Origins: Inside Venture Capital
- Episodes
- 131
- Released
- monthly
- Latest episode
- Nov 3, 2026
About the podcast
Hosted by a General Partner (GP) and a Limited Partner (LP), Origins dives into the venture capital ecosystem to learn how the people behind the money make decisions: How LPs choose VC funds to invest in, what drives performance in venture, the dos and don'ts of fundraising, what founders/entrepreneurs/CEOs need to do to raise a Seed, Series A and beyond, what it takes to go from emerging manager to franchise VC, and the latest private market trends and dynamics shaping the investment ecosystem. Origins is co-hosted by GP Nick Chirls and LP Beezer Clarkson.
Episodes 131
Minisode: Knowing What Great Looks Like & Venture's AI Macro Risk
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, LGT Capital Partners) react to their conversation with Miles Dieffenbach, managing director of investments at Carnegie Mellon University …
Show notes
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, LGT Capital Partners) react to their conversation with Miles Dieffenbach, managing director of investments at Carnegie Mellon University. They dig into why picking matters more than ever with so many firms and founders in the market, how deeply public and private markets are now tied to the AI trade, and whether early-stage investors can still afford to say "I'm not a macro person." Plus: the first time each of them saw what great looks like, and whether the signals of a great founder have changed in the AI era.
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: https://subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
01:32 Skeptical Optimist LP Mindset
02:11 Picking Matters More Now
04:08 AI Trade Macro Risk
05:58 Data Centers and Debt Stakes
07:59 20x Funds and Pattern Recognition
09:12 First Time Seeing Great
10:03 Great Product and Talent Radar
12:50 What Great Means Post AI
16:14 Wrap Up and Disclosures
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about LGT Capital Partners: https://www.lgtcp.com
Carnegie Mellon's Miles Dieffenbach: Can Mega Funds Still Produce Venture Returns?
Miles Dieffenbach's path into venture started with getting cut from the Pittsburgh Steelers.A team captain at Penn State, Miles signed with the Steelers as a priority free agent, played four preseason games …
Show notes
Miles Dieffenbach's path into venture started with getting cut from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A team captain at Penn State, Miles signed with the Steelers as a priority free agent, played four preseason games, and was released - at 310 pounds, eating 7,000 calories a day, and paying for his own food for the first time in his life. He took the first job he could get, at CBRE, then moved to a real estate private equity firm, his first real look at private markets. When he saw a job posting at the Carnegie Mellon endowment, he didn't know what an endowment did. He applied anyway, got the job, and has been there for close to a decade.
Today he is managing director of investments at CMU, where he oversees a roughly $4 billion endowment with close to a quarter allocated to venture - a notably larger share than at many peer institutions. And he has run the math on where the asset class is headed. With fund sizes and the asset base up 10 to 15X over the past 15 years, he expects the beta of venture to be much worse going forward, and past performance to be a far weaker forward indicator than it used to be.
Nick and Beezer dig into how CMU underwrites every fund to a 4X net target, benchmarked against a public market equivalent that has compounded at 17 to 18% net since 1998; why a 2 and 20 fee structure on what is really large-scale growth equity can strip away the alpha; and why CMU is largely not active with multi-stage firms today. Miles also explains how he evaluates GPs, starting with whether they have their own cash in the fund, why it's nearly impossible to manage out AI exposure in any diversified portfolio, how secondaries work differently for seed funds and multi-stage firms, and why he believes true early-stage venture will always have a protected moat - and remains the innovation engine of the United States.
Quotes
“Are you putting your own cash into the fund? Which is, venture as an asset class seems pretty allergic to that concept. Would it hurt for you if this fund didn't do well? Would you experience the pain that we do, or are you just getting a free call option on our money? And if it hits, you win. If it doesn't, you've collected $30 million in management fees.”
“Venture has changed as an asset class from its scale perspective so drastically over a short period of time that it's very hard to look at those returns from 10 years ago and then pattern match that to ‘we're gonna expect those returns today.’ That's the really hard part of an LP job.”
Time Stamps
[01:02] Meet Miles Dieffenbach: From the Steelers to the CMU Endowment
[04:58] Points on the Scoreboard: Can You Hide in Venture?
[07:53] Why Venture's Beta Will Be Worse Going Forward
[10:07] How CMU Picks: Fat Right Tails and Entry Ownership Math
[10:50] The Anthropic Math: Why a Huge Outcome Won't Return a Mega Fund
[12:28] Underwriting to a 4X Net: The Public Market Benchmark
[13:56] Are LPs Subsidizing Bad Returns?
[16:30] 2 and 20 on the Qs: How Fees Strip Away the Alpha
[17:31] Long Feedback Loops and How AI Saved the Day
[19:09] Why Sovereign Wealth Funds Still Pay the Fees
[21:06] Missionaries vs. Mercenaries: Finding Great Pickers in AI
[22:25] GP Commitment and the Free Call Option
[23:42] Why CMU Won't Back a Manager for Just a Fund or Two
[25:41] When CMU Doesn't Re-Up
[26:46] Bigger Exits, but Not $20 Trillion IPOs
[27:39] Nowhere to Run: Managing AI Exposure at the Endowment Level
[30:34] Can Venture Be Bubbly While Public Markets Reprice Risk?
[32:32] Secondaries: Seed Funds vs. Multi-Stage Firms
[34:31] Liquidity, Opportunity Funds, and Conflicts of Interest
[37:02] Why Early-Stage Venture Still Has a Moat
[39:14] Venture as America's Innovation Engine
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Robinhood's Sarah Pinto: Bringing Private Markets to the Public
What happens when you take the most exclusive asset class in the world and list it on the New York Stock Exchange? Sarah Pinto is finding out in public, every trading day.Sarah spent close to a decade investing …
Show notes
What happens when you take the most exclusive asset class in the world and list it on the New York Stock Exchange? Sarah Pinto is finding out in public, every trading day.
Sarah spent close to a decade investing in mission-driven growth-stage companies at Emerson Collective, the organization founded and led by Laurene Powell Jobs, where she helped build the venture effort and backed names that are now household ones: OpenAI, Anthropic, and Coinbase. She began investing in July of 2008, which turned out to be an instructive moment to start, and has been focused on tech since 2010.
