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The Dawn Of The Specialists
The year 2025 marked a continued evolution in the venture capital landscape, with emerging managers playing an increasingly prominent role. Building on patterns identified in 2024, this year saw further shifts in who is launching funds, how those funds are structured, and what strategies are proving most effective in early-stage investing.
With one of the largest and most representative samples of emerging VCs globally, this report analyzes over 850 funds launched through Decile Group’s VC Lab accelerator, offering a unique window into the emerging manager segment. Findings highlight new trends across demographics, fund models, and fundraising execution, many of which signal deeper structural changes in how venture capital is accessed and grown.…
Category: Resources
Free content, documents, curricula and other resources to help you get started in venture capital.
A self-assessment framework to identify your starting point, plus a deep dive on the fastest paths to credible edge
Start With an Honest Audit
Before you can build secret sauce, you need to know where you’re starting from. Most aspiring VCs skip this step and jump straight into activity: attending events, taking coffee meetings, reading newsletters. Then they wonder why, two years later, they still can’t articulate a credible edge.
The Secret Sauce Audit forces you to confront reality.
Your Background Inventory
What industries have you worked in? For how long? At what level? What founders, operators, or executives do you already know, and in which sectors? What communities or ecosystems are you already embedded in? Have you made any angel investments, and what were the outcomes?…
In venture capital, the investment thesis is foundational. Whether you intend to raise a fund or build a career in venture, your thesis is a clear and concise statement which defines what you invest in and why you are the best person to do it. It is the basis for how you source opportunities, how you are perceived by founders, other investors and Limited Partners. In other words, your investment thesis will tell you where you should invest your limited time and attention.
What Is an Investment Thesis?
At its core, an investment thesis explains:
What your investment focus is (sector / geography / stage)
Why you are uniquely positioned to invest in that successfully
That positioning might come from expertise, network, experience, or data — but it must be grounded in credibility rather than preference or curiosity.…
The Hidden Work of Running a Fund
You closed your fund. Congratulations. That was the hard part.
Now comes the ongoing work that nobody talks about: compliance.
Every year, your Delaware fund structure requires a series of filings across multiple government systems. The SEC uses EDGAR. State securities use the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository. Delaware has its own portal. The IRS has another. Each system has different login credentials, different interfaces, different payment methods, and different quirks that can derail a filing at the last minute.
Try to manage this yourself and you’ll spend hours navigating outdated government websites, resetting forgotten passwords, and figuring out which form goes where. Miss a deadline because you couldn’t get logged in, and you’re facing penalties, loss of Good Standing, and awkward conversations with LPs.…
What significantly correlates with early fundraising success?
Early traction is critical for emerging fund managers. In the first few weeks of fundraising, momentum builds credibility, builds confidence, and sets the pace for future LP conversations. But what actually signals success in those first four weeks?
While every fund is different, patterns do emerge. From fund size and LP activity to LinkedIn networks and prior experience, certain indicators show consistent correlations with early soft commitments. Most notably, early traction tends to reflect how well a fund’s strategy aligns with a GP’s current network and resources.This article analyzes data from 600+ emerging funds that successfully completed Decile Group’s VC Lab accelerator, exploring which GP and fund characteristics are most associated with strong fundraising starts and what sets early movers apart.…
Closing the deal isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of a long relationship.Follow-up involves protecting your investment, supporting founders, and keep-ing LPs informed. The quality of your follow-up determines not just portfolio outcomes, but also your reputation as a disciplined, trusted, long-term partner.
This article outlines how to safeguard your position, add value without overreaching, maintain strong LP communication, and use post-investment insight to refine your dealflow strategy.
Protect Your Investment
Once the deal closes, your first responsibility is making sure the investment you’ve made stays protected.
Monitor company health. Stay aware of key developments, challenges, and pivots. Establish a regular cadence of updates, even informal, to spot red flags early.
Stay aware of follow-on rounds. To track the performance of your portfolio, and to log markups, knowing about follow-on rounds (and having proper documentation) is critical.…
Understanding Overseas Accredited and Qualified Investor Requirements
The global venture capital industry is experiencing a dramatic shift as participation from non-traditional players (i.e., non-institutional fund investors), such as family offices and high-net-worth individuals, continues to grow. However, raising capital from overseas investors remains complex and costly due to differing regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions. In most countries, investors must satisfy accredited or qualified investor criteria, or similar regulatory standards, in order to invest in offshore funds. Failure to meet such regulatory requirements can expose fund managers to potentially severe risks and legal consequences, including regulatory fines, restrictions on future fundraising, and reputational damage.
