Published in Sapphire Ventures Perspectives·Dec 14, 2020Diversity in VC: Learnings from an LP Audit and how we can make this better together | Sapphire VenturesThis winter, , the world’s largest community of female venture investors, released a report on “The Untapped Potential of Women-led Funds.” The research was stark, if not surprising. According to the group’s proprietary data, 5.6% of U.S.-based VC firms are led by women (with less than half of those being…Openlp8 min read
Published in Sapphire Ventures Perspectives·Jul 20, 2020What you need to know about fundraising this yearBy Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director, Sapphire PartnersOpenlp7 min read
Published in Sapphire Ventures Perspectives·Mar 17, 2020The VC Fundraising Environment and COVID-19It’s only Tuesday morning and already it’s been a tough week and while it’s too early to know exactly how #COVID19 will impact the #VC fundraising environment. …Sapphire Ventures2 min read
Published in Sapphire Ventures Perspectives·Jul 17, 2019OpenLP 2.0 — The RebootMany aspects of venture funding remain a mystery, even to those working within the industry. When we launched Sapphire Partners to invest in venture funds , we noticed the role of limited partners (LP), the folks who invest in venture funds and whose capital is then in turn invested in…Venture Capital7 min read
Published in Sapphire Ventures Perspectives·Apr 5, 2019#OpenLP Video: How Does Data Influence LP and GP Decisions?Last month I had the opportunity to speak at SuperReturn365 on a panel focused on how LPs and GPs use data in our respective business. Some of the questions Tom Henriksson, Suranga Chandratillake, Mish Mashkautsan, Kart Siilats and I explored included: How and where GPs and LPs leverage data — Sourcing? Diligence? Post investment? As well as other creative ways. How we believe data adds competitive advantage to our workVenture Capital1 min read
Published in Sapphire Ventures Perspectives·Mar 28, 2019#OpenLP: The internationalisation of venture capital: will this affect LP allocations?This article originally appeared on SuperReturn365 in March 2019. Venture capital is becoming increasingly globalised. The VC stronghold is said to be shifting to regions outside the US, and VCs are moving to make investments across multiple geographies. Is this really the case? And how does this affect investor allocations…Lp Insights5 min read
Published in Sapphire Ventures Perspectives·Feb 14, 2019When Money Isn’t Enough: How to Distinguish Yourself as a VC in a Crowded Market(This article first appeared on SapphireVentures.com here.) In 2018, U.S. venture funds invested over $130 billion in startups — crossing the $100 billion mark for the first time since the dot-com boom in 2000. In addition, U.S. venture funds themselves also raised record amounts not seen since 2000, raking in…Venture Capital10 min read
Published in Sapphire Ventures Perspectives·Jun 3, 2018Raising A Fund? 9 Questions That Help Get You To GP/LP FitThis post serves a part two of a two part series that samir kaji and I are co-authoring to help VC’s navigate through fundraising cycles and engender better and more relevant relationships with LP’s. Samir’s first post dug into LP emerging venture fund manager preferences. With this second post we…Venture Capital9 min read
Published in Sapphire Ventures Perspectives·Feb 26, 2018Turning the Tables on Notation CapitalI recently had the privilege of interviewing Nicholas Chirls and Alex Lines of Notation Capital on their Origins podcast about raising their new $27m fund, Notation II. …Venture Capital1 min read
Published in Sapphire Ventures Perspectives·Jan 25, 2018The A to Z on Series A: Part Three | The ExitThis is our third and final post on Series A investing. As a quick recap, in addition to direct growth-stage investing, Sapphire Ventures invests in early-stage venture funds, specifically those focused on Series A. …Venture Capital8 min read