Today she is a portfolio manager at Robinhood Ventures, where she runs two funds built around a structural problem rather than an appetite one: only about 1% of Americans have any exposure to private companies, because most people aren’t accredited. Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI) is a ’40 Act closed-end fund that IPO’d in March 2026 and holds a concentrated portfolio of late-stage frontier companies: Databricks, OpenAI, Stripe, and SpaceX among them. Fund II (RVII) is the other side of the barbell: a BDC investing in a broad, diversified portfolio of Y Combinator seed-stage companies.
Beezer digs into the machinery and the tensions - why the ’40 Act and BDC wrappers make any of this possible, how she pitches founders against Sequoia and Index, whether venture really belongs in a public product at all, and what the data actually shows about how retail investors behave when the price drops. It is a conversation about access, structure, and the strange discipline of running a venture portfolio in full public view.
Quotes
“Only about 1% of Americans have any exposure to privates, because most people aren’t accredited. Which means that they can only watch companies like Anthropic or OpenAI emerge from the sidelines. They can’t be a part of it. They can’t actually benefit from that value creation.”
“Most of my GP equivalents at other funds don’t have to be marked to market every single day, whereas I am. That is the challenge. It comes with a lot of additional scrutiny and it comes with volatility that you don’t have if you are private. But it is the only way today that the SEC will let non-accredited investors invest - and frankly for good reasons.”
“The CFOs of the companies we invest in know that retail is 25% to 30% of the stock market. In the same way that you bring crossover institutional investors into your late rounds, you should probably bring retail as a constituency. It’s the one constituency you don’t talk to until your IPO. And now you really need them.”
Time Stamps
[01:05] Meet Sarah Pinto: Emerson Collective to Robinhood Ventures
[03:58] The Through Line: Investing at the Intersection of Purpose and Returns
[05:46] Why Only 1% of Americans Can Access the Private Markets
[07:10] What Emerson Collective Was Built to Do
[08:15] RVI and the '40 Act Innovation: A Venture Fund That Trades Like an ETF
[09:49] Robinhood as Both Distribution and Product
[11:29] How the Portfolio Actually Gets Built
[14:02] What You're Really Diligencing When You Buy the Fund
[14:33] Why the Apple IPO Math Doesn't Work Anymore
[15:44] Marked to Market Every Single Day
[16:44] What Changes When You Manage Venture Publicly
[19:38] The Pitch to Founders: Why Robinhood Is an N of One
[21:35] Retail as a Constituency Before the IPO
[23:58] Is Venture Really a Public Product?
[24:19] Learn by Doing: Fees, Disclosure, and the $25 Share
[28:01] RVII and the Other Side of the Barbell
[29:48] Why YC: The Power Law, Concentration, and Hard Data
[31:11] Taking a Seed Fund Through the LP Inquisition
[31:59] The Live Roadshow and the Most Edgar Filings in IPO History
[33:13] What's Next for Robinhood Ventures
[36:30] Getting More Women Investing Early
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Minisode: Answering Uncertainty, Venture’s Vibes Problem & the Limits of TVPI
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, LGT Capital Partners) unpack their recent conversation with Alec Litowitz, founder of Magnetar Capital and founder and managing partner …
Show notes
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, LGT Capital Partners) unpack their recent conversation with Alec Litowitz, founder of Magnetar Capital and founder and managing partner of QStar Capital. They discuss what changes when a rigorously structured public-markets mind looks at early-stage venture, why “answering uncertainty” is a sharper frame than simply living with it, and where TVPI stopped telling the truth after 2021.
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: https://subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
[00:00] Welcome to Origins
[00:45] Alec Episode Takeaways
[01:03] Agency, AI & Where the Human Still Matters
[01:45] Why Structure Is Such a Powerful Tool
[03:31] How Structured Can Seed Investing Really Be?
[04:31] How Venture Answers Uncertainty
[04:51] The Portfolio Review Nick Wants to Try
[05:51] TVPI as a False Signal & the SaaS Regime
[07:33] Do LPs Even Look at TVPI Anymore?
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vcLearn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vcLearn more about LGT Capital Partners: https://www.lgtcp.com
Ask Forgiveness, Not Permission: Josh Browder on Building DoNotPay and Investing Like a Founder
What does it take to build a profitable company for a decade without ever really needing the money you raised? According to Joshua Browder, it comes down to one trait he looks for in every founder he backs …
Show notes
What does it take to build a profitable company for a decade without ever really needing the money you raised? According to Joshua Browder, it comes down to one trait he looks for in every founder he backs: grit.
Josh is the founder and CEO of DoNotPay, the consumer platform he started the summer before he enrolled at Stanford to help friends fight parking tickets. Nearly ten years later, DoNotPay has helped millions of people appeal tickets, cancel subscriptions, and fight companies and the government - and it's profitable enough that it pays dividends back to its own investors and team. Along the way, Josh raised from Andreessen Horowitz and Founders Fund, took the Thiel Fellowship (leaving Stanford one class short of his degree), and built a reputation as one of the more unconventional operators in consumer tech.
Today, Josh also runs Browder Capital, a solo-GP pre-seed fund now on its fourth vehicle and backed by institutions including Sequoia. His model is deliberately narrow: one founder at a time, often moved into his own spare bedroom, with full access to his network until they raise an institutional seed round - then he moves on to the next.
Nick and Josh get into the early days of DoNotPay - jailbreaking iPhones, an unauthorized Pret A Manger app that nearly got him sued at 14, and the Huffington Post post that took the company from 10 users to 50,000 in a week - and how that scrappy, bootstrapped era shaped the way he runs the company today. They also dig into DoNotPay's ongoing arms race with robocallers and big companies, why Josh thinks grit beats IQ when evaluating founders, how he tests for it in real time, and why - even as a full-time investor - he'd tell almost anyone to start a company before starting a fund.
