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Polovets: Multi-stage VCs win repeat founders by pricing seed higher

Leo Polovets · Is Non-Consensus Investing Overrated? · Sep 4, 2025 · at 54:55

Leo Polovets, GP at Humba Ventures, explains where multi-stage funds hold a major competitive advantage over specialized seed firms.

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“Where if it is a founder that previously built a business that exited for a hundred million and they're like in the space that they know super well, that's gonna get done at like 40 instead of 20 or 80 instead of 20 post. And chances are it's gonna be a multistage and not like a boutique seed firm.”

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