KF 29: Module v
Manage Your Firm
This module is designed to help you understand and debate the AUM question (go big or stay small) and become a better firm manager, team member, and investor partner.
We built this module around a lesson shared by Fred Wilson, co-founder and General Partner of Union Square Ventures, at the 2012 Kauffman Fellows NYC Summit. Fred was a strong believer in defining and sticking to a firm strategy. Speaking to roughly 100 Fellows, he laid out USV's deliberate approach to staying small and disciplined: keeping the fund around $200m, doing fewer deals, building a tight-knit partnership with people who genuinely enjoyed working together, and never straying from their core thesis. It worked for USV, but in this module, we will explore how it is not the only path to success.
We believe that fund size alone does not determine success. What matters is the congruent design of all the other elements of a firm, from an investment thesis, strategy, and portfolio construction to the services platform, to the firm and partner dynamics, compensation, promotion, and succession plans. This module will help you examine those elements, stress-test your own firm's strategy, and develop the skills to lead and contribute to a high-performing venture firm.