so There there can be dual pieces so even As we think about our hosting our next Um annual general meeting right we we Want to have an LP portion and then we Want to have a community portion and so We're thinking about the kind of data That transcends both and then what can Be what can be and what can feel

Exclusive enough for LPS to to stay and Be part of that so it means that as we Generate LP updates on a quarterly basis For example we will redact certain Pieces and then send those out to Prospective LPS so they also feel Important certain because they're Getting what everyone else gets although They they recognize that there there are Details that we we simply won't share so That's how we get around that yeah I would say that's something a rare Breed we're trying to figure out now We've leaned so heavily into building in Public that realizing we do need to have More specific content for LPS Beyond Just their quarterly updates so that's Something we're working on but I will Say for our first annual mean which we Recently had we did exactly that we had A first half of the day that was LP and VIP exclusive and then we had a Community part of the day that was like Literally a cookout With additional content Um and now we're starting to do we're Starting to think about some of the Long-form content that I typically have Put on a medium uh to be specifically For LPS because we do recognize that you Know some LPS do want specific type of Content so now we're trying to think Through like what stuff Is building in public and still as

Authentic and sharing as much as we can While also making sure that those who we Have a fiduciary responsibility to Feel taken care of and feel special like Being an investor in a venture fund you Know kind of gives you a little bit of a Status you want to be able to say hey I'm I'm an LP in that fun and so I get To see the stuff they see before Everybody else I I get to know all The Insider information like that's that's Part of being an LP that's one of the Things they want so when you give all The Insider information to everybody it Kind of devalues it devalues some of the Specialness it doesn't devalue the fact That if our fund does well they get paid That's awesome that's ultimately why They do it but we also do these things For other human reasons it's not always Just money we tend to think about these Industries as money but people are People humans are humans we have human Emotions we have human feelings right if An LP feels like they're not being taken Care of it doesn't matter like even if You're making the money but they feel Like you're not paying attention to them They will still be upset even though You're doing your job well right and so Making sure you're catering to that Group is really important from a GP Standpoint so that's something that at Rare three we are act we are actively

Thinking through and working on yeah It's great to hear that also your vision Of this changed over time and Turner Have you changed the way you build in Public Yeah I would say so Uh Everything they said I'm very bad at Um it's one thing I'm trying to get Better at uh Yeah I think I mean I changed my Strategy a lot too in my fun as I went Um I mean when I first started it I was Like You know I'm gonna be like a Bottoms Up Crossover fun like there's all these fun It's like tiger Global that are coming From the public markets and they're Going to stall out when they get to the A's and B's because they don't know how To do it which happened sort of I'm Gonna go bottoms up and then I realize Like holy it is so much different Investing in like a series e or a Publicly traded company than like being The first Jack So that was a big change the way that I Approached it Um and then Yeah probably just the there's just so Much more that fills your calendar the Further you go it just gets harder to Consistently give updates and then like Max said like the ups and downs like you

Know Three companies fail in one week do you Like share that like gleefully like hey All my portfolio companies are dying Because it's 20 because it's Q3 of 2023. It's just tough you mean you've got to Be sensitive about what your LPS want Shared what the founders want shared Um and it's actually fascinating when You look at like some of the content That a traditional Venture fund would Put out one really strange example I Have a portfolio company knew a Competitive founder they were friendly The other company shut down he wrote a Blog post about how the business model Doesn't work and it's never going to Work and my founder reached out to him And he's like hey I'm sorry to hear what Happened why'd you write that post and He was like oh my VCS made me write it Like I know it's a good I know it's a Good post but like the VCS had to like Save face with their investors that it Wasn't their fault for making a bad Investment it was the market just Doesn't work So I've never had to do that hopefully I Hope I never have to but like it's a way That it definitely changes when it comes To like the type of things that you put Out there publicly Through the completely different In one so uh do sometimes regret being

Open now the market is less profitable Yeah not for not for us so we we formed The firm in late 2020 started raising Capital 2021 just closed actually our First fund over the summer Um congratulations thank you thank you We uh we met our Clapping it that's amazing yes thank you We met our Target to close on a 40 Million dollar fund for early stage Um investing and I would say if we were Starting this year I don't think our Strategy would be different in terms of How we build and the kind of information We want out there my business partner Shayna Harris and I have each been in Industry for over 20 years right she's Been deeply embedded in the food in food Ecosystems has done a lot of pioneering Work in the corporate sector and as the The CEO of a venture-backed company I've Been an engineer and an investor for the Last eight years and so we we're Bringing a lot of what we've done in in Other roles into this firm and so the Applicability of you know some of those Frameworks is new and interesting and Different and so that's where a lot of The thought leadership comes from and I Think it really sets us apart Um at a time when the number of emerging Managers is is really high uh and and That's why it's important for us to Share our voice share our experience

