VC Lab Blog

May 21, 2026

Seth Hallen

How a 25-year media-technology operator closed Hallstone Fund I oversubscribed in 12 months by casting an LP base of CTOs and senior technology leaders from Hollywood's studios, streamers, agencies, and Big Tech.

May 19, 2026

What Institutional LPs Actually Evaluate — Once They're Looking

Once an institutional LP is looking, everything is evaluated — and strong deals don't save weak administration. This article covers what institutional diligence actually involves: the fund operations red flags, the deal questions most GPs aren't prepared for, and why your middle portfolio companies matter as much as your winners.

May 19, 2026

Center of Excellence: Institutional LP Fundraising

Institutional LP capital is earned over fund cycles, not raised in a cold email. This two-part series covers who institutional LPs actually are, why most emerging managers won't reach them on Fund I, and exactly what they evaluate when they do look.

May 19, 2026

Institutional LP Basics for Emerging VCs

Institutional LPs aren't looking for new managers — they're trying to prune the 200+ relationships they already have. This primer covers who institutional allocators actually are, why cold outreach almost never works, and what the realistic fundraising path looks like for most emerging managers.

May 18, 2026

Center of Excellence: Fund Accounting

Fund accounting isn't just bookkeeping — it's how your LPs judge your credibility. This four-part series covers the fundamentals every manager needs: capital calls, audit readiness, honest portfolio valuation, and clean distributions. Get it right, and you build a fund that lasts. Get it wrong, and your LPs will notice.

May 18, 2026

Patent Guide for Emerging VCs

May 18, 2026

Guide to IP Diligence in Emerging VC

May 18, 2026

Freedom to Operate Primer

May 18, 2026

Center of Excellence: Intellectual Property

IP problems don't announce themselves early. This three-part series covers what every fund manager needs to know before writing a check: when founders must file, what IP diligence actually requires, and why having patents doesn't mean you're free to operate.

May 18, 2026

Center of Excellence: Deals

Deal flow is the engine of venture capital. This six-part series covers everything emerging managers need to build it right: from sourcing systems that compound over time, to filtering with conviction, running tight diligence, making disciplined decisions, closing cleanly, and staying engaged after the wire clears.

May 18, 2026

Distribution Events &Realization Management

May 18, 2026

Investment Valuation & Performance Monitoring

May 18, 2026

Audit Prep & Financial Reporting

May 18, 2026

Fund Launch Best Practices

May 13, 2026

2024

VC Lab and Decile Group took off in 2023, and we are grateful for all the support. We are on a mission to transform venture capital into a force for good in

May 13, 2026

2025

The venture capital industry is at an inflection point, and Decile Group is leading the transformation.

May 13, 2026

Meet the LP Institute

VC Lab, the leading venture capital accelerator, introduces the LP Institute, a new program designed to train Limited Partners on backing top venture capital

May 7, 2026

Signaling Ethical Intent in Emerging VC

May 7, 2026

Startuply.vc: The AI Tool That Profiles Any Startup in Minutes (1,000+ Companies in 6 Days)

Decile Group just launched Startuply.vc, an AI research platform that writes venture-ready profiles on any startup in a few minutes. Over 1,000 startup profiles in the first six days.

April 21, 2026

Why You Should Turn Down LP Money

The counterintuitive discipline every emerging manager needs to learn: how curating your Fund I LP base is the highest-return investment you can make in Fund II.

April 21, 2026

The Proven Leader Framework: What VCs Actually Look For

Why serial entrepreneurship is overrated and what actually predicts founder success. The two-part framework a VC developed after studying leadership across 3,000 years of history.

April 21, 2026

AI in VC: How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Venture Capital

AI in VC has moved from an experiment on the margins of venture capital to the operating foundation of the most effective emerging managers.

April 21, 2026

Portfolio Construction: What Changes Between Fund I and Fund II

Four portfolio construction changes an emerging manager made from Fund I to Fund II: fewer companies, less reserves, narrower sector, broader stage. Why Fund II should be a redesign, not a scale-up.

April 21, 2026

Agentic VC: Leading the AI Revolution in Venture Capital

Agentic VC is changing what it means to run a venture capital fund in 2026.