Hunter Somerville
25 statements across 2 episodes · 4 bullish · 9 bearish · 1 people on the record · first statement Jan 21, 2019 by Hunter Somerville · across every show →
On the record as a speaker too: Hunter Somerville's record, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.
Everything said about Hunter Somerville, oldest first
Jan 21, 2019 neutral
Jan 21, 2019 neutral
Jan 21, 2019 positive
Somerville: Healthy VC firms plan generational transition 10 years ahead
“Generational transition is something that is very difficult for any firm to navigate, and so it being done gradually with a good plan in place where people are thinking about it even 10 years before it's going to happen is the mark of a good firm with a health…”
Jan 21, 2019 negative
Jan 21, 2019 neutral
Somerville: Fund lifespans will extend as companies remain private longer
“Going back to companies staying private longer, that means that the life of funds will also stay in existence longer, and LPs of all different varieties have different tolerance for illiquidity and desire to stay into a fund into years. 10 to 15”
Jan 21, 2019 bullish
Somerville: Micro VCs should sell majority stakes into mega growth rounds
“Yeah, I mean, I think definitely on the micro side, it's something that people should be actively doing, and I would even consider selling majority positions, not full positions, into these mega growth rounds. I think it makes sense as a seed investor, you're …”
Jan 21, 2019
Somerville: Junior VC spin-outs struggle to raise due to unclear deal attribution
“If it is more of a variety of spin out where it's someone who's junior or mid-level at a firm that Maybe has mixed attribution or has been responsible for sourcing, but not monitoring or carrying something through end to end. That can be a more challenging fun…”
Jan 21, 2019 bearish
Somerville: Fund managers selling into secondaries is a negative signal for LPs
“For us as a direct secondary buyer, just for our model, we're more interested in buying typically from employees or departed employees just because for us as an investor in funds, if your fund manager is selling out into a secondary, it's not a great sign for …”
Jan 21, 2019
Somerville: Senior VC spin-out funds raise under the radar and are highly competitive
“I think if you have someone that's been a partner or a senior member at an established brand who decides to leave and start something smaller, more focused on their own, those are generally highly competitive to get into. There's a big access premium. Most peo…”
Mar 4, 2023 bearish
Somerville: Massive venture valuation step-ups won't return near-term
“I don't think you're going to see massive upticks like we saw before where companies were raising it, you know, two X last round after six to nine months. I think we're not close to that environment nor will be in the near to medium term, but”
Mar 4, 2023 bearish
Somerville: No Tech IPOs Will Occur in the Next Two Years
“Company side, people, I think, think of a little bit differently philosophically, but at the same time, they know that there's not going to be an IPO in the next two years, and A lot of those constituents are smaller, they're high net worths, they're individua…”
Mar 4, 2023 neutral
Somerville: LPs will downsize fund commitments rather than abandon top managers
“I think what you'll see is smaller investment sizes in the managers that they like. In the ones they really like, they'll just stay the same instead of growing. And in the ones that are on the fringe or in their, you know, respective penalty boxes, as you may …”
Mar 4, 2023 neutral
Somerville: Mark down VCs with under two years of runway, not long-runway growers
“I would look at the companies that are shorter on runway that are going to need to raise within the next 18 to 24 months, and if those companies have hit a growth phase and a price that's too high, then I would take a discretionary markdown on it. If instead i…”
Mar 4, 2023 neutral
Somerville: Mainstream generalist growth funds are absent from crypto
“I mean, specific to the crypto side, the only potentially interesting thing there is no mainstream generalist money at the growth stage investing in that category. So the people that will be coming in and supporting those companies are the crypto native folks.”
Mar 4, 2023 bearish
Somerville: Rapid 2020-2021 VC Deployments Face Multi-Vintage Returns Crisis
“You're not going to provide any vintage or diversification, and those funds will probably end up being challenged if they were concentrated in, in parts of, like, 20, 21, and you didn't smooth it out enough, and if you manage to do two or three funds within a …”
Mar 4, 2023 negative
Somerville: Depressed IPO and M&A markets force creative secondary liquidity
“And particularly in an environment like the one we have now, where other liquidity options are more limited. You're not seeing companies go public, you're not seeing strategic M&A as a robust of a clip, and so they need to think more creatively about getting l…”
Mar 4, 2023 neutral
Somerville: VC Asset Valuation Methodology Is Permanently Changed
“I never thought valuation policy would change as much as it did have public comp reliance option pricing modeling inserted, broad scale discretionary markdowns. I just think how people will value these assets has probably been forever changed on a go forward b…”
Mar 4, 2023 negative
Mar 4, 2023 negative
Somerville: Buying secondaries off current TVPI risks paying for overinflated valuations
“You could argue in some scenarios, if you're buying off of current TVPI, it's already overinflated, and in order to actually get to that TVPI at the end of the day, it might not make sense from a duration standpoint to even consider that.”
Mar 4, 2023
Somerville: Missing deep-pocketed investors increases venture down round risk
“Deep pocketed investors that actually know how to do reserve management that will be there to support the companies in the future. If you don't have that, you're going to be more susceptible to down rounds or complete wipeouts.”
Mar 4, 2023 bullish
Somerville: Secondaries Will Be Essential for Early-Stage VC Liquidity
“And as a result of that, and as a result of the limited liquidity options, the secondary part of venture is going to be very significant for a long period of time. And I think pretty interesting and also a compliment from a duration standpoint If you're doing …”
Mar 4, 2023 negative
Somerville: Generational Friction Will Cause Increased Infighting in VC Partnerships
“I think what you're gonna end up having happen is increased infighting in a lot of groups, because you have older GPs that have done very well that are staying on longer than they ever expected just because they're going to be needed to get funds raised in the…”
Mar 4, 2023 neutral
Somerville: VC Funds with 3x-4x TVPI Can Accept 50% Secondary Discounts
“Now, if a fund is at a three to a four X and you're asking them to take a 50% discount, they're still going back to their board with a two X return and the ability from an opportunity cost standpoint to then deploy it. Into what we all expect to be very good v…”
Mar 4, 2023
Somerville: Denominator effect forces LPs into secondaries to rebalance portfolios
“The denominator effect is effectively when you have both a public and a private book, the public side has gone down more significantly. The private side has come down, but not at the degree or the speed that you've seen the public side go down. And what you're…”