Share our lens because we think that That we're different and the way that We're approaching investments in the Food and AG space is also different so We would we would continue to to build In public if we were doing so now is That also how it feels to remark that There are lots of emerging managers now And differentiation is part of it or I Think In 2020 and 2021 When things were good I think there were A lot more emerging managers we saw a Lot more operators starting funds and Doing funds while being operators I see now that we're in a downturn Some of those people have gone back to Just doing what they do but there still Are a lot of emerging managers and the Interesting thing about our industry is You know Founders will meet a a VC and The vcp like oh yeah I've heard that I've heard something similar before Right well in our industry when we go Talk the limited partners of LPS All emerging manager funds almost sound Exactly the same a lot of our decks say The same thing have the same numbers Like The everybody thinks their thesis is so Unique and different and great and then You see like all the Decks that one of Your LPS have and like all these things Look the same and the things that really

Set us apart are us are the people right Now there are some specific thesis and Industries and knowledge that can set You apart but they're still going like If you're a fintech fund there's going To be like 20 other Emerging fintech managers out there and Each LPS want to invest in one or two Right and so then the way you stand Apart is through your relationships your Network and building in public and Having a presence can be helpful Um But I just think you know right now it's Just tough and the Market's hard for Everybody and so especially for emerging Managers like most these limited Partners don't invest in new funds often And when they do that means they're Going to get rid of one of the older Funds they already have so they have to Look at their portfolio and be like okay Mac I really like you but which one of These funds I've been working with for The last 15 years 20 years whatever am I Going to get rid of to work with you It's like in order to get them to decide That I got to be really dope when I go In for that meeting right and so I think It's it it just it just makes the bar Higher and I do think there are a lot of Emerging managers because like being a VC seems really cool right I will tell You

I told myself after being a Founder I Was never going to be a Founder again I Was happy to be a VC when I started my Own firm I became a Founder again that Was not the plan right there's a there's A lot more to it than just finding great Startups and investing right you you Literally now have two full-time jobs You run a firm and you're an investor Like I was I I cognitively knew that When I started doing it looking at my Calendar I was like holy crap I'm really Doing two things at once Um it's really hard to do that while Building a firm and I think you the Resilience and Grit When she talked about not taking a Salary I started getting like flashbacks and Cold sweats up here right I quit my job In August I didn't get my first I didn't Pay myself again until like May next Year I'm almost a whole year without Getting paid yeah yeah and I was not a Wealthy person to begin with right like It it is a lot to go through and so I I Would say you know you you have to be Truly convicted in this and I'll also Make this other point like when you Start a venture firm you're committing To doing something for the next 16 to 20 Years right because like you raise your First fund that's 10 years in three to

Four years you're going to raise fund Too okay you just add another three to Four years to that and then three to Four years after that okay so we're six We're six to eight years in you've Raised your third fund You have 18 years in aggregate of Commitments between three funds and You've been doing this for less than 10 Years but you've made an 18-year Commitment like understand that going in Because when the times get hard like now It's very easy to be like I don't want To do this anymore but you still got a Fiduciary you've already deployed money You've already taken money so you got to Manage that regardless I don't think everybody thinks that went All the way through yeah that's also a Way it's traveling to build it in public Because people realize before they start They see a bit of the process but I Really would like to open for questions So you have mics up if you want to go And ask a question you just need to go There I think someone is going Yeah yeah right how you doing Um right over here too yeah how's it Going uh my name is Phillip Sanders I'm At New Media Ventures I wanted to ask a Question around Bad actors in The VC Space uh especially fund managers how Does that affect

Just your business model fundraising Looking for Founders I just wanted you All to just share some of your Experiences with that thank you Turner you want to take that one Hey Turner the questions Bad actors and How we incorporate that into what we do We deal with the I just don't even work with them don't Talk to them don't pay any attention to Them I don't know I don't know if that's a good answer but I just don't always I mean you don't Always know right who who the Bad actors Are so Um The they will they will be surfaced when You see certain term sheets Um and and you start to see how uh how Some fund managers are treating Founders Um or when you start to see them in Action on boards but it's not always Easy to to know who they are so I would Agree when we once we once we have Knowledge of someone misbehaving whether It's you know bad terms Um kind of a bad Rapport within the Board bad advice harassment And all of these you know we've come Across in the last 12 months probably in The last seven months we try we try not To engage if we're already in the deal Then we try to bring advisors and other Board members in who can kind of you

