Beezer Clarkson’s 2024 LP Playbook: Winning Strategies for Fund Managers Amid Capital Shifts

From securing anchor LPs to refining your thesis, actionable insights tailored for emerging and seasoned fund managers navigating today’s venture landscape

Many GPs publish year-end LP round-ups, but only a few truly stand out to me.

I first came across Beezer Clarkson’s work through Lo Toney’s GPX Accelerator at Plexo Capital. [If you’re an emerging fund manager and interested in the accelerator, drop a comment—I’d be happy to recommend you.]

Clarkson’s insights on portfolio construction have been game-changing, and my experience working with Jason from the Sapphire team reinforced how impactful her work is. [By the way, stay tuned—we’ll be running an interview with Lo Toney in a few weeks! :)]

Clarkson’s latest analysis is a must-read for fund managers, especially those raising their 3rd, 4th, or 5th funds. You can find her full thread here, but I’d like to share my interpretation of her takeaways. If you caught our recent breakdown of Pitchbook’s 2024 VC data, this builds on it with a deeper dive.

This one goes into deeper detail on 3 things:

1. Concentration of Capital: Tier-one multistage funds rule, making differentiation crucial for mid-sized and small funds.

2. Shifting Valuation Dynamics: Seed and Series A medians remain historically high. Later-stage valuations have cooled. This signals where deals may lie.

3. LP Decision Priorities: LPs are prioritizing manager selection and strategic alignment more than ever. Small cap funds offer higher DPI potential, but face greater scrutiny, as LPs demand strong track records and highly targeted strategies before committing capital.

🔑 A Little Secret About Presenting to GPs, LPs, and IR Professionals

I’m going to let you into a little secret on how I write and present information. I use this technique a lot when I’m sharing market analysis information to make it a lot less scary and/or boring. When presenting market-related information to GPs, LPs, investor relations teams, or marketing leaders, here’s a secret: structure your insights as actionable steps, grouped in threes. Here’s why this approach works:

1. The Power of Three: Humans process information best in sets of three. Research shows that presenting more than three options—whether in emails or even products at a farmer’s market—can lead to “choice paralysis” and reduced engagement.

2. Turn Fear Into Focus: Market data can feel overwhelming, but framing it as actionable steps provides clarity. Instead of presenting raw information, guide your audience on what to do with it. Adding context helps reduce anxiety and drives decision-making.

3. Tailor Your Approach: Different audiences have different needs. For example, strategies for an investor raising their first or second VC fund might not apply to a commercial real estate manager raising their fifth $3B fund. Use “if-then” statements to customize your recommendations and make them more relatable.

By keeping it simple, actionable, and audience-specific, you’ll turn complex market insights into a roadmap people can actually use.

We divide our actionable insights into two separate sections: one for 1st/2nd Time Fund Managers and a second separate section for 3rd/4th/5th Time Fund Managers

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🪜 Working with Third-Party IR Teams
The tips below include insights on how investment firms can effectively collaborate with external investor relations teams. Our team partners with several top-tier IR providers. If you’re interested in exploring this option, reply to this newsletter, and we’ll share more details on the process. Programs typically range from 3 to 12 months in duration.

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📧 Survey & Monday’s Office Hours: We have 21 slots left for Monday’s office hours at 1 p.m. P.T.. Normally this is only for paid subscribers, but if you’d like to join us for the entire 50-min session, you may if you’re one of the last 21 readers to complete the survey! Just complete this survey, which takes 30 seconds, and then register here. Office hours will be based on How To Get LPs Using Clay! Clay.com is a really super tool that uses AI and lots of cool and complex data APIs to help your investment firm find LPs that are a great and truly natural fit for your investment thesis.

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Inside, you’ll find ready-to-use investment firm templates, invites for podcast appearances, and other great resources. Plus, we recently upgraded to Discord Nitro, unlocking premium features and perks to make our community even more engaging and fun. Don’t miss out!

[Photo credit by Maria Baranova]