Assertion certainty 3/5 debate potential 4/5

Chirls: VCs can raise new funds by matching NASDAQ returns

Nicholas Chirls · Nicholas Chirls: Why Big VCs Ruin Startups, VC is a Ponzi Scheme Today & Most VCs are Bankers |E1198 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings · Sep 6, 2024 · at 38:10

Nicholas Chirls, founder of Asylum Ventures, discusses LP standards for VC returns, arguing that most funds provide market beta relative to the NASDAQ rather than real alpha, making VC a worse investment relative to public markets.

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“The returns need to just look like about the NASDAQ. It just needs to be, it just needs to be roughly in line with the NASDAQ for them to continue to raise. And by the way, that's true for all of venture. That's true for all of venture, which again is why, like how many venture firms actually have alpha in their returns versus truly, it's just literally beta to the NASDAQ. And by the way, it's a way worse investment. It's illiquid. It's much riskier than investing in the NASDAQ. I think as long as they perform in the range of the NASDAQ venture firms will continue to raise money.”

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