Time Stamps
[02:27] Josh Browder's Origin Story: From London to Stanford
[04:08] Jailbreaking iPhones, Selling Apps, and the Pret A Manger Cease-and-Desist
[06:32] Coding DoNotPay the Summer Before Stanford and Going Viral Overnight
[10:08] Nonprofit or For-Profit? A Cold DM From Marc Andreessen
[11:30] Inside the Thiel Fellowship: Money, Peers, and Community
[14:21] Going Solo, Sitting on Cash, and Finding a Business Model
[15:00] Bootstrapping Then vs. Today's Mega Seed Rounds
[17:55] Profitable, Dividend-Paying, and Barely Touching Its Capital
[18:28] The Consumer Growth Playbook: Organic, SEO, and GEO
[19:59] The Arms Race With Big Companies: DoNotPay's Robocaller Trap Card
[24:04] How Browder Capital Started and the Owner.com Bet That Beat the Best VCs
[25:29] The Model: One Founder, One Spare Bedroom, at a Time
[30:54] Why Grit Beats IQ – and How Josh Tests for It
[34:57] The Rise of "Ideological Fraud" in the Age of AI Deep Research
[35:32] Lessons From Four Funds: Zero Reserves and Going Institutional
[37:16] How Operator-GPs Won Over Institutional LPs
[39:32] Final Advice: Start the Company, Not the Fund
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Disclaimer:
Opinions expressed by participants are their own and do not reflect the views of LGT Capital Partners, Asylum Ventures, DoNotPay, Browder Capital or its affiliates. The content does not take into account your specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs, and is not intended as a recommendation, an offer, solicitation of an offer, public advertisement or recommendation to buy or sell any investment or other specific product. Information is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty is given as to accuracy or completeness, and it should not be relied upon. Alternative investments are speculative, involve complex instruments, and carry a high degree of risk. Investments and strategies discussed may fluctuate in value and may not be suitable for all investors. Listeners should make their own independent investment decisions. No funds are being discussed on this podcast.
Minisode: The Endowment Model, LP Culture Fit & Surviving Venture Cycles
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, LGT Capital Partners) unpack their recent conversation with Thomas Kristensen, Beezer's new colleague at LGT Capital Partners. They …
Show notes
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, LGT Capital Partners) unpack their recent conversation with Thomas Kristensen, Beezer's new colleague at LGT Capital Partners. They discuss what it actually takes to merge investing teams, why the endowment model still matters, and how a platform built on 700+ years of institutional history changes how you think about surviving venture cycles.
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: https://subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
[00:00] Welcome to Origins
[00:44] Thomas Episode Takeaways
[01:06] LP "Co-Founder Dating" - How Beezer & Thomas Built Alignment
[01:42] Culture Fit Without the Questionnaire
[04:35] Surviving Venture Cycles
[06:24] The Endowment Model Revisited
[07:41] Why LGT's Longevity Is a Competitive Advantage
[09:38] What LPs Should Offer GPs Beyond Capital
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vcLearn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vcLearn more about LGT Capital Partners: https://www.lgtcp.com
The Second Cognitive Revolution: What AI Actually Means for Venture Capital
What separates the investors and founders who thrive in moments of radical change from those who don’t? According to Alec Litowitz, it isn’t intelligence or emotional maturity - it’s adaptability.Alec is the …
Show notes
What separates the investors and founders who thrive in moments of radical change from those who don’t? According to Alec Litowitz, it isn’t intelligence or emotional maturity - it’s adaptability.
Alec is the founder of Magnetar Capital, one of the most respected multi-strategy hedge funds in the world, and the founder and managing partner of QStar Capital, his single family office and investment platform. Over a 30-year career that began at J.P. Morgan, continued as a founding partner and global head of equities at Citadel, and culminated in building Magnetar from scratch, Alec developed a framework he calls the Adaptability Quotient - AQ - for making decisions under genuine uncertainty. His book, The Adaptability Quotient, publishes September 15th.
Today, through QStar, Alec invests with no fund mandate and no LP constraints - thematically across both public and private markets, in everything from CoreWeave and SpaceX to top-tier VC and PE managers. That unconstrained vantage point, combined with three decades of pattern recognition across market regimes, gives him a distinctive lens on where venture capital sits inside the current moment of change.
Nick and Beezer dig into the core distinction Alec draws between risk and uncertainty - a difference he argues most investors collapse at their peril - and how the AQ framework maps directly onto how founders build, how VCs back them, and how the venture ecosystem itself needs to adapt. They also get into what he calls the second cognitive revolution: why AI isn’t just a new tool but a system-level regime change, what that means for the capital stack and liquidity timelines in venture, and why the answer for smaller players isn’t resistance - it’s remapping.
Quotes
"What entrepreneurs get paid for is not risk. They get paid for uncertainty, for resolving the uncertainty. People may stay at some stranger's house or they may not, but I don't know the probability. If it's high, I have a business. If it's zero, I don't have a business. Let's go resolve that probability. And when someone does a startup and tests it, raises money, probes around it, and gets feedback loops - the answer is yes. That's what they get paid for, for resolving that uncertainty."
Time Stamps
00:00 What Entrepreneurs Actually Get Paid For
00:31 Introducing Alec Litowitz: Citadel, Magnetar, and QStar
02:49 Three Career Chapters and the Through Line: A Systematic Approach to Uncertainty
06:09 The Book: Why Alec Wrote The Adaptability Quotient
07:29 AQ Defined: Why IQ and EQ Aren’t Enough When the Frame Itself Changes
9:40 Why QStar: No Constraints, No Mandates, Just Mapping the Moment
12:22 QStar’s Investment Framework: Thematic, Top-Down, Technocentric and Anthrocentric
14:51 Why Venture Still Matters: The Venture 20, the Mag Seven, and Where Disruption Lives
17:03 Risk vs. Uncertainty vs. Black Swan: The Framework Most Investors Get Wrong
22:30 Applying AQ in Venture: MVPs as Probes, Pivots as Feedback Loops
22:51 A Case Study in Failing Without Feedback Loops
24:33 The Second Cognitive Revolution: Why AI Is a Regime Change, Not a Tool
29:20 Is SaaS Uninvestable? What Becomes Abundant and What Becomes Scarce
32:53 Mapping the Venture Ecosystem: Capital Intensity, New Entrants, and IRR Pressure
37:08 The Liquidity Problem Reframed: DPI, TDPI, and Timeline Mismatch
40:12 Secondary Markets as a Structural Response
43:48 Final Advice: Upgrade Your Operating System
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Fund Commitments, Co-Invest & Secondaries: The $120B LP Playbook
What does it look like when one of the world’s most longstanding institutional investors ($120B) decides to go deeper into venture capital? And what happens when one of the most respected LP teams in the …
Show notes
What does it look like when one of the world’s most longstanding institutional investors ($120B) decides to go deeper into venture capital? And what happens when one of the most respected LP teams in the business joins forces with them?
