LPs to VCs: Behave Yourselves
Usually having a group of limited partners talk to VCs results in a discussion on the finer points of fee structure and carried interest. But Chris Douvos, co-head of private equity at The Investment Fund of Foundations, livened things up a bit at this week’s Venture Capital Investing Conference in San Francisco with a few points about how the private lives of general partners also factor into LP funding decisions. When entrusting capital to a venture fund, it’s imperative to have confidence in partners’ character, he says, not just their investment strategy. And that means filling the role of investigative reporter. "I need to know how likely they are to sleep with their assistant....I need to know why Person X isn’t speaking to person Y,” Douvos says. “I’m not a moralist or scold… I’m concerned about the distraction this causes to the partnership.”