Many countries allow funds to be marketed through private placements without a full offering prospectus or fund registration with regulatory agencies if the offer is restricted to certain types of sophisticated or high-net-worth investors, as they are considered capable of evaluating investment risks without full regulatory protections.…
Execution is where conviction becomes commitment. It’s the stage where you translate a decision into a signed deal. At this stage, it’s critical to align interests, coordinating stakeholders, and moving from intent to action.
Strong execution means clarity on terms, tight communication with co-investors, and professional control of the closing process. This article covers how to structure and negotiate terms, syndicate effectively, and close deals cleanly and confidently.
Structuring and Negotiating Terms
Your negotiation is the start of your partnership. How you handle negotiations sets the tone for the relationship. Healthy relationships help you protect your investments.
Build trust through negotiation. Approach every negotiation as a relationship-building exercise. Show the founder you’re fair, transparent, and aligned for the long term. The reputation you build in these moments determines whether founders see you as a true partner or a transactional investor.…
Decision-making is where analysis meets conviction. It’s the moment you translate sourcing, filtering, and diligence into a clear yes — or a disciplined no.
At this stage, the question is simple: Does this deal fit our thesis, fund model, and return goals? The answer demands both structure and judgment. This article outlines how to use your thesis as a decision lens, build conviction, and engage your stakeholders for confident, well-reasoned commitments.
Anchor Decisions in Your Thesis
Your thesis keeps decisions rational, consistent, and aligned with strategy.
Define your role. Decide whether to lead or follow. Leading brings control and visibility but requires extra bandwidth for term-setting and syndication.
Check portfolio fit. Weigh the deal against your diversification targets, stage allocation, and fund-level risk profile.…
Are younger managers taking over and rewriting old VC rules?
The Next Wave Is Younger. The share of GPs under 40 has grown 1.6x since 2022 — now nearly on par with the historically dominant 40–50 group. Younger leadership is gaining ground fast across both individual GPs and fund teams.
Younger GPs Drive Inclusion. Funds with average GP age under 40 are 1.2x more likely to include a woman than those aged 40–50, and 1.8x more likely than those 50+. Gender diversity is strongest in younger, mixed-gender teams.
Younger funds close bigger and faster. Younger GPs set smaller targets and accept smaller checks — but convert faster and close more capital. Their funds close in 10 weeks on average, and reach $3.7MM in signed LPAs — 1.7x more than funds led by GPs 50+.…
Diligence is how conviction is built. It’s the process of confirming the claims that piqued your interest in the first place — and uncovering red flags — before committing capital.
The goal isn’t to eliminate all risk; it’s to understand the right risks to take.
There is no one-size-fits-all early-stage diligence checklist. Every early-stage emerging VC fund will (and should) have their own diligence process. This article explains how to align diligence with your thesis, adapt it for early-stage startups, and use structure to move quickly and confidently.
Use Your Thesis to Guide Your Diligence
Your thesis defines where to dig deep and what to skip.
Focus on what matters. Identify the few elements that truly drive value for your thesis.…
Are long résumés still necessary for fundraising success?
Experience has long been a gatekeeper in venture capital. Historically, launching a fund was a privilege reserved for former partners, career VCs, or those with deep ties to the industry. But the landscape is changing. More emerging managers are entering venture without prior VC experience — and they’re performing better than many might expect.
While funds led by experienced GPs still make up the majority, the share of “inexperienced” teams — those without prior work experience in VC — has steadily grown. These managers are launching leaner, faster funds and are finding smart ways to close the gap in terms of performance outcomes.This article draws on data from 600+ emerging funds that successfully completed Decile Group’s VC Lab accelerator program between 2022 and 2025, exploring how prior VC experience relates to who launches emerging funds, how those funds are structured and positioned, and the patterns observed in their early fundraising outcomes.…
Filtering is the discipline that turns dealflow into real opportunities.
It’s the process of narrowing your pipeline to startups that truly fit your thesis—and doing it fast enough to stay competitive.
A structured, repeatable filtering process saves time, improves judgment, and ensures your energy goes to companies with the highest potential. This article shows how to design filters that align with your thesis, automate early screening, and communicate clearly with founders.
Your Filter starts with your Thesis
Your thesis defines what belongs in your fund—and what doesn’t. Use it to build your filtering layers.
Set first-stage criteria. Use your thesis to define baseline parameters—sector, geography, stage, valuation range. Anything outside these bounds exits early.
Guide second-stage focus. Your thesis also determines what to emphasize in deeper evaluations: founder quality, market traction, defensibility, or differentiation.…
Sourcing is the lifeblood of venture capital. The best funds don’t wait for deals—they build systems that attract them.
