246. Agglomerators vs. Specialists, the Rise of the Solo-Capitalist, and the Importance of Founder-Investor Fit (Nikhil Basu Trivedi)

Nikhil Basu Trivedi of joins Nick to discuss Agglomerators vs. Specialists, the Rise of the Solo-Capitalist, and the Importance of Founder-Investor Fit+. In this episode, we cover: Why did you decide to leave Shasta? What's the plan moving forward? The Rise of Solo Capitalists You wrote a great piece on the rise of this behavior, ‘The Rise of the Solo Capitalists’. What do you think has caused the rise in single GP funds? What are the main benefits to both investor and entrepreneur with this model? What are the limitations and/or downsides of this model? You wrote that an LP said that this model ‘may be the biggest threat traditional venture capital firms have seen in a long time’. Why? Founder-Investor Fit What do you think are the most important things for founders to consider when choosing an investor? There are many firms that don't care about the "fit" per se... they just want to get money into the best deals.  And it can be tough for a founder to turn down the best offer or the biggest name investor.  Do you think that lack of fit can lead to the demise of the company? Do you think that founder-investor relationships/dynamics will change significantly over the next decade?  Why or why not? Agglomerators vs. Specialists Can you break down the types of focus amongst VCs? Agglomerators vs. Specialists? What do you think has caused the rise of the agglomerators? From a returns (TVPI) standpoint, do you think one model is superior to the other? A large, institutional LP said to me this week that he doesn't believe in sector-focused fund models and returns suggest that they underperform.  He only invests in generalists with stage focus.  Have you found that the specialists have underperformed the generalists? What do you think about the future of these models?  Where will the most crowded section be, five years from now? What are your thoughts on rolling funds?