David Lawee is the founder of Alphabet's growth fund CapitalG. He responds to a question on what he would most like to change about the venture capital industry.
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“It's incredibly clubby. And white male oriented. And I don't think that's helping the entrepreneurial world. It's kind of not helping the venture world decision making. So that's the biggest thing. It's also the hardest thing, but it's kind of the biggest thing that needs to change in my view.”
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More from David Lawee
Insight
Lawee: Venture diversification yields diminishing returns beyond six investments
“I think people overvalue perceived diversification. I think you get a diminishing return in our business once you get past five or six investments.”
David LaweeOct 8, 2020▶ 15:3220VC: CapitalG Founder David Lawee on Why People Overvalue Diversification in Venture, Why Investment Clubs Are More Successful Than Investment Partnerships & How Growth Funds Think About Portfolio Construction, Loss Ratio & Reserves
Disclosure
CapitalG operates as an investment club where partners make individual decisions
“At the core of it is kind of the decision process, and for us, which is extremely unusual for a growth equity fund, we make the investments individually. The group can and does hopefully help inform that, but it's more of an investment club than kind of an inv…”
David LaweeOct 8, 2020▶ 8:2920VC: CapitalG Founder David Lawee on Why People Overvalue Diversification in Venture, Why Investment Clubs Are More Successful Than Investment Partnerships & How Growth Funds Think About Portfolio Construction, Loss Ratio & Reserves
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Investment clubs generate better returns than traditional venture partnerships
“And I was born from kind of looking at a whole bunch of different investment firms and comparing their returns to that of clubs and coming to the conclusion that clubs were actually doing better.”
David LaweeOct 8, 2020▶ 8:4620VC: CapitalG Founder David Lawee on Why People Overvalue Diversification in Venture, Why Investment Clubs Are More Successful Than Investment Partnerships & How Growth Funds Think About Portfolio Construction, Loss Ratio & Reserves
Insight
Lawee: Experience with market cycles causes risk aversion disadvantage in bull markets
“I do feel that there's a little bit of a disadvantage in protracted bull markets of having lived through these cycles, because your experience has taught you to be more risk-averse, and as you're kind of living through a bull market, that's kind of a negative.”
David LaweeOct 8, 2020▶ 5:5420VC: CapitalG Founder David Lawee on Why People Overvalue Diversification in Venture, Why Investment Clubs Are More Successful Than Investment Partnerships & How Growth Funds Think About Portfolio Construction, Loss Ratio & Reserves
“Ultimately, being a little more conservative is going to prove out, but it's not after kind of years of money-making.”
David LaweeOct 8, 2020▶ 6:0820VC: CapitalG Founder David Lawee on Why People Overvalue Diversification in Venture, Why Investment Clubs Are More Successful Than Investment Partnerships & How Growth Funds Think About Portfolio Construction, Loss Ratio & Reserves
Opinion
Lawee: Public market swings irrationally distort Series B and C valuations
“People are very impacted by short-term gyrations in the public markets. So we have kind of frothy public markets or fully valued public markets right now, and that affects B rounds, C rounds. Kind of makes no sense.”
David LaweeOct 8, 2020▶ 7:4920VC: CapitalG Founder David Lawee on Why People Overvalue Diversification in Venture, Why Investment Clubs Are More Successful Than Investment Partnerships & How Growth Funds Think About Portfolio Construction, Loss Ratio & Reserves
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