A strong sourcing strategy turns your thesis into a magnet for aligned founders and co-investors. It’s about intentionality, relationship-building, and constant refinement. This article shows how to design a sourcing engine that compounds over time.
Building Your Sourcing Engine
A deliberate, value-driven approach is the foundation of great dealflow.
Focus on top-tier opportunities. These are rare, competitive, and founder-driven. They are not casting a wide net begging for cash—you hear about them through your network and behind closed doors. You win them by establishing credibility and showing the value you bring beyond capital.
Add value and stay visible. Share expertise in your sectors—through founder support, events, or online communities—to grow your network and attract quality inbound opportunities.…
Who are the women pushing venture capital towards 50-50?
Winning Together. The quickest pathway to gender equity in venture capital is mixed gender funds. Mixed gender funds have doubled as a percentage of emerging funds in two years and were more successful at fundraising as well. They were 1.2x more likely to reach a first close than all-male funds, and 1.3x more likely than all-female funds.
Focus and Specialization. Female-only funds are more likely to specialize in one sector; top focus areas include healthcare, diversity, and impact investing.
Ready Enough. Emerging female VCs are refusing to compromise on theses or “pay their dues”: Female-only funds tend to have younger general partners and are more likely to start a fund on their own compared to men.…
How are new managers launching, closing, and deploying capital in just 36 days?
The early-stage venture capital ecosystem is undergoing a major shift. As the barriers to launching a VC fund remain high, many talented emerging managers are sidelined by long setup times, high legal costs, and the complex requirements of traditional fund structures. Start Fund by Decile Group offers a streamlined alternative: a professionally managed, multi-deal venture fund model built for speed, clarity, and execution.
Start Fund was created to help emerging managers launch quickly, build a track record, and raise capital without being buried in legal paperwork or back-office overhead. It gives investors a path to launch a fund, receive and deploy capital in weeks, not months. With all fund infrastructure and compliance fully handled by Decile Group, Investment Leads can focus on what they do best: raising from LPs and investing in startups.…
What’s the best use of $20k?
Let’s go back in time to 1999. A lot of Internet companies were overvalued and the market was about to crash. But a very, very young Google was raising money and Ron Conway was investing at an earlier level than almost anyone.
Even if you knew then what you know now about the runaway success Google would become, that doesn’t mean you could get into Google.
But there’s another way you could get Google stock at that price. You could have been a limited partner in Conway’s fund. Steve Bennet was lucky enough to be in that position— and it was really only “lucky” because of Google. So many of those Internet companies in that fund flamed out, as he remembered. …
“Your money is almost irrelevant to them. What do you bring?”
Typically the balance of power shifts between investors and entrepreneurs based on how frothy the times are, or how hot a given sector may be. (Oh, hey there, AI)
But not on YC Demo Day. YC has pulled off something that entrepreneurs spent decades dreaming about: it has permanently turned the tables on VCs.
If you are lucky enough to get a ticket to Demo Day, you may have 15 minutes to get a meeting with a company you’ve got your eye on. They’ll probably be raising $2 million on a $20 million valuation. And they’ll have more than $15 million in interest. So you’ll have to talk quickly to convince them why you will add the most value to them.…
From Legal Requirements to Operational Excellence
Starting a venture capital firm represents one of the most challenging yet rewarding paths in the investment world. While the barriers to entry have traditionally been high, modern approaches to fund formation are democratizing access to professional venture capital management. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about launching a venture capital firm, from legal requirements to operational setup, while highlighting how accelerated programs like VC Lab can streamline your journey.
The landscape of venture capital fund formation is evolving rapidly, with new structures and support systems emerging to eliminate traditional obstacles while maintaining institutional credibility. Understanding both conventional and modern approaches to fund formation is essential for anyone considering this career path, as the choices made during the initial setup phase will impact every aspect of future operations.…
How are emerging managers using AI to improve performance?
Artificial intelligence is transforming industries at every level— and venture capital is no exception. As fund managers juggle complex operations, investor relationships, and deal flow, AI offers new tools to enhance decision-making, streamline workflows, and increase operational efficiency. For emerging managers in particular, AI can act as a force multiplier, helping lean teams execute with the precision and scale of much larger firms.
Decile Group’s Decile Hub platform brings these possibilities to life. Built specifically for VC fund operations, the platform integrates essential functions like CRM, document management, deal tracking, and portfolio reporting— all in one place. What sets Decile Hub apart is its built-in AI, which not only automates tasks but also provides real-time insights and actionable guidance to help managers make smarter decisions.…