The seven stages at a glance
Every fund raise is different, but the managers and allocators we interviewed describe the same sequence, and the same places where first-time managers lose months. Skipping a stage rarely saves time; it usually shows up later as a stalled raise.
| # | Stage | The question to answer | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Before you quit | Is there a fund here? | Soft commitments you've tested, and a few deals done with your own money |
| 2 | Positioning | Why you, and not an established firm? | A specialization and a story only you can tell |
| 3 | Fund size and structure | What's the right Fund I? | Big enough to prove the strategy, small enough to close |
| 4 | Who to target | Which LPs will actually back a first fund? | A short list of LPs that fit your size, stage and story |
| 5 | Outreach | How do you get the meeting? | Warm intros, common ground, and many conversations started at once |
| 6 | Meetings and momentum | How do you keep LPs moving? | A next step agreed at the end of every call |
| 7 | Closing | How do you get to final close? | Several closes, a clear date, and a steady weekly process |
The market you're raising into
Short answerHarder than a few years ago. LPs have more managers to choose from and fewer distributions to reinvest, so first-time managers have to be sharper about who they pitch and why.
Two forces shape a raise today. The first is supply. Matt Curtolo, a former institutional allocator who now advises LPs and GPs, says thousands of new firms have launched in recent years, so LPs are "spoiled for choice" and many pitches start to look the same. He cites one GP's count that of more than 900 Fund Is raised in 2021 and 2022, only about 200 had raised a successor fund by early 2026.
The second is liquidity. Nolan Bean, CIO of FEG Investment Advisors, says the pace of new commitments has slowed because long-time venture investors aren't getting money back.
A lot of LPs aren't getting distributions. So they're sitting with a very large venture book and have their fingers crossed that they can get a few distributions so they can redeploy capital into new ideas in the venture capital space.
None of this makes a raise impossible. It makes the order of operations matter more: the managers in this playbook who closed did most of the work before their first pitch.
Stage 1 of 7 · Before you quit
Is there a fund here?
Short answerFind out before you resign. Ask the people likely to back you for soft commitments, estimate how many will really convert, and put some of your own money into a few deals so LPs can see what the fund will own.
The riskiest moment in a first raise is the day after you leave your job with no idea who will commit. The emerging managers we spoke with reduced that risk months, sometimes years, in advance.
Technique · Kevin Moore, Serac Ventures
Test your network before you resign
Kevin learned this exercise when he first became a financial adviser, where new hires had to prove how far their personal network could carry them. Before launching his fund, he:
- Listed everyone who might back him.
- Told them what the fund would do, how it would be structured and how much he was raising.
- Asked for soft commitments: if I do this, would you back me?
- Estimated the total, and what share would really convert at a first close.
An aspiring fund manager should spend 6 to 12 months researching their network and getting buy in, even soft commitments… and then doing a probability analysis of their potential commitments to understand what the potential fund size will be.
The network test, before you resign
- Everyone who might back youYour full list, before any filtering
- Soft commitments"If I do this, would you back me?"
- A realistic estimateWeight each name by how likely it is to convert
- Your likely first closeIs there a fund here?
Technique · Kevin Moore, Serac Ventures
Warehouse a few deals with your own money
His second piece of advice: "take some of your own money and warehouse a few deals." The check size matters less than showing you can find companies, get in and explain why. Kevin later rolled those companies into his first close, which showed LPs he was all in and gave them a preview of what the fund would own.
Technique · Amber Illig, The Council
Build your first LPs before you need them
Amber ran an angel community of about 50 operators for three years before launching her fund. When she left her job, she had a group to go to straight away, and did her first close that same day. She then spent six to eight months building the portfolio, so later LPs "would actually be buying into a portfolio versus just a vision of a fund."
What it costs to start
Launching a firm takes cash before any fees arrive. Costs vary with structure and service providers, so work out your own number and how you'll cover it before you resign.
Do this
- Draw up a list of likely backers, with a soft-commitment amount and a realistic conversion rate for each.
- Make two or three investments with your own money that look like the fund's portfolio.
- Budget for at least a year of costs before management fees.
What LPs will check
- Whether others are already committed.
