What LPs Want and GPs Need to Hear

A guest traced her investing approach to growing up as the different one in predominantly white institutions, saying that experience made her a stronger listener and more willing to look for common ground. She connected that perspective to her work at Goldman Sachs, where Launch with GS was designed to address the underallocation of capital to women-led and underrepresented founders and managers, especially at earlier stages of the market.

She argued that effective diversity work has to start earlier than many allocators expect, because founders and newer managers often hit a financing gap between seed and Series A/B and need more than just access to capital. She said that led her current firm to focus on “capital entrepreneurs,” a term meant to capture both underrepresented managers and managers using innovative capital products that are not a fit for traditional venture. The firm’s GP Runway Fund provides working capital loans to management companies, helping them pay for legal formation, staff, fund administration, technology, travel, and other firm-building costs.

A guest from the legal side said secondary and tender offer markets have become a standard part of the IPO journey for late-stage private companies, not just a way to relieve pressure. He said strategic investors are increasingly active buyers, secondary-only funds are proliferating, and the key issues are structuring, valuation, and solicitation rules. The discussion closed on how GPs should think more like business builders, and how LPs want managers who understand their own market, timing, and alignment before they pitch too early.