For ex-operators that want to launch a venture firm/fund, a few things to now.
1/Fundraising is very different; much longer and LP's often less visible (esp fam offices)
1/Fundraising is very different; much longer and LP's often less visible (esp fam offices)
2/ Your early wins are probably attributable to luck. Fooling yourself if you think different. VC and apprentice/pattern recognition game. Whether you're good takes a long time to prove
3/ investing is a tiny piece of what you actually will do. Ops/platform building (even if you outsource everything) etc, will be a big part of your days
4/ True economics take a LONG time. Probably year 10+ before you see significant carry
5/ Looking at deals will be fun, until you get hundreds of emails a week. Time becomes the biggest deterrent
6/ Some existing seed GP's will be very helpful with your fundraise by giving you advice and opening up LP rolodex. Many will not in fear of their own LP attrition
7/ Being differentiated is really, really hard. Finding news ways to really add value is an ongoing part of the job
8/"proprietary" dealflow is questionable; don't hang your hat on thinking you are the only one in the game seeing great entrepreneurs
9/Understand that you are building a company, not just a fund. This may be easy for operators, but it's a different ballgame juggling varying priorities and constituents
Starting a firm means you're signing up for a 15-20 year commitment. Make sure it's what you want to do 100%
