Feb 15, 2021 · 50m · capital-allocators
Jennifer Prosek – Business Development and Leadership in a Virtual World (Capital Allocators, EP.177)
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of Capital Allocators, host Ted Seides speaks with Jennifer Prosek, founder and CEO of Prosek Partners, on navigating asset management marketing, remote business development, narrative differentiation, and empathetic crisis leadership in a virtual world.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Ted holds 23.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Ted as informed peer 2.7 Guest teaching 5.3 Guest disagreement 0.2 Ted pushing back 0.4
speaking balance: gold is Ted, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 43:40 Challenging PE dealmakers on legacy phone calls
Jennifer recounts bluntly calling out senior private equity partners who refused to turn on video, telling them they cannot close deals in a virtual world using audio-only phone calls.
Hardest push from Ted ▶ 26:59 Challenging the efficacy of marketing over pure performanceTed challenges Jennifer's premise by emphasizing the common allocator perspective that investment performance alone dictates fund growth rather than marketing narratives.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 27:30 Explaining how brand accelerates allocator discoveryJennifer educates the audience on how strong brand equity transforms a firm from knocking on doors to receiving inbound demand, accelerating allocators from introductory meetings straight to diligence.
Ted holds their own ▶ 15:02 Framing the challenge of executive social and political speechTed draws a nuanced parallel between corporate leaders and professional athletes navigating political and personal speech in front of clients who may hold divergent views.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Ted as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Ted pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode Overview: Virtual Business Development and Leadership | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Ted opens by asking about the evolution of marketing in asset management over the past two years during COVID. Jennifer explains how private equity and hedge funds matured their marketing approaches and doubled down on digital and PR during the crisis. | |
| Virtual Business Development and the Law of Reciprocity | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Ted asks about how virtual business development is playing out practically. Jennifer explains her framework of giving gifts—sharing insights, convening peer networks, and relying on the law of reciprocity during remote business development. | |
| Leveraging Audio, Video, and Senior Digital Profiles | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | Ted notes that podcasting and virtual formats have evolved and asks what works effectively. Jennifer explains the shift toward audio narratives, founder video profiles, and optimizing senior executives' Google and LinkedIn digital footprints. | |
| Avoiding Virtual Pitfalls: Presentation Length and Tone Sensitivity | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | Ted asks about common pitfalls in digital content and when asset managers should speak out on societal issues. Jennifer details how long slide decks fail on Zoom and explains why leaders must be empathetic and mindful of tone during major political and social events. | |
| Nailing the Narrative and Emerging Virtual Fundraising Platforms | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Ted asks how BD professionals can effectively sell virtually. Jennifer emphasizes nailing the core narrative so that the first meeting effectively functions as a second meeting, noting new virtual fundraising platforms. | |
| Optimizing Video Calls, Active Engagement, and Phone Preferences | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | Ted asks about presentation length and how to detect when video audiences lose attention. Jennifer recommends shortening decks to 15-minute interactive blocks and discusses when phone calls are preferable to video calls to combat Zoom fatigue. | |
| Sponsor Message: Ridgeline Investment Management Tech | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | Following the sponsor read, Ted asks whether capital raising really stems from marketing or purely from investment performance. Jennifer explains that performance is necessary but brand equity creates inbound curiosity, credibility, and deal acceleration. | |
| Differentiating Asset Managers Through Unique Culture Narratives | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | Ted asks whether narrative differentiation requires unique investment products. Jennifer explains that firm culture and thought leadership—citing Bridgewater's Daily Observations and her own 'Army of Entrepreneurs'—often matter more than slight product differences. | |
| The Narrative Discovery Process and Consistent Execution | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | Ted poses a hypothetical about an underperforming fund raising capital despite good numbers. Jennifer walks through her firm's discovery audit process, consistent internal messaging alignment, and running disciplined PR reps. | |
| Internal Crisis Leadership: Grit, Hustle, and Humanity | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Ted pivots to internal corporate culture during remote work. Jennifer outlines how Prosek leaned on the cultural mantra of 'grit, hustle, and humanity' and daily partner check-ins to maintain connection during lockdown. | |
| Radical Transparency, Employee Retention, and The J-Lowdown | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | Ted asks where client firms suffer slippage in internal communication. Jennifer describes her weekly internal newsletter 'The J-Lowdown' and explains how radical transparency around wins and losses drives employee retention and profitability. | |
| Strategic Frameworks: Pivot to Productivity and Making Luck | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | Ted asks about actionable catchphrases and industry trends. Jennifer details 'pivot to productivity' and 'making our own luck', highlighting private equity trends, the SPAC boom, and flexible workplace dynamics. | |
| Essential Daily Discipline: Prioritizing Consistent Sleep | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Ted wraps up with rapid-fire questions about daily disciplines and career mistakes. Jennifer shares her commitment to seven hours of sleep and recounts early mistakes around firm co-branding and personal hiring. |
Statements from this episode (17)
Prosek: Alternative Asset Managers Are Adopting Sophisticated Marketing Tactics
“More firms and private equity alternatives, hedge funds, asset management are getting into what I would call sophisticated marketing and reputation management. And that's been accelerated by COVID too”
Prosek: Private Equity Doubled Down on Digital Marketing During COVID
“Especially in areas like private equity, they doubled down on digital, they doubled down on video, they doubled down on audio, and they realized they really couldn't get the job done without a lot of these call it marketing things.”
