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Beezer Clarkson

Managing Director, LGT Capital Partners · 4 appearances on the record.

computed by AI from the episodes · how this works → · full disclaimer →

investorexecutive@Beezer232 ↗LinkedIn ↗lgtcp.com ↗

Elizabeth "Beezer" Clarkson is a limited partner who has committed over $1.2 billion across more than 200 early-stage venture capital funds globally. In 2016, she launched OpenLP, a platform fostering transparency between tech founders, general partners, and limited partners.

70statements → 42claims → 29claims resolved → 66%fully supported → 3.91/5average certainty → 1.89/5average debate potential → ≈4.5/5argument clarity, estimated → 25said about them ↓

19 supported 8 partly supported 2 contradicted 1 not yet assessed 12 not checkable as stated how the 42 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

7 predictions · 35 assertions · 3 opinions · 16 insights · 9 disclosures · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 42 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 29 are resolved, 1 is not yet assessed, and 12 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Beezer argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

Their most notable supported claim

Prediction Held up
Clarkson: Absolute TVPI-to-DPI gap is likely largest since dot-com crash
“The only other time that would be equivalent would be about 99 and 2000, and I don't know if there is the volume of funds in the market then, so, and absolute numbers, he's probably right.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 33:00 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings

Their most notable contradicted claim

Assertion Contradicted
Clarkson: 17 first-time VC funds raised in Q1 2017 versus 6 in Q1 2016
“So, there are more first-time funds this year than last year by more than double. So, last year, there were six during QI of 2016, and this year so far, there's been 17.”
Beezer Clarkson May 1, 2017 ▶ 8:37 20VC: Explosion of First Time Funds, Only 1 Mega Fund Raised: What The Heck Happened in Q1 Venture Markets with Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director @ Sapphire Ventures

Expressed certainty vs assessment result

none yet certainty 1
none yet certainty 2
80% certainty 3
83% certainty 4
63% certainty 5

weighted support: a fully supported claim counts one, a partly supported claim counts half. Each filled bar is clickable and opens exactly those claims; "none yet" means nothing said at that certainty level has resolved yet

How they sound: speaking style how? →

266 words/min while actually speaking · 2.9 um and uh per 1k words · 6.3 false starts per 1k · 31.2% of pauses land inside a clause

No argument clarity score for Beezer Clarkson: no usable question→answer exchanges on raw tape (a fair score needs 8+). We do not score a sample that small. Roundtable and news formats yield far fewer direct exchanges than interviews. Their coarse estimate from 30 exchanges on the produced feed is ≈4.5/5, shown at half point precision because the sample is small and produced tape scores higher.

Measured by listening to 21,535 words across 4 episodes, but every recording we have of Beezer Clarkson is the aired feed, and an editor cleaned that audio before release. Some of the hesitation was cut before we ever heard it, so read these as floors: the true rates are at least this high. These are measurements of speaking style, not scores. How it's measured →

How the interview went all their pushback → series average →

Across 4 rated episodes:

host pushback ▾ 3/10
pushed back at the host ▾ 1.8/10
setup questions received 58%

