Two weeks ago I sat on a panel on "Defense & commercial revenues of tech startups, how to balance?" -- Dual-Use and Defense startups. The other panelists were Jake Chapman @ Marquee VC, Matt Kaplan @ Shield Capital, Chris Moran @ Lockheed Martin Ventures, and Kris Vulgan @ Ferocity Capital. It was a marathon panel … Continue reading National Resilience Demands Capacity, Not Contract Chasing
Yesterday, I published a self-audit of a blog post I wrote 3 years ago ("War in Ukraine: The Long-Term Impact", August 16, 2022). What emerges in hindsight: I systematically undervalued adaptive capacity of political and market systems when existential stakes are present. Cynicism about inertia was a bias — understandable given decades of EU under-delivery! — but wrong … Continue reading Where We Go From Here: Seven Investor Lessons From Ukraine
In a blog post from August 16, 2022, War in Ukraine: The Long-Term Impact, I made an economic and investment forecast. It was not a prediction, but it a directional framing of consequences under tension based on my observations on market drivers. Capital allocation is national security. Venture’s edge isn’t alpha—it’s foresight operationalized under uncertainty.Thinkstorm … Continue reading Markets, Politics, and the Speed of Shock: Lessons from Ukraine
[This is one of the first 'Tactical Notes' - short-format observations that I jotted down some time ago, where I feel that this snippet is enough and no long format essay is necessary] We are not entitled to capital. Or conviction. LPs operate under uncertainty just as we do. In a world of competitive convergence, … Continue reading Tactical Notes: Access is Earned, Not Expected
[This is one of the first 'Tactical Notes' - short-format observations that I jotted down some time ago, where I feel that this snippet is enough and no long format essay is necessary] Capital formation strategy is a product of LP-GP fit. The best LP-GP relationships are not built on performance narratives but on shared … Continue reading Tactical Notes: Fit First, Fund Second
[This is one of the first 'Tactical Notes' - short-format observations that I jotted down some time ago, where I feel that this snippet is enough and no long format essay is necessary] Exceptional managers demonstrate process discipline and high-touch relationship crafting. The myth of institutional vs. personal is a false binary. Sophistication in process … Continue reading Tactical Notes: Institutional is Personal
Venture Capital Funds are a two-sided service business: You connect startups one one side with money from investors (Limited Partners = "LPs") on the other side. Strictly speaking, "investing" is more of a catch-all phrase of three things the local financial regulator [1] wants you to do: Direction of capital deployment, Stewardship of capital and … Continue reading Beyond ‘Founder-First’: Designing what Actually Serves
[This is one of the first 'Tactical Notes' - short-format observations that I jotted down some time ago, where I feel that this snippet is enough and no long format essay is necessary] The best LPs are intellectual partners — equal in vision, asymmetric in pressure-testing. LPs are mission-critical partners, not passive capital. Too many … Continue reading Tactical Notes: LPs Are Not a Line Item
What are your actions? And what is the narrative you are telling LPs around your actions and processes? Why that story, and no other story? What are implicit assumptions that have to be true so that this story is true? What ethos are you implying, or even requiring, that is reflected in that action a … Continue reading Actions + Stories = Who You Are
When we due diligence emerging managers, not presenting an investible financial product is the fastest way to come to a "no". It's true that you have to make "good investments" (whatever that means), but unless you are only investing your own money, you need to offer a financial product that attracts LPs. HNIs and family … Continue reading Venture Capital is a Financial Product