Prosek: Convening Peer Networks Is Her Primary Business Development Approach
“I give the gift of a peer network. That's my favorite thing to do. So I like to convene people who want to get to know each other, and those people usually, when they get to know each other, they say, gosh, who did this for me? Oh, Jen did this for me, and whe…”
Prosek: 60% of Asset Management Annual Meetings Will Remain Hybrid
“I'd predict about 60% of them stay at least in a hybrid model because it's been so effective and so efficient.”
Prosek: The Biggest Digital Marketing Mistake Is Posting Tone-Deaf Content
“The quality of video, like, you know, all of those obvious things I think are trip ups, but the big, big trip up is being tone deaf. There is so much going on in the world operating in volatile times, right? Do you put something on social channels on the day t…”
Prosek: Pre-Marketing Lets Managers Have the 'Second Meeting' First
“You don't want to have the first meeting and spend the entire time explaining who you are, what you stand for, what you do. You want to have that second meeting in the first meeting, which is like getting right to the point of what your goal is.”
Prosek: Asset managers cannot market their way out of poor performance
“If you don't have the performance, you can't market your way out of it.”
Prosek: Brand Credibility Shifts Business Development to Inbound Client Demand
“The quality of our work really hasn't changed from when we were small to when we're large, but what has changed is our credibility and our reputation. So, and how much does that accelerate my goals? It's huge. I mean, in the old days, I had to knock on every d…”
Prosek: Brand and Process Differentiate Asset Managers When Products Overlap
“Everybody's got products that overlap, but there's a belief or a believability about certain brands that they do it better, their process is better, the way they get to the result is better, and then, of course, the performance has to prove it all out.”
Prosek: Firm Culture Does Not Need Uniqueness, Only Unique Packaging
“No, I think it has to be uniquely packaged.”
Prosek: Expanding Across Multiple Office Floors Disrupts Cohesive Company Culture
“I'll tell any CEO founder, like once you go to two floors, you got to work so hard on keeping a cohesive culture. Like that physicality is huge.”
Prosek: Firm Shares All Internal Data With Staff Except Salaries
“I always say at ProSec, you can know anything about anything outside of someone else's salary. That's it. Everything.”
Prosek: Pandemic Employer Behavior Will Trigger Widespread Talent Movement
“And like I said, I'm predicting there's going to be a lot of talent movement. We already see it based on how firms behaved in this crisis.”
Prosek: Companies Can Pay Less If They Treat Their Employees Better
“I think firms can pay a little less if they behave a little better, because people care about it.”
Prosek: Launching 'Bajillions' of SPACs Highlights the 2021 Market Craze
“SPAC, SPAC, SPAC. We are launching. I don't know how many SPACs we've launched. Bajillions. I'm on the board of a SPAC. So the SPAC thing is massive.”
Prosek: Institutional Credit Shops Are Now Running Google AdWords Campaigns
“So CRM and email marketing, and we've even seen a lot of firms adopting Google AdWords campaigns to create paid visibility online. I mean, when did you ever see like a credit shop doing a Google AdWords campaign? But that's happening.”