- Whether your early deals match the strategy you're pitching.
- Whether you can survive a slow raise.
Stage 2 of 7 · Positioning
Why you, and not an established firm?
Short answerDon't pitch yourself as a smaller version of a famous firm. Position the fund around a specialization that's hard to copy, and around the one thing no competitor has: you.
LPs compare every new fund with the managers they already know. How you position yourself decides who you're compared with, and against a firm with decades of track record, you lose.
Technique · Diana Tenkova, Institutional Quality
Don't position against the giants
Diana spent 12 years organizing meetings between professional investors and fund managers before founding Institutional Quality, which advises emerging managers on fundraising. Her advice: your strategy "should be very difficult to replicate and essentially not easily accessible by established managers." You can aspire to become the next Sequoia, but "you cannot start as a direct competitor to these kinds of firms."
It's not about the returns that you offer or the fund terms that you have—that is not your branding. Your branding is really driven by your value add, your specialization, your identity, and your story.
Technique · Matt Curtolo
Lead with the person, then the strategy
The most common mistake Matt sees is a depersonalized pitch that jumps straight into deals and portfolio construction. He'd rather start with what shaped you and why you're doing this.
Unique, I always say, is an N of one. Very few firms are unique, but you are differentiated, and the one thing that makes you differentiated is you.
Or, as he put it in a later episode: "as an LP, I'm buying you, not necessarily your fund."
Technique · Matt Curtolo
Show Fund IV in your Fund I deck
The managers Matt has seen build lasting firms showed, from Fund I or II, what they wanted Fund IV or V to look like. The vision rarely turns out exactly as drawn, but it tells an LP you're thinking about a 20-year relationship, and it keeps you from drifting into strategies you aren't skilled at.
Do this
- Write your positioning in one sentence that an established firm couldn't say about itself.
- Open your deck with why you're doing this, not where you went to school.
- Add a page on what the firm looks like by Fund IV.
What LPs will check
- Whether your background explains your strategy.
- Whether the story is authentically yours or follows the market.
- Whether the strategy stays consistent fund after fund.
LPs test this directly. See Test 1: Focus in How LPs Evaluate Venture Fund Managers.
Stage 3 of 7 · Fund size and structure
What's the right Fund I?
Short answerBig enough to prove the strategy, small enough to close. A realistic target builds momentum; an ambitious one that stalls costs credibility. Decide your GP commitment and team structure with your likely LPs in mind.
Fund size is the first number an LP reads, and it sends a signal about discipline. Every guest who'd been through a raise argued for being realistic.
Technique · Kevin Moore, Serac Ventures
Right-size Fund I around the proof you need
Kevin first imagined a larger fund with a second partner. In a slow market, he set a floor instead: enough capital to prove the thesis, the founders he backs and how he adds value, and to build a platform he could scale for Fund II.
There was a minimum fund size we were told we needed to hit so that institutional investors didn't think we were raising a fund zero. We really wanted this to be like a true fund one.
The right floor for your fund depends on your strategy and check sizes.
Rule of thumb · Diana Tenkova and Matt Curtolo
A smaller target builds momentum
"It's easier to build momentum with a smaller target fund size," Diana says, "because it's psychologically more realistic for investors to see you reach a close quickly." Matt's version: "be realistic about timeline, be realistic about size." You can still be ambitious, he adds, as long as you can explain why the number is what it is.
Technique · Kevin Moore and Lara Nuchowicz
Decide the GP commitment with your LPs in mind
Kevin funded his commitment from savings. Some LPs insist on cash in the fund from day one, he says, while others accept a commitment funded by deferring management fees, so it pays to know your LPs before you decide. Lara Nuchowicz of AR Capital, a single-family office, accepts fee-funded commitments from very young GPs who can't yet write a large check.
Model the options with the Fund Economics Calculator, which shows fees, carry and a cash or fee-waiver GP commitment.
Solo GP or partnership?
Matt describes the trade-off LPs weigh. A solo GP decides quickly and with conviction, but needs strong service providers for administration, tax and audit, and LPs worry about key-person risk. Yet "in a two-person partnership, if one of those people leaves," he says, that may be harder to resolve than a solo GP stepping away. Kevin, a solo GP, added a venture partner with operating experience and a group of outside experts who question every company before he invests.