Thomas Kristensen, who is responsible for the venture capital business at LGT Capital Partners, joins hosts Nick and Beezer for a wide-ranging conversation that doubles as an announcement: the Sapphire Partners team – including Beezer, Laura and Nate – have joined LGT Capital Partners. Thomas explains why the fit made sense.
LGT Capital Partners manages over $120 billion on behalf of more than 700 institutional clients and is owned by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein. That ownership brings a long-term perspective, often measured in decades rather than years, and it shapes how Thomas and his team approach venture: with patience, close partnership and a willingness to be both buyer and seller in private markets.
Together with Nick and Beezer, Thomas unpacks the firm's recently published white paper on the case for increasing venture allocation, built on three pillars: lifecycle diversification, an innovation hedge against AI-driven displacement and the maturation of secondary markets as a liquidity tool. He also offers a frank assessment of the current market, noting that the pace of deployment feels reminiscent of 2020-2021, and that a valuation dip may be coming regardless of how transformative AI ultimately proves to be.
From the endowment model's stress test to the temptation of clinging to a single fund-returner, this is a thoughtful conversation about long-term thinking from an investor who has spent more than two decades refining his approach.
Quotes
“It’s not new that incumbents are challenged by new entrants. I think what’s new is the speed at which this is happening. In the age of AI, it feels like there is a risk that many incumbents could be displaced quite quickly. And so including venture capital in your portfolio is a way of hedging against this.”
Time Stamps
04:13 Meet Thomas Kristensen, Head of Venture Capital at LGT Capital Partners
05:52 The Princely Family of Liechtenstein and the Long-Term Mindset
08:37 The White Paper: Why LGT Capital Partners Is Increasing Its Venture Allocation
09:45 Three Pillars: Lifecycle Diversification, Innovation Hedge, and Secondary Markets
12:35 Big News: The Sapphire Partners Team Joins LGT Capital Partners
17:35 LP Consolidation: What It Means for GPs
23:47 GP Advice: Keep First Things First on LP Alignment
32:03 Engineering a More Liquid Private Portfolio
37:07 AI Market Heat and Fundraising Pace
45:44 Closing Remarks and What’s Next
Links
Connect with the guest and hosts on LinkedIn!
Learn more about:
• OpenLP
• LGT Venture Capital White Paper
Opinions expressed by participants are their own and do not reflect the views of LGT Capital Partners, Asylum or its affiliates. The content does not take into account your specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs, and is not intended as a recommendation, an offer, solicitation of an offer, public advertisement or recommendation to buy or sell any investment or other specific product. Information is based on sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty is given as to accuracy or completeness, and it should not be relied upon. Alternative investments are speculative, involve complex instruments, and carry a high degree of risk. Investments and strategies discussed may fluctuate in value and may not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Listeners should make their own independent investment decisions. No funds are being discussed on this podcast.
Minisode: The Conversation Happening in Every Early-Stage Boardroom Right Now
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, Sapphire Partners) react to their conversation with Nicholas Csicsko, a public/private investor at Trinity. They dig into his framing of …
Show notes
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, Sapphire Partners) react to their conversation with Nicholas Csicsko, a public/private investor at Trinity. They dig into his framing of “cynical optimism” and why it might be the right posture for venture investing, unpack the growing obsolescence risk for SaaS companies from earlier vintages, and cap it off with a live question: if sovereign wealth pulls back from US venture, what breaks first?
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: https://subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Welcome to Origins
00:54 Musicians as Investors
01:39 Cynical Optimism Explained
02:47 Investor Role Beyond Cheerleading
03:11 Steadying Founder Emotions
05:59 SaaS Obsolete Before Liquidity
07:06 Old SaaS Playbook Breaks
08:00 Lovable Growth Reality Check
09:01 Creative Destruction Across Portfolios
10:17 LP Optimism and Venture Nuance
11:26 Ugly Truths About Great Investors
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphire.vc
From Juilliard to $6B AUM: How a Musician Built One of Venture's Most Unconventional Endowments
What happens when a classically trained musician from Juilliard ends up managing a $6 billion endowment? Today's episode of Origins explores exactly that journey - and what it reveals about how the best …
Show notes
What happens when a classically trained musician from Juilliard ends up managing a $6 billion endowment? Today's episode of Origins explores exactly that journey - and what it reveals about how the best institutional investors really think.
Nicholas Csicsko, Managing Director of Investments at Trinity Church NYC, brings a rare perspective to venture capital - one shaped by years of classical music training, a doctorate from Juilliard, and a decade building out one of America's most unique institutional investors. Trinity Church, founded in 1697 and endowed with 215 acres of Manhattan by Queen Anne in 1705, has grown its diversified investment pool to over $4 billion under Nicholas and CIO Meredith Jenkins.
Together with hosts Nick & Beezer, the group digs into what institutional LPs really look for in venture managers, and what puts them off. From the tension between patient capital and the need for liquidity, to skepticism around sky-high private market valuations and the growing disconnect between private and public markets, Nicholas delivers the kind of frank, independent thinking that makes for a truly exceptional investor.
Along the way, they explore the virtues of "cynical optimism" in early-stage investing, the institutional pressures that push LPs toward brand-name funds, and why Nicholas believes the best venture managers are those who know themselves deeply. From the challenges of scaling a venture firm to whether today's AI-driven capital surge is sustainable, this conversation offers a grounded, data-aware take on what it takes to build lasting returns in private markets.
