Times are tough for venture capital firms. Shed a tear for the partner who once had pensions and endowments tripping over themselves to throw money at their next fund—now they’re competing against 30 identical firms backing seed-stage, AI-enabled, B2B SaaS startups, while limited partners fret over distributions and a rapidly closing IPO window.
So, how does a fund manager stand out? Every firm touts some edge to both prospective backers and portfolio companies that makes it seem like their only purpose isn’t being an allocator of someone else’s money. For some, it’s their go-to market team; for others, it’s their network of potential customers. But, as Robert Hilmer of Goanna Capital told me, everyone seems to agree on one thing about the current state of venture capital: “Capital is the ultimate commodity.”