Do this
- Work out the smallest fund that proves your strategy, and why.
- Ask likely LPs early whether they need your commitment in cash.
- Line up fund administration, audit and legal before you pitch.
What LPs will check
- Whether the fund size matches your check sizes and ownership targets.
- How much the partners are committing, and in what form.
- What happens if a partner leaves.
Stage 4 of 7 · Who to target
Which LPs will actually back a first fund?
Short answerBuild a profile of your ideal LP before you build a list. Match each LP's typical check size to your fund size, start with the LPs already inclined to back emerging managers, and meet the large institutions now for later funds.
The most common waste of time in a first raise is pitching LPs who could never invest. The fix is to qualify LPs before you meet them, not after.
Technique · Diana Tenkova, Institutional Quality
Build an LP profile before a list
It's very important to create an investor avatar for your ideal LP in order to avoid wasting time with potential investors that would never end up investing in your fund.
Her checks:
- Size fit: compare your fund size with the LP's usual check. For large institutions, the minimum ticket can be too big a share of a first fund.
- Family offices: often more flexible on first funds, especially when you invest in the sector where the family made its money.
- Funds of funds: check their own fundraising timing. Approaching them while they're raising may not work.
Technique · Matt Curtolo
Start with the LPs who already lean in
Asked how he'd raise a fund himself, Matt started with the ideal customer profile.
I don't want to try to convert skeptics. I want to figure out who the people who already have a preexisting relationship or bias to lean in, rather than I have to convince them.
A $25 million Fund I is unlikely to get a check from a sovereign fund or an insurer, he says: large LPs have annual budgets and limits on how much of a fund they'll own. "The larger LPs are good to talk to now for future fundraises just so they can get to know you." Funds I and II have usually been backed by funds of funds, family offices and individuals, plus a few endowments with emerging-manager programs.
- Individuals
- Family offices
- Funds of funds
- Endowments with emerging-manager programs
- Sovereign funds
- Insurers
- Other large institutions with annual budgets and ownership limits
Framework · Nolan Bean, FEG Investment Advisors
Know each LP type's appetite for risk
Nolan advises endowments, foundations and healthcare systems. On average, he ranks risk appetite, and tolerance for locking money up for a decade, in this order:
- Family offices
- University endowments
- Other nonprofitsCommunity and private foundations
- Pension plans and healthcare systems
Some folks like Coke, some like Pepsi, some like emerging managers, some like established managers. So you're not going to sell something they don't want.
Where guests disagree: family offices
Diana calls family offices a strong fit for first funds. Kevin found many now invest directly and wanted co-investment he couldn't yet offer. Amber was told by everyone that first funds are "all family offices," but she'd never met one, and raised mostly from individuals and other VC funds, which back emerging managers to share deal flow. Her conclusion: different GPs connect with different LPs. One successful GP she knows only raises from institutions; another only from family offices.
Do this
- Write your ideal LP profile: type, check size, sector link, appetite for first funds.
- Ask each LP for their minimum check early, and move on if it doesn't fit.
- Keep a separate list of large LPs to meet for Fund II or III.
What LPs will check
- Whether you understand their mandate before the meeting.
- Whether their check would be too large a share of your fund.
- Who else like them has committed.
Not sure which LP types fit? The LP Fit Audit ranks eight LP types for your fund.
Stage 5 of 7 · Outreach
How do you get the meeting?
Short answerWarm introductions first. When you reach out cold, lead with what you have in common rather than a pitch, and start conversations in batches so momentum builds on itself.
LPs see more pitches than they can take. The managers who get meetings make an introduction easy to accept, and make every conversation feel like part of something already moving.
Technique · Diana Tenkova, Institutional Quality
Lead with common ground, not a pitch
Your initial outreach shouldn't be a pitch saying "I have this great investment opportunity." Instead, it should explain why connecting makes sense based on common ground.
To find that common ground, she suggests:
- Ask other GPs for introductions to their LPs, and existing LPs for introductions to others.
- Research before you pay for databases. In some European countries, commercial registers list the investors in closed funds.
