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Aug 5, 2019 · 16m · top-founders

1472 How She Raised Her Own $90m Fund at 29 Years Old

Lu Zhang · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 5m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The Top Entrepreneurs Podcast, host Nathan Latka interviews Lu Zhang, founder and Managing Partner of Fusion Fund, about raising over $100 million across two venture funds by age 29. Zhang details her journey from technical startup founder to venture capitalist, sharing her enterprise deep-tech investment thesis, proprietary sourcing platform, and 100x portfolio return with GrubMarket.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 40.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.2 Guest teaching 2.8 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 2.2
05100:0010:000:00–3:20 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 Book Promotion: How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital The segment is largely an introductory book promotion and background monologue by Nathan, followed by an opening question asking why Lu switched from operating to venture capital.3:20–5:32 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Raising Fusion Fund I and Scaling to Fund II Lu corrects Nathan's initial estimate of her first fund size down to $17 million. Nathan digs directly into the fund mechanics, LP count, and minimum check sizes.5:33–8:40 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Core Investment Pillars and Portfolio Companies When Nathan assumes her fund focuses purely on health tech, Lu breaks down her four distinct technical pillars. Nathan quickly steps in to ask for specific portfolio examples.8:42–12:03 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Decision to Build a Venture Capital Platform Nathan probes why Lu chose venture capital over a private equity roll-up model and presses on how an emerging fund wins access to competitive deals.12:03–14:37 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Outsized Returns in GrubMarket and Enterprise Tech Focus Nathan digs into Lu's top returning investments and pushes for precision when Lu answers a question about LP retention with fund count rather than capital percentage.14:37–16:21 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion Standard Famous Five rapid-fire exchange with light banter regarding Lu's 4 to 5 hours of sleep per night, followed by Nathan's episode recap.0:00–3:20 · Guest teaching 1/10 Book Promotion: How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital The segment is largely an introductory book promotion and background monologue by Nathan, followed by an opening question asking why Lu switched from operating to venture capital.3:20–5:32 · Guest teaching 4/10 Raising Fusion Fund I and Scaling to Fund II Lu corrects Nathan's initial estimate of her first fund size down to $17 million. Nathan digs directly into the fund mechanics, LP count, and minimum check sizes.5:33–8:40 · Guest teaching 4/10 Core Investment Pillars and Portfolio Companies When Nathan assumes her fund focuses purely on health tech, Lu breaks down her four distinct technical pillars. Nathan quickly steps in to ask for specific portfolio examples.8:42–12:03 · Guest teaching 3/10 The Decision to Build a Venture Capital Platform Nathan probes why Lu chose venture capital over a private equity roll-up model and presses on how an emerging fund wins access to competitive deals.12:03–14:37 · Guest teaching 4/10 Outsized Returns in GrubMarket and Enterprise Tech Focus Nathan digs into Lu's top returning investments and pushes for precision when Lu answers a question about LP retention with fund count rather than capital percentage.14:37–16:21 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion Standard Famous Five rapid-fire exchange with light banter regarding Lu's 4 to 5 hours of sleep per night, followed by Nathan's episode recap.0:00–3:20 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Book Promotion: How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital The segment is largely an introductory book promotion and background monologue by Nathan, followed by an opening question asking why Lu switched from operating to venture capital.3:20–5:32 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Raising Fusion Fund I and Scaling to Fund II Lu corrects Nathan's initial estimate of her first fund size down to $17 million. Nathan digs directly into the fund mechanics, LP count, and minimum check sizes.5:33–8:40 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Core Investment Pillars and Portfolio Companies When Nathan assumes her fund focuses purely on health tech, Lu breaks down her four distinct technical pillars. Nathan quickly steps in to ask for specific portfolio examples.8:42–12:03 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Decision to Build a Venture Capital Platform Nathan probes why Lu chose venture capital over a private equity roll-up model and presses on how an emerging fund wins access to competitive deals.12:03–14:37 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Outsized Returns in GrubMarket and Enterprise Tech Focus Nathan digs into Lu's top returning investments and pushes for precision when Lu answers a question about LP retention with fund count rather than capital percentage.14:37–16:21 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion Standard Famous Five rapid-fire exchange with light banter regarding Lu's 4 to 5 hours of sleep per night, followed by Nathan's episode recap.0:00–3:20 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Book Promotion: How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital The segment is largely an introductory book promotion and background monologue by Nathan, followed by an opening question asking why Lu switched from operating to venture capital.3:20–5:32 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Raising Fusion Fund I and Scaling to Fund II Lu corrects Nathan's initial estimate of her first fund size down to $17 million. Nathan digs directly into the fund mechanics, LP count, and minimum check sizes.5:33–8:40 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Core Investment Pillars and Portfolio Companies When Nathan assumes her fund focuses purely on health tech, Lu breaks down her four distinct technical pillars. Nathan quickly steps in to ask for specific portfolio examples.8:42–12:03 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 The Decision to Build a Venture Capital Platform Nathan probes why Lu chose venture capital over a private equity roll-up model and presses on how an emerging fund wins access to competitive deals.12:03–14:37 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Outsized Returns in GrubMarket and Enterprise Tech Focus Nathan digs into Lu's top returning investments and pushes for precision when Lu answers a question about LP retention with fund count rather than capital percentage.14:37–16:21 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion Standard Famous Five rapid-fire exchange with light banter regarding Lu's 4 to 5 hours of sleep per night, followed by Nathan's episode recap.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 84% · guest 16%0:00 · Nathan 84% · guest 16%3:00 · Nathan 20.5% · guest 79.5%3:00 · Nathan 20.5% · guest 79.5%6:00 · Nathan 51.5% · guest 48.5%6:00 · Nathan 51.5% · guest 48.5%9:00 · Nathan 5.4% · guest 94.6%9:00 · Nathan 5.4% · guest 94.6%12:00 · Nathan 28.8% · guest 71.2%12:00 · Nathan 28.8% · guest 71.2%15:00 · Nathan 70% · guest 30%15:00 · Nathan 70% · guest 30%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 15:24 Defending four hours of sleep

