At a glance
Insight: Returns are constructed, not stumbled into
AMA: Dominic Maier (AVP)
We recently wrapped our inaugural fund modelling cohort, and it’s been a strong one.
Over the past weeks, we’ve focused on what actually drives fund outcomes. From foundations and core building blocks, through assumptions, to portfolio construction and decomposition, and how metrics evolve across a fund lifecycle, the takeaway is simple: performance comes from how you design and manage the system, not just the picks.
A lot of the cohort carried that thinking straight into the EUVC Summit & Awards in London last week, which brought them exposure to real conversations with a select group of VC partners, LPs, founders and policymakers in a high-impact setting.
One theme kept coming up across both contexts: performance is designed, not discovered. It shows up in how you structure the portfolio, how you track it and how clearly you understand what LPs actually evaluate at each stage.
That’s the lens behind our next live LP AMA with Dominic Maier, Partner – Head of Fund Investing at AVP, where the focus shifts from modelling to how funds are judged in practice.
We’re now shaping the next cohort. If you want in, let us know in the comments.
Read on to see the events and resources you shouldn’t miss.
Upcoming
Live at the academy
Candid LP insights on venture fund evaluation
Coming next
Structured Secondaries or Managing Liquidity
We’re planning our next session and choosing between a deep dive into structured secondaries or how early-stage funds manage liquidity.
Help shape it. Tell us which one we should run first by dropping a comment.
Recorded
Members-only on demand content
Session on metrics, LP expectations and decisions
Practical masterclass on venture debt, structure and use
Session on building and stress-testing VC portfolios
Resources
Members-only resource library
VC Backed Startup Legal Dashboard
All-in-one legal, cap table and SAFE toolkit for VC-backed companies
Assumption Sheet Construction Template
An actionable resource to build and stress test the assumptions that drive fund performance
Portfolio Construction & Decomposition Sheet Template
A practical resource to design, analyse and stress test VC portfolio construction and dynamics