- Start in your local market, where connections are usually stronger.
Technique · Jessie Jia Guo, Next Legacy Partners
Write the cold email LPs answer
Jessie, who replies to every email she receives, looks for three things in a cold note: conviction in what you do, homework on her firm's mandate, and an interest in a relationship and a dialogue before an ask for money.
Technique · Amber Illig, The Council
Start your conversations in a batch
Amber's biggest lesson came from watching how the founders in her portfolio raise. The best know who they want to raise from before they start, and kick off all those conversations at once.
If you get intros to like 20 LPs at the same time versus two every week, then you're talking to 20 LPs the next week or two weeks from then. They feel that momentum, you feel that momentum.
The same 20 introductions, started two ways
Send your target list to everyone you know and ask who they can introduce you to, then mine your own connections for paths to the rest.
Technique · Matt Curtolo
Build advocates, and tell your story to many at once
LPs talk to each other. "If I see a great manager I'm going to tell my friends about it," Matt says. A few advocates in your network can open more doors than a database. He also recommends publishing: writing, a podcast or talks let LPs hear your story at length before you meet, and let you tell it once to many people.
Want to start a podcast? Podcast10x helps VCs start and run their own, from recording to editing, publishing and clips. Disclosure: it's run by VC10X's founder.
Why cold inbound is hard
Ned Brines, Chief of Investment Strategy at Arnel & Affiliates, replies to every manager who emails, but after analyzing where his deals came from, his team found few came from cold email. He now batches inbound once a week and takes 30-minute calls on a single day. It's one more reason to work on warm paths first.
Do this
- Send your target list to your network and ask for specific introductions.
- Write first emails around common ground, not the fund.
- Aim to start around 20 conversations within the same couple of weeks.
What LPs will check
- Whether you've done homework on their mandate.
- Who introduced you, and what they say about you.
- Whether your public writing or talks match your pitch.
Stage 6 of 7 · Meetings and momentum
How do you keep LPs moving?
Short answerUse the first meeting to establish fit, not to sell. Agree a next step before every call ends, share information in stages rather than all at once, and expect trust to take 12 to 18 months.
Most raises don't fail in the first meeting. They stall after the second, when the LP has everything they need and no reason to act. The managers who close design each conversation to lead to the next.
Technique · Diana Tenkova, Institutional Quality
Go in as an equal
Approach the meeting with an equal mindset rather than a desperate one.
Don't spend the whole 30 minutes on slides; ask about the LP's preferences and concerns. "The objective of the first call is not to sell the fund, but to establish fit and secure a second meeting." Matt agrees: the managers who get second meetings "listen more than they talk."
Technique · Matt Curtolo
Don't play all your cards at once
After a good first meeting, many managers send the data room and everything else. Matt warns that this ends the momentum.
There's no incentive for the LP to reach back out. They have everything they need.
Instead, add context in the second meeting and deeper information in the third, so each conversation earns the next. He calls the place where many raises die "this mid-funnel sort of trap," where LPs have had two meetings and nothing prompts them to decide.
Each meeting earns the next
- Meeting 1Establish fit. Listen more than you talk.
- Meeting 2Add context.
- Meeting 3Share deeper information.
- A decisionYes, or a clear no.
What stalls a raise
- Meeting 1Followed by the whole data room.
- The LP has everythingNo reason to reach back out.
- The mid-funnel trapTwo meetings, and nothing prompts a decision.
Technique · Diana Tenkova, Institutional Quality
Leave every call with a next step
- Agree the next step before the call ends, such as a follow-up meeting or an introduction to another partner, so the follow-up stays in your hands.
- Have materials ready before anyone asks: detailed track record, deal list, one-pager, references, investment memos. "Delays cause interest to drop."
- Tell LPs it's fine to say no, so you don't spend months chasing.
Framework · Kevin Moore, Serac Ventures
Know, like, trust, in that order
Kevin credits a mentor he knows with the rule he follows:
Before people invest in you, they need to know you, like you, trust you, in that order.
