Beezer Clarkson
Managing Director, LGT Capital Partners · 3 appearances on the record.
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investorexecutive@Beezer232 ↗LinkedIn ↗lgtcp.com ↗
Elizabeth "Beezer" Clarkson is a limited partner who has committed over $1.2 billion across more than 200 early-stage venture capital funds globally. In 2016, she launched OpenLP, a platform fostering transparency between tech founders, general partners, and limited partners.
27statements → 7claims → 2claims resolved → 3.78/5average certainty → 1.85/5average debate potential → ≈4.0/5argument clarity, estimated →
2 supported 0 partly supported 0 contradicted 1 not yet assessed 4 not checkable as stated how the 7 claims stand · each chip opens the sources
7 assertions · 5 opinions · 10 insights · 5 disclosures · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 7 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 2 are resolved, 1 is not yet assessed, and 4 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.
The record, in short
What the tape says about how Beezer argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.
How they sound: not measured why? →
We measure speaking style by listening to the audio itself, and a fair number needs at least 2,000 words from one person on tape we have measured. There is too little of Beezer Clarkson on measured tape to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.
Everything Beezer Clarkson said on Capital Allocators that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →
Clarkson: LPs were complicit in market froth by feeding larger funds
“LPs were just as complicit in all of this as anybody else because fed the beast, invested in the funds, and LPs have a habit of if they find something that's working, you want to put more money in it, but if Putting more money in it means the funds get larger …”
Clarkson: Overallocated LPs are freezing venture commitments for 12 to 24 months
“We're hearing from our fellow LPs that they are stuck on and committing this year, potentially next year, because of exactly this. They did so much because they felt they had to preserve relationships, and they were looking to make money for whatever instituti…”
Clarkson: Sapphire underwrites Series A funds to 3x net, seed to 5x
“The only thing that we go in looking at it from an underwriting perspective is we look to underwrite series A exposure to a three X net, which means we want the funds to be able to produce that, and then we can get into portfolio construction and see the bar i…”
Clarkson: Venture halts if tech workers and founders lack financial rewards
“If the entrepreneurs and the employees are not getting the rewards that they need to stay in the business, then this whole business stops. Like GPs and LPs can't make this business go. It is a hundred percent the people making the companies go.”
Clarkson: Venture valuations across stages have retrenched to 2019-2020 levels
“We're seeing a retrenchment in almost every single level, back to 19 or 20 pricing, which doesn't mean to say it's falling off a cliff.”
Clarkson: A manager's deal logic matters more than dollars invested
“It's always a question, not just what you've done as far as dollars invested, but why someone likes a deal. It really speaks to us about what makes this manager different, how they think of a deal, how they think of the space. It's in those kinds of questions …”
Clarkson: Strategic LPs can offer as much value as direct investors
“We believe very much in the responsibility when we're an LP in funds to show up and be strategic value, and that an LP can be as strategic in your importance as the direct investments are.”
Clarkson: Operating experience does not automatically make someone a great investor
“Just because, you know, you were an operator in X space doesn't make you the greatest investor in that space”
Clarkson: Sapphire previously avoided single-GP funds but now backs several
“When we did do seed, we were very reluctant to do single GP managers, because we felt the individual risk was so high. Now we actually have a few single GP managers, and we feel very differently about that risk.”
Clarkson: Attribution metrics are a blunt instrument for evaluating VC teams
“LPs ask about attribution, because it's a very blunt instrument to try to understand how a team works”
Clarkson: Multi-fund LP relationships can span 30 to 40 years
“As a limited partner, I mean, it's not always a blind pool, but the majority of time it's a blind pool, and you're saying, here's money for the next 15 years, and that's just one fund cycle. And the other thing as an LP is that you invest with the belief that …”
Clarkson: Evaluating GP decision-making is harder than quantitative LP diligence math
“The harder part is understanding the people, and why it is they made decisions, and what the opportunities were, and how did they solve, because life doesn't make things easier for GPs.”
Clarkson: Venture capital needs standardized data rooms for LP diligence
“It would be great if there was a standard data room, for example. And then could there be other pockets for education on certain things that folks didn't have to ask?”
Clarkson: Venture GP divorce rates are far higher than statistics capture
“I think they're way higher than we statistically can capture.”
Clarkson: Venture funds typically face succession between Fund 7 and 8
“I and my team have a strong sense that that between fund seven and fund eight is where a lot of funds go through succession.”
Clarkson: Seed-stage loss rates are suppressed by abundant follow-on rounds
“We look through, we do not have the loss rates at seed that should fit that level. Over time, it should work out because life is long, but you're seeing so many companies, and you can raise multiple follow-ons on seeds. You're just not seeing those loss rates.”
Clarkson: Venture funds now take 10 to 11 years to become productive
“I mean, the typical model when we started this in 2012 said most funds start being productive around year eight. I don't know if we look at the data today if that's going to be true, if it's not really year 10 or 11 because of these companies staying private l…”
Clarkson: LPs have no legal right to see GP management company documents
“Painful secret if people don't know this, so LPs don't see the management company docs. The document that gets shared between the LPs and the GPs is the LPA. So if you ask to see the management company documents, I would be surprised on the GP that will share …”
Clarkson: Series A venture investors are demanding to see startup revenue metrics
“Listening to the number of managers, like GPs now talk about revenue, and that happening, and the folks at Series A looking to see more revenue metrics, it actually feels, I know it's a bit of a, like, return to an old new thing, but it's a bit of a new new th…”
Clarkson: Five-year startup exits are anomalies; 8 to 12 years is standard
“I mean, the companies that are getting invested in today, maybe they'll exit in five years, but that's an anomaly. I mean, really, they're in it for eight to 12.”
Clarkson: Claiming a fund has no competitors rarely resonates with LPs
“Same thing with the competitor landscape. So coming in and saying there are no competitors, there might be very corner cases where that's still true, but it's tricky, and so that just as guidance to GPs, that doesn't usually resonate super well.”
Clarkson: Facebook and Instagram should be off-limits for LP due diligence
“I don't know if Facebook and Instagram are fair places to do diligence on people since it becomes so personal. I feel like that should be a bit of a safe space. Some people use it very mindfully, and that's great, but I say a lot of people are just sharing pic…”
Appearances (3)
| Episode | Date | Speaking time |
|---|---|---|
| Venture Capital Panel – Beezer Clarkson, Chris Douvos, and Joelle Kayden (Capital Allocato | Feb 27, 2023 | 11m |
| Mike Smith and Nikhil Basu Trivedi – Footwork Ventures (Manager Meetings, EP.12) | Sep 23, 2021 | 7m |
| Beezer Clarkson – Sapphire Gem of Early Stage Venture (Capital Allocators, EP.120) | Jan 20, 2020 | 44m |