—
Quotes
"If you could put a bunch of investments into a line item that wasn't going to receive scrutiny, that left tail risk of something going to zero would probably be less. But if it's visible, it's discussable. You probably don't get fired for doing the next a16z fund, but you might be questioned if you take a flyer on someone who's up and coming. And so there's this institutional pressure towards, dare I say, conformity. But what's safe? What's perceived as safe?”
"It's all fine and good that folks think they can raise and put more money to work, but I'm a little worried about where it's taking us because when open AI raises around 4x larger than any IPO in history, I kind of worry that we're creating a market that is not sustainable because ultimately there's not enough liquidity. There is a massive disconnect there.”
"Knowing thyself is probably the number one thing I would attribute to all of the best investors I've met. And as they get older and more experienced, they know what they think they need more and more without stopping challenging their bias, without adding that new person to make them better.”
—
Time Stamps
00:55 Meet Nicholas Csicsko, Managing Director, Investments at Trinity Wall Street
02:24 Musician Mindset to Investing
03:40 From Juilliard to Finance
05:56 Trinity Church Endowment Story
09:56 Building the Portfolio and Venture
12:31 Institutional Risk and Conformity
14:47 Private Public Market Disconnect
18:57 DPI, TVPI and Secondaries
20:41 Backing Off Radar Managers
23:47 Cynical Optimism in Venture
28:04 Building a VC Firm Team
34:34 Where Venture Fits Today
39:02 Too Much Capital and Liquidity?
42:20 Closing and Next Episode
—
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Minisode: The Brutal Math Behind VC Consolidation
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, LGT Capital Partners) unpack a recent conversation with David Clark, CIO of VenCap International PLC on megafunds vs small funds and a16z …
Show notes
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, LGT Capital Partners) unpack a recent conversation with David Clark, CIO of VenCap International PLC on megafunds vs small funds and a16z returns. They also discuss Beezer’s article “I See Dead VCs,” which explores how VC is in the first meaningful industry-wide contraction in modern venture history, risks to seed formation, and the workstreams required for emerging managers to institutionalize and endure.
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: https://subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Welcome to Origins
00:33 David Episode Takeaways
02:01 I See Dead VCs Article
02:59 Venture Contraction Data
04:17 Fund Survival Math
05:47 Seed Ecosystem Risk
07:35 What Gets You to Fund Two
08:48 Building a Durable Firm
11:13 Traits of Long Run Managers
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about VenCap: https://www.vencap.com/
Read Beezer’s article “I See Dead VCs”: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-see-dead-vcs-elizabeth-beezer-clarkson-uc4xc/
Why Power Laws Still Drive Outperformance with VenCap’s David Clark
What does patience look like today when the best companies take 10–15 years to exit, and is it still worth it to wait that long? Today’s episode of Origins dives into one of the most pressing questions in …
Show notes
What does patience look like today when the best companies take 10–15 years to exit, and is it still worth it to wait that long? Today’s episode of Origins dives into one of the most pressing questions in today’s market: how to balance long-term conviction with the need for liquidity.
David Clark, CIO of VenCap and a three-decade veteran of institutional venture investing, returns to the show to bring his rare LP perspective shaped by backing some of the most established venture franchises in the industry. Known for a data-first approach, David offers insight into how top-tier firms consistently generate returns, and how those dynamics evolve as fund sizes scale into the billions.
Together with hosts Nick & Beezer, the group explores the implications of venture capital consolidation, the persistence of power law outcomes, and the shifting role of liquidity in private markets. From the rise and returns of mega-funds like a16z, to the growing importance of secondaries and delayed IPO timelines, the conversation surfaces the core tension of capturing extreme right-tail outcomes while still delivering tangible distributions to LPs.
Along the way, they debate whether “patient capital” is truly a viable strategy, or if today’s venture structure inherently rewards more active portfolio management. Ultimately, today’s discussion offers a data-driven look at how venture is changing and how fund managers can look to stay ahead.
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Quotes
“If our managers have one of those top 1% companies, we want to encourage them to let it ride. Because we don't see the very best managers selling their best companies prematurely. That's not how we've seen the best fund level performance. And if you are able to hold those companies through to their full potential, that's where the real value is created.” – David Clark
“I actually think the late stage private markets have become the public markets for early stage venture fund managers. And I think if you consider [that possibility], you can find much more predictability and consistency in performance, returns, and DPI. As much, or maybe even more than large later stage managers.” – Nick Chirls
“What I've seen in the last few years is people taking exits into consideration, which makes my heart very happy. Because for years people were not, and they weren't thinking about returning capital along the way. You can take 10%, 20% and return 1x or 2x your fund. That is a very credible conversation to have with your LPAC.” – Beezer Clarkson
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Time Stamps
01:13 Meet David Clark, CIO of VenCap
03:29 a16z Fundraising Surge
05:31 First Principles Venture Model
07:18 Public Markets And IPO Scale
09:32 Do Big Funds Want Private
13:17 Power Law Still Rules
14:28 Fund Size And DPI Timing
16:36 Early Stage Fund Math
20:59 Small Funds Versus Platforms
24:02 Portfolio Construction Tradeoffs
25:40 Late Stage As New Public
28:44 Liquidity As A New Skill
30:55 When To Take Chips Off
33:25 Founder Secondaries And Alignment
35:13 Venture Capital Consolidation Risks
40:47 Big Firms Funding Emerging Managers
44:30 Patient Capital Debate
48:00 Going Public Incentive Concerns
—
Links
Connect with the guest and hosts on LinkedIn!
Learn more about:
Minisode: Does the Data Match the Anecdotes?