- Know youEvents, writing and podcasts
- Like youGood conversations
- Trust youInvestment updates, and seeing how you work
They know you through events, writing and podcasts; like you through good conversations; and trust you as you send investment updates and show how you work. Unless it's a strong referral, he expects that to take 12 to 18 months, and has met Fund I prospects he expects to invest in Fund III. Looking back at his first ten LP calls, he'd "just get to the point faster": ask early what they invest in, whether they're deploying, and whether they've backed managers like him.
Technique · Kevin Moore, Serac Ventures
Do the institutional homework unprompted
One LP that passed told Kevin that managers who claim to be serious rarely complete a due diligence questionnaire. He spent a month filling one in, sent it, and got the meeting. The LP didn't invest in Fund I, but he believes it positioned him for Fund II.
Don't chase
Following up is part of the job; chasing isn't. Slava Darkhaev, who allocates to venture for a single-family office, calls constantly pushing for feedback "a big red flag" that signals desperation. Matt's pet peeve is over-communication: sometimes the right move is to take no for an answer and keep the relationship.
Do this
- Plan what each of your first three meetings with an LP will cover.
- End every call with a dated next step.
- Complete a standard due diligence questionnaire before you're asked.
What LPs will check
- How quickly you send what they ask for.
- Whether your updates between meetings show progress.
- How you handle a no.
LPs will run their own process on you. See how LP diligence actually runs.
Stage 7 of 7 · Closing
How do you get to final close?
Short answerClose what you have and start investing. Use several closes to show progress, give early LPs a reason to commit, set a date and communicate it, and measure your weekly activity rather than dollars raised.
Momentum is what closes funds. Each close gives hesitant LPs evidence that others are in, and a deadline that's real.
Technique · Matt Curtolo and Diana Tenkova
Close what you have, then close again
Asked for one piece of outdated fundraising advice, Matt named the idea that you need a set percentage of your fund at first close.
Get into business, close what you have. Get started. Put some points on the board. Put some deals in the fund.
Diana recommends multiple closes for emerging managers: a completed first close "demonstrates momentum and encourages hesitant investors to commit," and lets you start investing. She also suggests incentives for early commitments, such as reduced management fees or co-investment rights.
Lesson · Amber Illig, The Council
Expect the second-close slog
Amber raised her fund in three closes during the 2022–23 downturn, and each felt different. The first was exciting, with early LPs keen to be first in. The final close had LPs sprinting in before the gate shut: about 18 in the last two weeks. The middle was the hardest.
That second close, it's almost impossible to… have any real urgency, and LPs know that.
Amber Illig's three closes
- First closeExciting. Early LPs keen to be first in, and you can start investing.
- Second closeThe hardest. Little real urgency, and LPs know it.
- Final closeLPs sprint in before the gate shuts: about 18 in her last two weeks.
Raising from many individuals and smaller funds is more like selling to consumers than to enterprises, she adds: more checks, smaller ones, and each takes time. She closed at least one LP every week of 2023.
Technique · Amber Illig, The Council
Measure inputs, not outputs
"It's very hard to be like, by the end of March I want to raise this exact amount of money," Amber says. Set targets for the number of LPs you talk to and introductions you get, then set a close date, communicate it and stick to it. "A consistent process is everything." When you're talking to many LPs at once, you can say so: three have committed, and the close is on this date.
After the close: earn Fund II
Your next raise starts the day this one ends. Matt says LPs value clear quarterly reporting and consistent communication, especially getting ahead of bad news. Aoifinn Devitt of Moneta Group adds that the managers who keep their place with an allocator act like partners: "I've always got more out of managers when they have overdelivered in terms of their ability to help me do my job."
Do this
- Hold a first close as soon as you can start investing.
- Decide what, if anything, early LPs get for committing first.
- Set weekly targets for conversations and introductions, and a public close date.
What LPs will check
- Who has already committed, and how much.
- Whether the close date is real.
- What reporting they'll receive afterwards.
The fundraising checklist
Thirty-five steps drawn from this playbook, grouped by stage. Work through them before your first LP meeting and keep them open during the raise. The PDF adds tick boxes and a weekly tracker.
Stage 1: Before you quit
- List everyone who might back you, with a soft-commitment amount for each.
- Estimate what share will convert at a first close.
