Diary of an Emerging Manager - Part 7: The Events and Beggars on Parade
XoXo, Venture Whisperer (The VC Gossip Girl)
Editor’s Note – Andreas Munk Holm, co-founder of eu.vc
There’s a rite of passage every emerging manager must endure—somewhere between polished shoes, overpriced name badges, and the whispered promise of “warm intros.” In this latest dispatch, our anonymous author drags us, champagne flute in hand, straight into the glittering mess that is the GP/LP event circuit.
Think secret guest lists, polite begging, accidental necromancy (you’ll see), and the eternal hustle for that one conversation that just might change everything. It’s a raw, hilarious, and painfully honest look at what it really takes to break into rooms that don’t exactly roll out the carpet for rookies.
But under the jokes and late-night side parties, there’s a lesson worth pocketing: the real game happens long after the speeches end and the last cocktail is poured.
Read on—your future self in line for a name badge will thank you.
Picture us wearing our fancy clothes and nice shoes - ready to rock and roll. The time had finally arrived, the day of our grand “debut”, when we’d show off what we have. We were more than ready to kill our first GP/LP event.
But how did we end up here?
Well, like everything else in life, this wasn't as straightforward as it seemed. Although we’re big believers in events and were familiar with the GP/LP concept, we still needed to assess things carefully.
These gatherings always felt like elite meetings of a secret brotherhood—exclusive to selected VCs and PE professionals. We weren't sure what to expect—champagne and caviar? Sacred rituals involving burning the "rates" or perhaps necromantic ceremonies to revive dead equity?
(Sorry for these bad jokes, couldn't help myself.)
So, naturally, we needed to do some preparation.
First off, which event should we choose? As first-time nobodies, we quickly realised that few events were reserved strictly for the BIG BOYS. Painful as it was for our egos, we had to accept that logic. Soon enough, begging became second nature.
Secondly, these events are expensive. Clearly, we didn't have $3k to drop per event, so we had to get clever about negotiating and offering something in return. As mentioned, begging became a significant part of our personas. We started to live by the saying: "The polite beggar has an empty sack."
Fortunately, we know some great people who generously helped us with discount packages and free tickets. A BIG SHOUTOUT to them!
So now we had the tickets—what next? We started doing what we usually do anyway: checking the event app (which never works), scanning speaker lists, asking for attendee lists, adding people on LinkedIn, and sending out pre-event emails - you all know the drill….
The first challenge? Half of these people live in the shadows. Family offices, for example, typically don't reveal information easily.
The second challenge was the attendee list itself. Usually easily accessible, but in this select community, it's rarely shared openly (although some events do). Later, we even heard rumors (pure gossip, obviously) that these lists are commodities—valuable enough to trade for event tickets or introductions.
Next came navigating general solicitation rules—what we could and couldn’t say. I've written about this before, so long story short, we needed to level up fast.
We spent days crafting a new pitch deck, perfecting messaging, and cracking icebreakers.
Easier said than done. Why?
The truth is, the bigger the event, the more transactional it gets. On one hand, mingling with LPs feels easier (as you are in the same room), but from another angle, it’s actually harder—like back in school, when everyone hovered around that rich kid at the cafeteria. GPs are basically piranhas—survival of the fittest at its finest.
Another tricky thing was figuring out who’s who. Some attendees pose as LPs just to snag free tickets, only to later reveal themselves as ex-institutional placement agents hunting for clients. Well, everyone has to put bread on the table somehow.
What we genuinely enjoy is the learning aspect. These events pride themselves on inviting fancy people and offering valuable content. They're also great for gathering market intel from peers—especially useful for rookies like us. Even service providers proved surprisingly helpful; after all, we're all at the bottom of the food chain together, willing to talk, share, and cross-offer (as long as you return the favor).
We often follow a "make friends, not connections" approach, and karma (sometimes) works—we introduce and get introduced.
The real magic, however, happens at the parties and side events. After a drink or two, even top managers descend to the “people” level, giving us genuine opportunities to connect. Sure, it can be exhausting—especially when you have to wake up early the next day—but totally worth it.
Yes, it is very tiring and time-consuming because life doesn’t pause. Events begin with pre-networking and end with follow-ups, typically spanning about six weeks in total. In my previous entry, I discussed these challenges in more detail.
Having said all that, we’ve learned that events are truly our friends. Plus, once you get in, you enjoy the finest food, best drinks, and parties at fancy locations with live music, even briefly feeling like one of the top managers.
I didn’t have enough space here to dive into the prospecting part, as promised, but that’s exactly where we’ll pick up next time!
Stay tuned. 💥
XoXo, Venture Whisperer (The VC Gossip Girl)
Upper East Side Ventures
