Navigating the New Era of Venture Capital: Insights on Liquidity, AI, and the Evolving GP-LP Landscape from FutureProof 2024 with Samir Kaji, Jordan Stein and Mark Suster

Episode 8

Welcome to the Allocate Podcast, an interview and educational content series to help investors learn and navigate investing in alternatives. Join us to hear from leading founders, fund managers, and allocators on the latest trends and the keys to successfully participating in the private markets.

In this episode of the Allocate Podcast recorded live at FutureProof Festival, Samir Kaji is joined by Jordan Stein, Managing Director at Cresset Private Capital, and Mark Suster, Partner at Upfront, to discuss the evolving landscape of venture capital. They explore significant shifts in the industry over the past two decades, including the increasing institutional acceptance of venture capital, the elongation of the time companies stay private, and the changing dynamics of exit strategies. The conversation also dives into the current market cycle, the impact of artificial intelligence on investment opportunities, and the importance of evaluating fund managers and GP-LP relationships in venture capital.

Jordan Stein

Jordan serves as a Managing Director, Cresset Private Capital and is responsible for evaluating investment opportunities across a variety of industries and products. Prior to Cresset, Jordan served in multiple roles for a large vocational education company, including Chief of Staff to the CEO, Brand President, and Director of Financial Planning and Analytics. Before that, Jordan spent two years at Moelis & Company focusing on middle-market M&A advisory.

Jordan received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Accounting from Claremont McKenna College. He currently resides in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago.

Mark Suster

Mark Suster is a Partner at Upfront. He previously was the founder & CEO of two successful enterprise software companies, the most recent of which was sold to Salesforce.com where Mark became VP, Products. Prior to being a founder, Mark was a software developer at Accenture where he lived and worked in Europe, Japan and the U.S. Mark is a graduate of UCSD and has an MBA from the University of Chicago.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • (02:12) Evolution of venture capital as an asset class

  • (05:34) The shift in exit strategies and liquidity

  • (12:23) Current market cycle and investment timing

  • (17:30) The impact of AI on venture capital

  • (22:49) Evaluating venture Fund Managers and GP-LP relationships

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Allocate Podcast
Introducing the Allocate Podcast, the podcast focused on helping investors learn and navigate investing in alternatives. Join us to hear from leading investors and allocators on the latest trends and the keys to successfully participating in the private markets.