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dig into their recent conversation with Dan Gray, prolific venture writer and Research …
Show notes
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dig into their recent conversation with Dan Gray, prolific venture writer and Research Lead at Odin. They discuss various levels of risk tolerance across the ecosystem – including who the data says can stomach more – whether GPs are giving up on founders earlier than they used to, and whether Dan’s recent deep dive into changing LP behaviors matches anecdotal wisdom in the world of venture.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vc
Learn more about Odin: joinodin.com
Read Dan’s Writing on VC: credistick.com
Read the Results of Dan’s Survey: credistick.com/lp-2025
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:0:00 Welcome to Origins0:44 Questioning Assumptions In Venture3:31 Does Having More Companies In Your Portfolio Increase Your Appetite For Risk?8:41 Nick’s Risk Tolerance
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Venture’s Haves and Have-Nots with Dan Gray
Dan Gray is a prolific thinker, writer and researcher in the VC world, who describes himself as best known for “long walls of text on Twitter about the venture industry.” Now the Research Lead at Odin, he sits …
Show notes
Dan Gray is a prolific thinker, writer and researcher in the VC world, who describes himself as best known for “long walls of text on Twitter about the venture industry.” Now the Research Lead at Odin, he sits down with Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures, and Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, to discuss the bifurcation of VC, the different types of risk in venture, and the role geography plays in investing. He also unpacks a survey he recently conducted that dives deep into how early-stage VC is faring in a challenging year.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vc
Learn more about Odin: joinodin.com
Read Dan’s Writing on VC: credistick.com
Read the Results of Dan’s Survey: credistick.com/lp-2025
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:0:00 Welcome to Origins2:16 Unpacking the Early-Stage VC Survey12:27 Who’s Participating Where and When?15:30 The Importance of GP Branding22:19 Dan’s Advice to Early Managers29:47 What the New Normal Looks Like32:20 How Can Smaller Firms Compete?40:34 What Does This Mean for 2026?
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
What Venture's Top Voices Expect Next in AI
2025 was, undoubtedly, the year of AI. In the first episode of 2026 Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures revisit some of their favorite moments from the …
Show notes
2025 was, undoubtedly, the year of AI. In the first episode of 2026 Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures revisit some of their favorite moments from the year before to see what the top voices in VC saw as emerging AI trendlines and how the venture ecosystem and global markets might respond next. In this episode we’ll hear from – among others – Sarah Tavel of Benchmark about what it means to be truly AI native, Sunil Dhaliwal & Mike Dauber of Amplify about finding technical VCs in the age of AI, and Micah Rosenbloom of Founder Collective on how early stage venture often misses major trends like AI until it’s too late.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vc
Learn more about Benchmark: benchmark.com
Learn more about Amplify: amplifypartners.com
Learn more about Founder Collective: foundercollective.com
Learn more about Curie.Bio: curie.bio
Read Sarah’s Substack Posts: sarahtavel.com
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
3:36 Being AI Native with Sarah Tavel
10:36 Finding Technical Founders with Mike Dauber & Sunil Dhaliwal
14:31 Early Stage Founders Are 7 Years Too Late with Micah Rosenbloom
23:04 What AI CAN’T Do with Zach Weinberg28:37-Technical vs. Product Genius with Sarah Tavel
38:49 Nick & Beezer’s AI Trends to Watch In 2026
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: subscribe.openlp.vc
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Minisode: The Speed of Iteration in Venture
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dig into their recent conversation with Micah Rosenbloom, Managing Partner at Founder …
Show notes
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dig into their recent conversation with Micah Rosenbloom, Managing Partner at Founder Collective. They discuss the EQ and self-awareness required to switch from operator to investor, how to separate signal from noise in venture cycles, and how the speed of iteration is now such that a window of one or two days can change the entire calculus of an investment.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vc
Learn more about Founder Collective: foundercollective.com
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
0:34 How Involved Should Operators Be With Their CEOs?
2:16 VCs and Trends Are Seven Years Too Late
3:19 Repeat Portfolio Companies: Courageous Or Insane?
5:42 How Do VCs Handle the Speed of Iteration?
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Staying Small Despite Billion-Dollar Backings with Micah Rosenbloom
Micah Rosenbloom is a Managing Partner at Founder Collective, a firm dedicated to seed investing and, crucially, to keeping their fund sizes below $100 million. Micah talks with Beezer Clarkson, Partner at …
Show notes
Micah Rosenbloom is a Managing Partner at Founder Collective, a firm dedicated to seed investing and, crucially, to keeping their fund sizes below $100 million. Micah talks with Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures, to discuss Founder Collective’s philosophy of keeping their fund size small to avoid the “billions or bust” mentality, how most investors have a bad track record of spotting trends at seed, and how consumer goods are still worthwhile investments even against the backdrop of AI. They also debate a recent post from Nick to get to the fundamental question of whether investors taking big risks are courageous or lucky.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vc
Learn more about Founder Collective: foundercollective.com
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
2:16 What Can Small Do For You?8:57-A Whole Team of Ex Operators
14:52 How Micah’s View of the Market Has Changed18:48-Why the Market’s Tough Right Now
21:49 Early Stage VCs Are Usually Seven Years Too Late
30:14 Investing: Courage or Luck?42:59-Predictions for 2026Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Minisode: What Early Stage Venture Can Learn from Crypto Traders
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dive into their recent conversation with Kyle Samani, Founder and Managing Partner of …
Show notes
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dive into their recent conversation with Kyle Samani, Founder and Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital. They discuss their learnings on crypto, including why Nick is more bullish on bitcoin than Kyle, and how LPs conceptualize investing in firms like Multicoin. They also break down why people who came up as Crypto traders and investors are uniquely positioned to excel in early stage venture.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vc
Learn more about Multicoin: multicoin.capital
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
1:02 Is Bitcoin an Unproductive Asset?
1:56 The Problem With Web3.0
3:49 Assessing Crypto Managers As an LP
6:21 The Hard Part Isn’t Buying Bitcoin, It’s Holding It
8:21 Trained In Crypto, Excelling In Traditional Markets
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Internet Capital Markets with Kyle Samani
Kyle Samani is the Founder and Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven investment firm that invests in cryptocurrencies, tokens, and blockchain companies reshaping trillion-dollar markets. He …
Show notes
Kyle Samani is the Founder and Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven investment firm that invests in cryptocurrencies, tokens, and blockchain companies reshaping trillion-dollar markets. He joins Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures, to discuss the philosophies that underpin Multicoin’s investment strategies. He also unpacks how blockchain technologies are already reshaping global finance away from legacy systems and towards embedded trading platforms that will sit within traditional messaging and media platforms.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Multicoin: https://multicoin.capital
Jerry Neumann’s post on markets v. innovation: https://reactionwheel.net/2025/07/a-look-at-growth
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
2:43 The Origin Story of Multicoin
7:07 Financially Long & Intellectually Short Bitcoin
8:53 What Is an Internet Capital Market?
