What are the steps to opening a VC/GE fund?

Hi everyone,

I know that this is going to differ based on the fund/person/people, but are there any steps that are extremely common for opening a top-tier GE/VC fund? Is IB or B-school necessary? I would assume most if not all founders have VC/GE or even PE experience, but just wondering apart from that.

Thanks!

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3 Comments

VC_since13

VC

3y

Most Helpful

There are generally 2 profiles of successful new VC managers: spinouts from Tier 1 established firms, and seasoned operators/founders who have credibility & networks to source & win great deals. The Tier 1 camp would be people who were partners at top firms - in recent history those would include people like Sarah Guo from Greylock, Lee Fixel from Tiger, Katie Haun from A16Z, Tom Tunguz from Redpoint, Wesley Chan from Felicis. They all easily raise from institutional LPs based on their experience, LP networks, and track records. The other set are famous operators like David Sacks who started Craft, Elad Gil, etc. There are a bunch of smaller micro funds started by people with more random backgrounds, but those tend to not have institutional backing when they start.

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