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5 quotes from 4 episodes on How I Invest, each with a timestamped link to the source.
David Weisburd states that venture capital is consolidating rapidly into a few major companies and high-fee funds. During the first quarter of 2026, just five businesses absorbed 75% of all deployed venture capital.
Hiring funds struggle to verify if incoming venture capitalists actually sourced and won the specific deals claimed on an investing track record.
“There's this old saying that success has a thousand fathers and failure is an orphan. This is a real problem in venture capital on every level. VCs trying to hire VCs from outside the firm. How do they know that they're actually did these deals?”
Markets that appear unappealing on the surface often present the most attractive investment opportunities.
“The unsexiness of it immediately makes it sexy for you.”
In the first quarter of 2026, five companies absorbed 75% of all deployed venture capital. Follow-on rounds of the same size for these businesses would exceed the entire market capacity.
“Q1 2026 this year, 75% of all of venture capital went to just five companies. said another way, if they raise another round each, if they doubled the amount of money, it would be 150% of all venture capital.”
From Venture Capital Is Eating Public Markets as Listings Fall to 4,000
Top venture firms are pushing fee structures to 2.5-and-30 and 3-and-30. Even when these funds maintain strong gross performance, the high costs reduce net returns to average levels for limited partners.
“What may end up happening is that the returns may continue to persist on a gross level, but the fees have gone so high, two and a half and 30 now at the top firms, some are even three and 30, that they may just be average on a net basis.”
Early-stage venture funds are eliminating junior analysts who build spreadsheet models. Firms now hire candidates who can operate as early partners and build immediate rapport with founders.
“Respectfully, what you're really saying is that you've completely changed your hiring practice from these analysts that are basically doing this analysis and doing these models to what I would call mini partners, somebody that you want to see a partner five to 10 years out.”
From Byron Ling on Why AI Replaces VC Sourcing but Not Judgment
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