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Charles Hudson: Pre-Seed Venture Success Relies on Speed Over Data Analysis

Charles Hudson · 20VC: Raising A Solo GP Fund & Why They Are So Prominent Today with Charles Hudson, Managing Partner @ Precursor Ventures · May 9, 2016 · at 9:45

Charles Hudson is Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures. He explains why eliminating partner coordination costs gives solo GPs an operational edge in early-stage investing.

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“For me, though, I invest at the really, really early stage. And for me, with pre-seed, I really feel like one of the key vectors is speed and the ability to kind of process opportunities quickly. And I don't have any coordination costs at the firm. I don't have a second partner who needs to sit in on the meeting. I don't have to deal with the second person's schedule and Do I think a second perspective at times could be helpful? Absolutely. But I'm dealing with companies where there isn't really very much in the way of data to analyze. It really comes down to perspective on the founder and perspective on the market.”

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