19:18 What Happens to Banks?
21:14 What Did You See In Solana?
30:22 The Rise of DATs
36:40 Did Web3.0 Live Up To Its Promise?
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Minisode: Can LPs Diversify in an AI-Obsessed World?
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, unpack their recent conversation with Sarah Tavel, Partner at Benchmark. Together they …
Show notes
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, unpack their recent conversation with Sarah Tavel, Partner at Benchmark. Together they discuss their takeaways from Sarah’s recent decision to take a step back at Benchmark to fully focus on AI, getting into the lessons they can learn from that approach and what that means for the future of artificial intelligence. They also discuss the current state of venture in light of this decade’s AI boom, and theorize where this will put the ecosystem in the future.
This episode of Origins is supported by Sydecar. Visit https://sydecar.io/origins-podcast to learn more.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Benchmark: https://benchmark.com
Read Sarah’s Substack Posts: https://sarahtavel.com
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: https://subscribe.openlp.vc
Sydecar, Inc. (“Sydecar”) has acted as a financial sponsor within this Origins podcast. Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”) is not affiliated with or invested in Sydecar.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
0:48 How Do We Carve Out More Time For Thinking?
3:02 How Are LPs Handling AI Risk?
6:02 Can You Achieve AI Diversity as an LP?
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Becoming AI Native with Benchmark’s Sarah Tavel
Eight years after becoming the first female partner at Benchmark, Sarah Tavel recently took on a new role as Venture Partner that allows her more time to fully immerse herself in AI, all while continuing to …
Show notes
Eight years after becoming the first female partner at Benchmark, Sarah Tavel recently took on a new role as Venture Partner that allows her more time to fully immerse herself in AI, all while continuing to make new investments on behalf of Benchmark and serving her current portfolio. She sat down with Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures, to unpack her learnings over the past few months, including what it means to be truly AI native, how the future of AI is social (not solo), and what that means for AI tools and the people who use them. She also discusses the importance of protecting your time as a VC and the advantages of devoting time each week to play.
This episode of Origins is supported by Sydecar. Visit sydecar.io/origins-podcast to learn more.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Benchmark: https://benchmark.com
Read Sarah’s Substack Posts: https://sarahtavel.com
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: https://subscribe.openlp.vc
Sydecar, Inc. (“Sydecar”) has acted as a financial sponsor within this Origins podcast. Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”) is not affiliated with or invested in Sydecar.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
1:46 Living & Breathing AI
8:58 AI As Both Solo & Social
16:13 What Does It Mean to be AI Native?
23:19 How Do Our Brains Need to Adapt to AI?
31:37 How AI Immersion Has Changed Sarah’s Investment Strategy
37:56 Looking For AI Frontier Companies & the Businesses Around Them
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Minisode: Is It 2021 All Over Again?
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dig into their recent conversation with Alex Edelson, LP at Slipstream. They discuss …
Show notes
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dig into their recent conversation with Alex Edelson, LP at Slipstream. They discuss whether a spate of recent 100X multiples means we’re living 2021 all over again, why that’s led people to deploy but not fundraise, and the level of curiosity you need to be an exceptional LP.
This episode of Origins is supported by Sydecar.
Visit https://sydecar.io/origins-podcast to learn more.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Slipstream: https://www.slipstreaminvestors.com/
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: https://subscribe.openlp.vc
Sydecar, Inc. (“Sydecar”) has acted as a financial sponsor within this Origins podcast. Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”) is not affiliated with or invested in Sydecar.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
2:01 Did We Learn Nothing From 2021?
4:09 High Prices, Quick Deployment
6:31 Venture Lives On Bubbles
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Fundraising as a Fund of Funds with Alex Edelson
Alex Edelson’s Slipstream is a fund of funds that focuses on firms that are “difficult to find, evaluate and access.” Together with Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at …
Show notes
Alex Edelson’s Slipstream is a fund of funds that focuses on firms that are “difficult to find, evaluate and access.” Together with Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures, Alex unpacks his strategy of investing in funds he believes can outperform, how to raise capital as an LP, and how to remain competitive against LPs investing in more established firms. The three of them also dig into a recent blog post by Beezer titled “Is Venture Broken?” - which explores the role of mega-funds in the early-stage market. You can read that here.
This episode of Origins is supported by Sydecar. Visit https://sydecar.io/origins-podcast to learn more.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Slipstream: https://slipstreaminvestors.com
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: https://subscribe.openlp.vc
Sydecar, Inc. (“Sydecar”) has acted as a financial sponsor within this Origins podcast. Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”) is not affiliated with or invested in Sydecar.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
2:59 Why Start a Fund of Funds?
7:39 How Do LPs Raise Capital?
16:56 I’m the LP I Wanted to Work With As a GP
21:17 What Is Similar & Different Between Now and 2021?
30:41 What Is an Advantage One Day Is Table Stakes the Next
34:18 You Don’t Need a Big Winner to Have An Amazing Small Fund
39:08 Is Venture Broken?
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Minisode: Curiosity, Chemistry, and Keeping Relevance Across the Partnership
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP is rejoined by Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures to unpack her recent conversation with Sunil Dhaliwal and Mike Dauber of Amplify …
Show notes
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP is rejoined by Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures to unpack her recent conversation with Sunil Dhaliwal and Mike Dauber of Amplify Partners. They discuss partner dynamics, the importance of maintaining relevance for the long haul, and the different ways curiosity can show up. Plus, Nick & Beezer dig into whether they count as extroverts at work and introverts everywhere else.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Amplify: https://amplifypartners.com
Subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter for a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, delivered straight to your inbox.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
2:18 ”I’m Not Gonna Be a Solo GP Forever”
6:07 Pushing Decision Making to the Edge at Amplify
9:24 How Are You Relevant Five Years From Now?
