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How’s it going, everyone? Today, we’re covering an interview Lincoln Archibald had with Blake Modersitzki from Pelion Venture Partners: Helping Entrepreneurs Win!
This podcast can be listened to on “Funds that Won!”
“Pelion Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm bent on exceeding the expectations of unapologetic entrepreneurs.”
Lincoln: Blake, tell me about Pelion!
Blake: Founded in 1986, it has always been headquartered in SLC, but we also work with a lot of clients in California.
We focus on early-stage software companies.
In 2002, we were managing $70M, but now we have a little over $2B Aum!
When I started at the company, I started with Novell’s Corporate Venture Fund.
In this fund, we invested in companies directly, but later we invested as GPs and LPs.
All our investments are domestic, but 60% of all we do is in the state of Utah.
Lincoln: How are decisions made at your company, from hiring to investments?
Blake: You may know that the VC industry is apprenticeship-based.
So, our managers down to our analysts are all involved in investment decisions, by design.
We have several interns that have become partners, and this means that starting out, they develop the skills necessary to perform in more demanding positions.
I’ll include this as well: We require everyone to say “yes” to the deal before we go for it. This way, we act more as a team and not individual players.
Additionally, we try to involve everyone in the hiring process, even if the final decision is made by one person.
Lincoln: Do you have a structured Limited Partner Advisory Committee (LPAC)?
Blake: We do. The largest investor in each of our funds becomes the LPAC.
Some of our LPAC have been investing with us for over 20 years and they are very knowledgeable, so they help us by giving feedback on best practices, reporting, and investment structures.
I make sure to interact with our LPACs on a quarterly basis at least.
Lincoln: How do you determine when to start another fund?
Blake: In our fund documents, we state that we can’t start another fund until 70% of our current fund capital has been called or committed.
However, when 50% of our fund’s capital has been called or committed, we start the process of opening another fund.
Click here to listen to the rest of the podcast interview!
That’s all we’ll cover today on Blake Modersitzki and Pelion Venture Partners where they “help entrepreneurs win!”
If you liked this content, visit my YouTube channel to see more!
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DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not to be taken as tax, financial, or legal advice. You should always consult a legal professional before taking action. Furthermore, this is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The content is solely just the opinion of the author