Know facilitate or increase the number Of good players on the team Uh but we try not to engage let's take One from that side where many people Waiting yeah hello Um given that this is a panel on Building in public especially in regards To venture funds how important do you Think absolute and total transparency is To the process so like a good example of Which would have been Venture Dallas That were originated in like 2021 Properly I missed that last part what was the Last part once again so like in 2021 we Had like the emergence of lots of Venture Dows yeah I'm like how important Do you think an absolute degree of Transparency could be to the ecosystem Got it I think it depends right that you want To be as transparent as possible but There are certain things that you can And can't say right like I want to be Transparent about all my amazing Companies but some of the deals they're In you can't talk about right but when You're talking about dials the whole Point of that was to be very public and So in the case of a dow transparency is Like It's the whole reason they exist and so If you're not being transparent then There's then don't be a dial just gonna

Be a traditional Venture fund yeah one Of the things we didn't touch on is also That sits the legal framework that makes It possible for you to build in public Because a few years ago that wasn't even Possible there were things you weren't Able to say yeah yeah I would say I Don't practice absolute transparency in Any aspect of my life Okay no And I was sorry many people right there Go ahead please Here how do you deal with regulations Around public solicitation of LPS For me I just do what Angel is my fun Admin says is okay that's There's like certain laws that have been Approved and I just only do what they Say is regulatory regulatory compliant Yeah I listen to my lawyer yeah Okay good hi I'm zoo I run a private Fund that funds rights to tracks for First Founders I wonder how true it is that most Founders that are funded are in their 30s I'm not sure if that's actually true So my question is in your opinion Experience how excited are y'all for Funding people in your early 20s late 20s early 30s what's the comparison like Curious data points from yellow thank You Let's keep it short because it's a bit Off topic yeah yeah the data points on

Founder so in our in our firm um we've Made 16 Investments and I'd say age of Founders has been anywhere from 20s to Low 50s so it's a pretty wide range Yeah I think I'm probably pretty similar I think the data shows the average age Of Founders who started a company that Ipo'd the average age at founding is Like 39 or 42 or something so but that's Obviously you could be 19 and you could Be 64. okay let's make the next question About building in public please Hey uh I'm pratish I'm a Founder at Sea Smart and we help bring their Capitalists decide better on what what Success we should have missed in so I Have a fun question for all three of you Before you started out just one piece Chat yeah sure before you started out as A VC what did you imagine your life Would be and how different is it now Okay I thought I'd have like a yacht and A private job right now The corporate sector and I thought I Would be there for forever I used to Work for the Boeing Company yeah I Thought I was going to be building Robots for NASA A pleasure to meet you a quick quick Question what's like the best way do you Think like that to do like a cold Outreach to to a VC are you do you like To receive cold Outreach I know that You've been speaking a lot about this

Thing but uh just wanted to know your Opinions on that I'm a big fan of cold Outreach one of my best deals have been From cold Outreach so what are your Thoughts on that yeah you mentioned that You said that yeah you're tired of the Worm intro okay yeah yeah we've we've Made one investment that came in through A cold intro so one out of 16. Um and and no matter whether we have a Referral or a cold inbound or someone we Meet at an event we always ask them to Fill out a form on our website so we're Perfectly okay with with inbounds Through our website That's great Next Fintech founder from Kenya so my Question is what do you think about Emerging Markets especially now during This new investment environment and more So Africa are you looking to do deals There and what's your perspective on the Market uh I rare Bree we're bullish on Emerging Markets uh the last investment Out of fund one was a company based out Of Uganda I'm also spending a lot of Time looking at Pakistan so you know I Always look for markets where there's a Large population Growing growing GDP and the lack of Venture investing so I am super bullish On Emerging Markets I mean you were just In Kenya right yeah we were both okay I

Got it I think another thing is fall on Capital so most of the growth stage Funds that I know Are not doing any Emerging Markets right Now like literally zero like I can't Even get them to talk to a Founder Trying to raise like a series a or Series B like more than a couple million Dollars So it makes it tough great okay last one Please keep a shot Hi I'm Melissa Whitner with lighter Capital we provide non-dilutive funding To startups how important do you think It is for a venture capitalist to Actually have been a Founder you know Before they're advising founders Doesn't matter you don't need operating Experience to be a Visa you need to have A good eye for talent and you need to be Able to help your company's very Um very meaningfully which means help Them raise additional Capital get Partnerships or get customers if you Could do two of those three things well With one of those be helping them get Following Capital you probably have a Decent chance of being a good early Stage founder I mean early stage VC Although I mean a lot of what you share Today also replies to Founders so I hope People learn that they can also build in Public if that's a fit for them because It really opens doors that you wouldn't

Be able to open otherwise Yes well thank you very much Please give them a round of applause