13:24 Investors: Introverts or Extroverts?
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Backing Outliers in Venture with Sunil Dhaliwal & Mike Dauber
Sunil Dhaliwal founded Amplify in 2012, and was joined by his longtime friend and colleague Mike Dauber in 2014. Beginning as one of the first solo GP, early-stage, sector-focused funds, Amplify has now grown …
Show notes
Sunil Dhaliwal founded Amplify in 2012, and was joined by his longtime friend and colleague Mike Dauber in 2014. Beginning as one of the first solo GP, early-stage, sector-focused funds, Amplify has now grown to a team of 9 partners investing in the next generation of applications tools and platforms for developers, data teams, and ML engineers focused on AI, cloud infrastructure, and data security. Mike and Sunil sit down with Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, to discuss their strategy of building for outliers, shaping founders into leaders, and making it easy for their GPs to back non-consensus companies. They also unpack their recent $900 million raise and their first dedicated biotech fund, Amplify Bio.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Amplify: https://amplifypartners.com
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
2:17 The Origins of Amplify
5:21 Eliminating the Need for “Mr. Business”
10:25 Building Amplify for Outliers
25:08 Being Technical VCs in the Age of AI
28:47 Amplify Bio
36:19 Has Venture Actually Changed At All?
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Minisode: Are Major Incumbents Finally at Risk in the Age of AI?
Origins hosts Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, dig into their recent conversation with Will Manidis, SVP at Veradigm AI. They discuss the …
Show notes
Origins hosts Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, dig into their recent conversation with Will Manidis, SVP at Veradigm AI. They discuss the risks AI introduces to tech incumbents, and its potential to reshape both the healthcare system and improve patient outcomes.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Veradigm: https://veradigm.com/
Subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter for a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, delivered straight to your inbox.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
1:41 Humor in Venture?
3:17 Are Incumbents Finally At Risk?
6:25 How Extremely Online is Nick?
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Merchant Banks: Venture’s Next Act with Will Manidis
Before he sold his company to Veradigm, Will Manidis’s Science.io developed an AI model that allowed doctors to translate mountains of medical documents into usable data to improve patient outcomes. Today Will …
Show notes
Before he sold his company to Veradigm, Will Manidis’s Science.io developed an AI model that allowed doctors to translate mountains of medical documents into usable data to improve patient outcomes. Today Will is the SVP of AI at Veradigm, and he sits down with Nick and Beezer to discuss how AI is impacting healthcare, how we can develop health systems with better outcomes, and what the future of venture might look like when compared to traditional merchant banking.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Veradigm: https://veradigm.com/
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: https://subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
2:01 Human vs. AI Content (Specifically Podcasts)
6:18 AI And the Future of Healthcare
17:55 Is Merchant Banking Venture’s Future?
25:17 When Does Venture Break?
32:42 “The Only Thing We Should Care About is the Shape of the Return Curve.”
37:24 “The Constraint Is No Longer Capital.”
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Minisode: Innovation Energy And the Future of Biotech
Origins hosts Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, unpack their conversation with Zach Weinberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Curie.Bio. They …
Show notes
Origins hosts Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, unpack their conversation with Zach Weinberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Curie.Bio. They discuss the “innovation energy” that drives new breakthroughs and take a closer look at Sapphire’s approach to biotech investing.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Curie.Bio: https://curie.bio
Subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter for a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, delivered straight to your inbox.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
1:28 Building Something That Wouldn’t Exist Otherwise
4:27 What’s Sapphire Doing in BioTech?
8:38 The Market & BioTech
10:05 "Vitamin O"
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Building The YC of Biotech with Zach Weinberg
Zach Weinberg, co-founder and CEO of Curie.Bio, is redefining early-stage biotech investing with an operator’s mindset and a founder-first philosophy. His approach combines funding with operational support and …
Show notes
Zach Weinberg, co-founder and CEO of Curie.Bio, is redefining early-stage biotech investing with an operator’s mindset and a founder-first philosophy. His approach combines funding with operational support and direct access to world-class drug hunters to dramatically increase odds of success. Today, Zach sits down with Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners to discuss the massive risk associated with traditional therapeutics startups, how pairing a drug discovery partner with a seed investor solves those inefficiencies, and how biotech, the global economy and the political landscape are all closely connected.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Curie.Bio: https://curie.bio
For a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: https://subscribe.openlp.vc
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
5:08 Was Hunter High School Harder Than Penn?
10:22 Transitioning From SaaS to Biotech
20:55 Why Is Building a Biotech Venture Firm So Hard?
27:55 Building Curie.Bio
32:24 Zach on Drug Discovery
43:12 Biotech in China
49:42 AI in Biotech
54:51 "The Manhattan Project of Biology"
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Minisode: How Novel Strategies Become the Venture Industry’s Standard
Origins hosts Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, unpack their conversation with Theory Ventures’ Tomasz Tunguz, discussing how strategies …
Show notes
Origins hosts Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, unpack their conversation with Theory Ventures’ Tomasz Tunguz, discussing how strategies that once set firms apart – like pre-seed or founder-centric investing – become industry standards over time. They dive deep on counter-positioning, adaptability, and the power of differentiation in today’s venture world.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
1:14 Is Tomasz an n=1?
5:51 How Do Firms Stay Relevant?
9:12 Do Founders Like Counter-Positioning?
11:50 Who Is An Emerging Manager/Nick’s Next Career
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about Theory Ventures: https://theory.ventures
Subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter for a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, delivered straight to your inbox.
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Any offer or solicitation of securities by Sapphire may only be made in accordance with the current offering documents for a managed Fund in which Sapphire is an advisor. Additionally, Sapphire does not solicit or make its services available to the public; such offerings may only be provided to accredited investors and qualified purchasers defined within the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures’ views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, Sapphire makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third party information presented herein. Nothing presented herein may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular investment opportunity or strategy. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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