Lu playfully pushes back when Nathan exclaims that 4 to 5 hours is no sleep, asserting that many top investors keep the exact same schedule.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 14:24 Reframing the LP capital question

When Lu mentions that 90% of Fund I LPs returned, Nathan cuts in to clarify he wants the exact dollar percentage of Fund II capital that came from existing investors.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:39 Correcting sector focus

Lu reframes Nathan's assumption that she is strictly a healthcare investor by outlining her four-pillar portfolio thesis across IoT, network tech, and enterprise AI.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:42 Challenging VC vs PE strategy

Nathan demonstrates financial acumen by probing why Lu chose minority venture investing over buying and operating a company in private equity with her capital.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Book Promotion: How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital 1100 The segment is largely an introductory book promotion and background monologue by Nathan, followed by an opening question asking why Lu switched from operating to venture capital.
Raising Fusion Fund I and Scaling to Fund II 4413 Lu corrects Nathan's initial estimate of her first fund size down to $17 million. Nathan digs directly into the fund mechanics, LP count, and minimum check sizes.
Core Investment Pillars and Portfolio Companies 3412 When Nathan assumes her fund focuses purely on health tech, Lu breaks down her four distinct technical pillars. Nathan quickly steps in to ask for specific portfolio examples.
The Decision to Build a Venture Capital Platform 4303 Nathan probes why Lu chose venture capital over a private equity roll-up model and presses on how an emerging fund wins access to competitive deals.
Outsized Returns in GrubMarket and Enterprise Tech Focus 5424 Nathan digs into Lu's top returning investments and pushes for precision when Lu answers a question about LP retention with fund count rather than capital percentage.
The Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion 2111 Standard Famous Five rapid-fire exchange with light banter regarding Lu's 4 to 5 hours of sleep per night, followed by Nathan's episode recap.

Statements from this episode (11)

Assertion Supported
Zhang: Fusion Fund manages over $100M for early-stage tech investing
“So far we have more than a hundred million dollars and the management for early stage technology investment.”
Lu Zhang Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 5:03
Assertion Supported
Zhang: Fusion Fund I raised $17 million
“Actually, it was 17.”
Lu Zhang Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 5:14
Disclosure
Zhang: Fusion Fund required $1M to $2M minimum LP checks
“Okay, so for LP, minimum check size is one to two million dollars.”
Lu Zhang Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 5:22
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Lu Zhang: Fusion Fund portfolio company Stratify generates over $40M annual revenue
“So, so far they have more than like forty million dollars annual revenue.”
Lu Zhang Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 6:47
Disclosure
Zhang: Fusion Fund uses proprietary database for outbound sourcing
“We also have an internal database. That might be not be quite common to see in the smaller firm size like us when we first started, but I believe in data's power. We always talk about empower different, even like empower legacy industry with big data, and we c…”
Lu Zhang Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 11:21
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Lu Zhang: GrubMarket generates over $100M in revenue in 2019
“So far, I think they have more than a hundred million dollar revenues for this year.”
Lu Zhang Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 12:13
Assertion Contradicted
Lu Zhang: Fusion Fund's GrubMarket investment is up over 100x
“That company, I think the valuation goes up more than a hundred times.”
Lu Zhang Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 12:25
Opinion
Lu Zhang: AI advantages are in industry and healthcare, not consumer apps
“It's hard to name one killer app for AI application for consumer facing, like, companies or product. But when we see like AI in industry or AI in healthcare, you could see the full capacity and also advantages to use this technology.”
Lu Zhang Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 13:47
Disclosure
Lu Zhang: Fusion Fund II Reached Almost $90 Million
“Actually, second fund size is actually almost ninety million dollars.”
Lu Zhang Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 14:13
Disclosure
Lu Zhang: Over 90% of Fund I LPs Re-invested in Fusion Fund II
“I think most of more than 90% of the fund one LP also putting money into fund two.”
Lu Zhang Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 14:19
Disclosure
Lu Zhang: Under 30% of Fund II Capital Came From Fund I LPs
“I think around less than 30%.”
Lu Zhang Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 14:31
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