Thomas Kristensen, Partner at LGT Capital Partners, has decades of experience backing the top players in venture, but as an LP, doesn’t love the term "franchise fund.” He sits down with Bezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, to discuss why GPs can’t rest on their laurels, that being a franchise shouldn’t be every VC’s ultimate goal, and how LPs can dig deep to find firms with a great founder product– and avoid ones that may look like franchises but could have already peaked. The two also share their predictions for 2025 exits and why they think a lot of founders don’t want to be public company CEOs.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc
Learn more about LGT Capital Partners: https://lgtcp.com
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome to Origins
2:00 Are Franchise Funds Really Franchises?
7:49 What Counts As Performance?
12:03 How GPs Create (And Spend) Goodwill
15:45 A Consistent Founder Product
19:35 “There’s Plenty of Good Firms Out There That I Wouldn’t Necessarily Call Franchise Firms.”
27:08 Franchise Funds and Succession
35:43 Resting On Your Laurels
39:17 “A More Critical Year In Venture Than We Want It to Be.”
Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with Pod People.
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