Episode summary
Jeff Collins: Selling What Doesn't Fit in a Bucket
Dakota Rainmaker Podcast
· · 39 min · Hosts: Gui Costin · Guests: Jeff Collins
Summary
Jeff Collins argues that Cloverlay’s business is built around assets that do not fit standard private-market buckets: wireless spectrum, intellectual property, Broadway theatrical rights, litigation finance, pharmaceutical royalties, and other uncorrelated, non-operating assets. He says the firm’s job is to complete an institutional portfolio with exposures that public pensions and other allocators usually do not already own, and he describes the return profile as a slow, boring march to underwriting targets rather than a market-driven ride.
Collins says Cloverlay’s fundraising approach is inseparable from that strategy. After initially expecting a family-office-led base, he found the firm’s message resonated most with truly institutional investors, and he says about 85% of capital comes from institutions. That has pushed the firm toward smaller, highly experienced teams, sharper qualification, and a sales process built to explain an unfamiliar strategy quickly and concretely.
He also emphasizes CRM discipline and data organization as core operating tools. Weekly Monday sales meetings use the CRM to force decisions, surface relationship intelligence, and track follow-up timing. Collins says the main challenge today is fundraising in a cautious market, where many allocators prefer to wait rather than explore new relationships, making cold outreach, repeated in-person meetings, and even WhatsApp in the Middle East important parts of the process.
Key takeaways
- Jeff Collins says Cloverlay sells a completion-portfolio solution for institutions, not a standard bucketed private-market product.
- Jeff Collins says about 85% of Cloverlay’s capital comes from institutional investors, not the family-office base he initially expected.
- Jeff Collins says the firm leads with concrete examples like wireless spectrum, Broadway theatrical rights, and pharmaceutical royalties to make an unfamiliar strategy understandable.
- Jeff Collins says the CRM is designed to force hard questions about follow-up timing, decision speed, and whether a prospect should stay on the list.
- Jeff Collins says fundraising is the biggest current challenge because many investors prefer to wait rather than consider new relationships.
Notable quotes
“our role is really a completion portfolio for institutional investors”
“we don't fit in a bucket. so we can qualify those conversations and kind of move on”
“Our biggest challenge as a firm today is is fundraising”
“I like to think that I lead by example”
How the episode opens
Welcome to the Rain Maker podcast with your host Geek Cen. The goal of this podcast is to give listeners a unique look into sales strategies from top industry executives. We introduce you to the heads of sales and heads of distribution who will help you understand the inner workings of the successful sales organizations from philosophy to execution.
This podcast is essential for sales professionals seeking wisdom from the best in the field. If you're not familiar with Dakota and their Dakota rain maker content, please check out dakota.com to learn more about their services.
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Visit dakota.comdoten marketplace today. What is up everybody? It's Geek Cen, founder and co of Dakota.
Welcome to the latest episode of the Rainmaker podcast. I'm so excited to be joined by a longtime friend, Jeff Collins of Clover. Welcome.
Thank you very much for having me, G. It's great to see you in this setup. It's amazing. — Jeff serves as managing partner of Cloverlay and as a member of the firm's investment committee and board of directors. Prior to founding Cloverlay, Jeff was a managing director with Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, AIP, a division of Morgan Stanley's institutional asset management business.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- raising institutional capital
- private market special situations
- positioning for differentiated strategies
- ai for investor/relationship data
- fundraising environment
Companies and tickers mentioned
- MS
- Cloverlay
- Morgan Stanley
- Dakota
Watch the episode
Watch “Jeff Collins: Selling What Doesn't Fit in a Bucket” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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Dakota Rainmaker Podcast, this episode and its artwork belong to Dakota Team. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