Everything Beezer Clarkson said on 20VC that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Clarkson: LPs are shifting to accept partial secondary sales of winners
“And I've heard LPs that used to say, hold on to all your winners all the time are now saying, well, I meant that. But in context, there are times when it could be useful.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 15:37 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Prediction Held up
Clarkson: Absolute TVPI-to-DPI gap is likely largest since dot-com crash
“The only other time that would be equivalent would be about 99 and 2000, and I don't know if there is the volume of funds in the market then, so, and absolute numbers, he's probably right.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 33:00 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Clarkson: LPs internally discount GP fund valuations by 20% to 25%
“Well, I know a lot of LPs that will ask their managers, and then go back home and take another 20 to 25% off the top, because there's things that nobody knows.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 33:37 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Clarkson: Auditors urged venture GPs to coordinate valuations in late 2022
“Well, and then I heard stories, and this is a story, so put it under the rumor and hearsay bucket, but that last year, the end of twenty-twenty-two, when the auditors were getting involved, they were telling GPs to talk to each other to try to figure out how t…”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 35:00 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Clarkson: Multi-billion-dollar VC funds disconnect GP fees from actual returns
“If you have a fund that's, I don't know, many billions, you're going to have a number of GPs that are making significant dollars, assuming it's spent Not spent on platform and other things. But if you can make that kind of money without even returning the fund…”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 38:37 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
Clarkson: The list of elite VC managers with unconditional LP backing is shrinking
“There are always going to be some managers that have that kind of LP pull that people will just keep working with. But I think that list is getting smaller, and I think the names are switching around.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 48:47 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Clarkson: Growth equity mindset in early-stage funds fails long-term
“It's so clear in early stage, if you're not taking a big swing for the fence, which doesn't mean saying taking like ridiculous, I haven't thought about it risks, right? But you just have a lot of people that think that they can do sort of smaller investments, …”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 52:14 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sapphire Partners: 3x venture funds require at least one 1x fund returner
“We've yet to see a fund that's returned three or more X that does not have a company that's returned at least one time the fund.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 2:11 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Supported
Beezer Clarkson: LPs are continuing to make new venture commitments
“That's not true. I think LPs are being more selective and making new investments. I know we are, I know others that are, They're absolutely making new investments.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 6:37 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Clarkson: LPs face liquidity strains from pulling forward future budgets
“A lot of LPs also pre-spent future budgets, if that makes any sense. If you were raising a fund every 18 months, and I thought you were raising every three years, I had two choices. Either I pull from future year budgets, or I reduce my check so that I stay co…”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 7:49 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Clarkson: Extended market downturn will force institutional LPs to sell holdings
“I think we're seeing some, the tip of the iceberg. And if the market doesn't come back, there could be a lot more. And that is when, to your point about When endowments and foundations and other LPs have to make some really hard choices about what they keep in…”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 12:46 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Supported
Clarkson: Venture capital managers are already reducing target fund sizes
“We already are.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 18:01 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Disclosure
Clarkson: Sapphire underwrites Series A funds to 3x and Seed to 5x
“But on the math of it, we just underwrite a series A fund to a three X and C to a five X, and you just look at what the numbers line up at, and you say, okay, so given the ownership and given the AUM, what needs to be true to return the fund one time, half a t…”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 31:13 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Disclosure
Clarkson: Some Sapphire-backed emerging funds struggled to cover basic rent
“We've had some funds in our program where I'm a little worried they can't pay their rent.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 40:46 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Clarkson: Strict GP commit requirements create unnecessary barriers for new managers
“To your point about GP commit, yes, it has been an unnecessary barrier to entry for too many GPs.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 41:12 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
Clarkson: Venture capital LPAs are overly complicated and useless
“It's so hard to read. It's so complicated. It's so not useful. It's supposed to be a tool to understand how our relationship works, and it's just a big legal pile of documents.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 49:56 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Supported
Clarkson: Venture capital breakage between Fund I and Fund II averages 50%
“We've been looking at data going back to 1995. I was shocked at the breakage. The breakage between Fund One and Fund Two is not every year, but averages out to be about 50%.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 54:10 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Supported
Clarkson: Only 17% of venture funds successfully reach Fund IV
“What was also sort of heartbreaking was the fund one to fund four on average, again, these are averages, some years are better, some years are worse, is 17%.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 54:48 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Supported
Clarkson: VC firms are unstapling core and opportunity funds
“The other thing we're seeing in this market is people are unstapling their funds because a number of LPs felt dragged into it”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 56:40 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Partly supported
US VC Fundraising in 2016 Hit Highest Level Since 2001
“At the end of Q-three, we pulled some numbers, thanks to our friends at PitchBook, and there's been thirty-three billion raised by 157 funds. This is just in the U.S., And what's really interesting about this is we haven't seen this much money raised in one ye…”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 24, 2016 ▶ 4:14 20VC: More $ Raised This Year Than The Past 15, War Chests Being Built & Decline In First Time Funds: So What The Heck Is Happening In Venture with Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director @ Sapphire Ventures
Assertion Partly supported
Only 31 First-Time VC Funds Were Raised Through Q3 2016
“What I can say is, is through Q three, You know, we go through and we curate the data, we pull it from a number of sources, and then we curate it, because sometimes funds close one year and then do a final close a second year, so the numbers are a bit squishy,…”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 24, 2016 ▶ 9:41 20VC: More $ Raised This Year Than The Past 15, War Chests Being Built & Decline In First Time Funds: So What The Heck Is Happening In Venture with Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director @ Sapphire Ventures
Insight
Clarkson: LPs are not in the same risk-taking business as GPs
“Sometimes other folks forget that LPs are not in the same business of risk taking the way that GPs are.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 21:06 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Clarkson: LPs must commit consistently because venture markets cannot be timed
“There is a very long history of looking at venture returns, which says if you're not in the market, you just don't know how to call the exit, so you have to be consistent about committing.”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 10:21 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
Clarkson: LP and GP bull market investments were driven by momentum and FOMO
“I just think back when it was sort of this big run up in the, when we were in the bull market, it looked like there were a lot more nodes in areas that could be very productive, and people went for it because they didn't, there's a lot of FOMO, LPs and GPs ali…”
Beezer Clarkson Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 16:11 Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change? | E1073 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings

Show 24statements(46 left)

The other half of the tape: Beezer Clarkson's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 25 times in 10 episodes on 20VC. every mention, with the transcript →

Who brings them up most Harry Stebbings 19Michael Eisenberg 2Jason Lemkin 2Semil Shah 1Katie Stanton 1

Every mention by year

tap a year for its mentions
0082154201620172018201920202021202220232024episodesmentions
024201620172018201920202021202220232024episodes it came up in
003264201620172018201920202021202220232024episodesmentions per episode
2024 2 mentions in 1 episode
2023 6 mentions in 1 episode
2020 2 mentions in 2 episodes 1 per episode
2019 1 mention in 1 episode
2017 2 mentions in 1 episode
2016 12 mentions in 4 episodes 3 per episode

Appearances (4)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
Beezer Clarkson: Are LPs Open for Business & Why Do LP Incentive Mechanisms Need to Change Oct 18, 2023 40m
20VC: Explosion of First Time Funds, Only 1 Mega Fund Raised: What The Heck Happened in Q1 May 1, 2017 14m
20VC: More $ Raised This Year Than The Past 15, War Chests Being Built & Decline In First Oct 24, 2016 17m
20VC: What LP's Want In VCs with Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director @ Sapphire Ventures Jun 13, 2016 17m
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