- Make two or three investments with your own money that match the strategy.
- Budget for at least a year of costs before management fees arrive.
- Decide how you'll fund the management company in the meantime.
Stage 2: Positioning
- Write your positioning in one sentence no established firm could say.
- Explain why your background leads to this strategy.
- Open your deck with your story, not your résumé.
- Show what the firm looks like by Fund IV.
- Cut any theme you can't show you knew before it was popular.
Stage 3: Fund size and structure
- Work out the smallest fund that proves the strategy, and why.
- Check the size against your check sizes, ownership targets and reserves.
- Decide your GP commitment, and whether it's cash or funded from fees.
- Engage fund administration, audit and legal counsel.
- Decide solo or partnership, and how you'll cover what you can't do yourself.
Stage 4: Who to target
- Write your ideal LP profile: type, check size, sector link, appetite for first funds.
- Build a target list that fits that profile.
- Find each LP's minimum check before the first meeting.
- Check funds of funds' own fundraising timing.
- Keep a separate list of large LPs to meet for later funds.
Stage 5: Outreach
- Send your target list to your network and ask for specific introductions.
- Ask other GPs and existing LPs who they can introduce you to.
- Write first emails around common ground, not the fund.
- Start around 20 conversations within the same couple of weeks.
- Publish something that lets LPs hear your story before you meet.
Stage 6: Meetings and momentum
- Use the first meeting to establish fit, and listen more than you talk.
- Plan what each of the first three meetings will cover.
- End every call with a dated next step.
- Have your track record, deal list, references and memos ready.
- Complete a standard due diligence questionnaire before you're asked.
Stage 7: Closing
- Hold a first close as soon as you can start investing.
- Decide what early LPs receive for committing first.
- Set weekly targets for conversations and introductions.
- Set a close date, communicate it and stick to it.
- Plan quarterly reporting before the final close.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to raise a first venture fund?
- Longer than most first-time managers expect. Kevin Moore of Serac Ventures says building enough trust for an LP to commit typically takes 12 to 18 months unless the introduction is a strong referral, and recommends spending 6 to 12 months testing your network before you even launch.
- Which LPs invest in first-time venture funds?
- Mostly individuals, family offices and funds of funds, plus some endowments with emerging-manager programs, according to Matt Curtolo. Large institutions often can't write a check small enough for a first fund, so many emerging managers meet them early for future funds instead.
- How big should a first venture fund be?
- Big enough to prove the strategy and small enough to close. Diana Tenkova of Institutional Quality says a smaller target builds momentum because LPs can see a close coming. Kevin Moore says he was told there was a minimum fund size he needed to hit so institutional investors would see a real Fund I rather than a "fund zero."
- Do you need a minimum first close?
- Not anymore, says Matt Curtolo, who calls it outdated advice: close what you have, start investing and put points on the board. Diana Tenkova recommends multiple closes for emerging managers, because each completed close encourages hesitant LPs to commit.
- What should happen in a first LP meeting?
- Establish fit rather than sell. Diana Tenkova advises approaching it "with an equal mindset rather than a desperate one," asking about the LP's preferences, and aiming for a second meeting. Matt Curtolo says managers who get second meetings listen more than they talk.
Sources
Every insight in this playbook comes from an on-record VC10X conversation. Quotes are lightly edited to remove spoken filler; the full episodes are linked below.
- Diana TenkovaFounder, Institutional Quality
- Kevin MooreFounder & GP, Serac Ventures
- Amber IlligFounding GP, The Council
- Matt CurtoloFormer Institutional Allocator; LP/GP Advisor (and an earlier episode)
- Nolan BeanCIO, FEG Investment Advisors
- Jessie Jia GuoInvestment Partner, Next Legacy Partners
- Ned BrinesChief of Investment Strategy, Arnel & Affiliates
- Lara NuchowiczPrincipal, AR Capital (Single-Family Office)
- Slava DarkhaevHead of VC Allocations, Single-Family Office
- Aoifinn DevittManaging Director, Global Wealth, Moneta Group
This playbook summarizes views guests shared on the VC10X podcast. Figures and claims are theirs, as stated on the record. It is not investment, legal or tax advice.