Private Market Insights
🤝 Learn to Think Like an LP to Raise Your First (or Next) Fund
Per Weekend Fund: For aspiring venture capitalists and first-time fund managers, navigating the complex world of LP fundraising can be daunting, especially without a proven track record or extensive network. Understanding LP motivations and crafting a compelling pitch is not unlike the experience startup founders go through.
Thankfully in the past 5 years the “Raising in Public” movement has led to the democratization of knowledge on this topic. Arragating advice and insight from 100+ fund managers, Weekend Fund provides a comphesive guide on how to raise from LPs; a powerful resource for fund managers operating with limited resources.
💦 Deliciously Juicy Takeaways
🔎 How to Source & Build Relationships with Potiental LPs
Start building relationships well before the fundraising process through writing, speaking, and networking activities.
Leverage your existing network of friends, colleagues, and industry connections for initial commitments and introductions to potential LPs.
Seek warm introductions from other GPs and committed LPs to expand your network of prospective investors.
Participate in programs for emerging fund managers to connect with potential LPs.
📚 Learn to Understand LPs Motivations & Expectations
LPs may have varying motivations, such as seeking returns, deal flow, co-investment opportunities, or exposure to specific trends or sectors.
Align expectations with LPs regarding their level of involvement, communication, and desired outcomes.
Prioritize LPs whose motivations align with your fund's objectives and investment strategy.
Be transparent about your fund's size, strategy, and potential for returns to ensure alignment with LPs.
🤓 Optimize for Selecting the Right LPs, Not Just the Biggest Checks
Look for LPs willing to take a bet on you and your vision, rather than solely relying on your track record as a first-time manager.
Prioritize LPs who can help build credibility and validate your fund to other potential investors.
Seek long-term committed LPs who understand the venture capital asset class and align with your investment thesis.
Evaluate LPs based on their reputation, responsiveness, and alignment with your values and goals.
🤝 Strategies for Pitching and Closing Your First LPs
Create urgency and momentum by setting a smaller target fund size for your first fund.
Focus on telling an authentic story about why founders want you on their cap table, in lieu of objective metrics or prior investment experience.
Follow up promptly with interested LPs and maintain open communication throughout the process.
Leverage content marketing strategies, such as creating an "invest landing page" and a content funnel to attract and engage potential LPs.
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Curated Deal Flow
Featured Startups of the Week
Each week we highlight several highly-promising early-stage startups actively seeking investments. If you’d like to request a warm introduction, click the “Request Intro” button and complete the form.
Note: We use a double opt-in system to ensure warm introductions; you will only receive a reply if a founder has accepted your request.
Aikenist
Seed
💰 Fundraise: Soon, raising $5M in August/September
📍 Location: San Francisco, CA
Aikenist provides AI-based solutions to increase the reach of medical imaging through faster scanning, better detection, and quicker turnarounds. QuickSuite, an AI-based platform, reduces end-to-end Patient & Doctor workflow time by 3x, provides MRI Scanning 2x faster with existing machines, and delivers 3x faster reporting through speech to text.
💡 Highlights:
$300k ARR and profitable for the past 3 quarters
Deployed in 300+ centres worldwide since launch
$900k raised from Venture Catalysts, MARL US Fund, Quant Fund and C-CAMP
JustiGuide
Pre-Seed
💰 Fundraise: Active, raising $500K
📍 Location: San Francisco, CA
JustiGuide is a B2B SaaS platform for creating simple, fast, and effective immigration processing for lawyers. By leveraging cutting-edge AI technology, we aim to revolutionize the way immigration legal services are delivered, making the process more efficient for lawyers, governments, and, most importantly, immigrants themselves.
💡 Highlights:
5 active pilots w/ major legal aid organizations including LATINAN, CARESF, LGBTQ Asylum Project, and Jose Marin Law
Recently launched a B2C product and scaled to 7200 users in 3 months
Raising $500K pre-seed to hire additional engineers and scale to $1M ARR by the end of 2025
Tweelin
Seed
💰 Fundraise: Active, raising $1.2M
📍 Location: San Jose, CA
Tweelin is a B2B SaaS AI Solution that facilitates enterprise communications, diminishing the reliance on pre-scheduled meetings. Tweelin's telemetry-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) transforms 1:1 scheduled meetings (on average 40% of total calendar events) into impromptu conversations, presented at the right time for both parties involved.
💡 Highlights:
4 active enterprise pilots; 3 LOIs including Nestle'
Founded by operators and leaders from Webex, Cisco, Zillow, and AMD
Raising $1.2M to ramp up sales, offshore development operations, and achieve $6M ARR in 18 months
