Edition #1: 27+ New Funds Launched, Concentrated vs Diversified VC, Anchor LP Analysis
Hey folks,
This is Pavel and welcome to the 1st edition of Murph Capital Monthly.
This newsletter is my monthly brain-dump of the most useful stuff I’ve come across as an operator in the GP/LP world.
Follow me on X (@pavelprata) and LinkedIn for more frequent insights.
Top 5 Tweets 🕊️
◾️ How to turn your LP updates into the best fundraising tool (+free Weekend Fund’s template).
(by Pavel Prata from R136 Ventures).
◾️ How to engage institutional LPs for Fund 2/3 and why relationship building starts during Fund I.
(by Endowment Eddie).
◾️ Why a 4x fund can underperform the S&P 500 and why speed of returns matters.
(by Josh Kopelman from First Round).
◾️ The concentration problem killing VC returns and why diversified portfolios beat picking strategies.
(by Dan Gray from Equidam).
◾️ The $2.1 trillion opportunity beyond endowments and why VC liquidity concerns miss the bigger picture.
(by Meghan Reynolds from Altimeter).
Top 5 Linkedin Posts 👔
◾️ How recycling helps GPs to not leave millions on the table.
(by Pavel Prata from R136 Ventures).
◾️ Why anchor checks are getting bigger across all fund sizes and what this means for VC fundraising.
(by Kevin Dowd from Carta).
◾️ Why VC requires 80-90% of your time for <10% portfolio allocation and why passive approaches fail.
(by Samir Kaji from Allocate).
◾️ The AGM team highlighting strategy and why succession planning signals matter to LPs.
(by David Zhou from Superclusters).
◾️ The exit value dispersion reality and why nobody gets rich from $113M median outcomes.
(by David Clark from VenCap).
Top 3 Reports 📊
◾️ Rethinking Venture Capital: an 87-page report that reframes how we understand, allocate, and operate in VC.
(by Rohit Yadav).
◾️ The top 50 unicorn investor analysis and highlights.
(by Ilya Strebulaev from Stanford GSB).
◾️ Haven't found the 3rd one yet. Suggest your report in the comments!
Top 3 Podcasts 🎙️
◾️ I loved this Turner Novak’s Peel Show episode with Michael Kim of Cendana Capital. He breaks down what makes great seed funds, how he does diligence, the “60x rule,” and why secondaries are driving early-stage returns.
◾️ I also liked this Origins episode with Tomasz Tunguz of Theory Ventures. He shares his research-driven approach to building Theory, the value of high-risk experiments, VC spinout dynamics, and why LLMs will transform investing.
◾️ And finally David Weisburd’s “How I Invest episode” with Paige Finn Doherty of Behind Genius Ventures. She breaks down how she built a distinctive VC brand before 25, her "substance and vibes" LP strategy, the power of media for deal flow, and why she invests in "technical storytellers".
Emerging Funds Launched (27+) 💸
◾️ $54M for Planeteer Capital Fund I
(by Sophie Purdom)
◾️ $30M Browder Capital Fund IV
(by Joshua Browder)
◾️ $15M Nascent Ventures Fund II
(by Archie Cochrane, Victor Noguera, and Bernardo Cordero)
◾️ $250M QuantumLight Fund I
(by Ilya Kondrashov)
◾️ $25M Metalayer Ventures Fund I
(by Andy Kangpan, David Winton, and Mickey Graham)
◾️ $82M Zeal Capital Partners Fund II
(by Nasir Qadree)
◾️ $25M Outset Ventures Fund II
(by Angus Blair)
◾️ $6M SuperAngel.Fund II
(by Ben Zises)
◾️ $21M South Loop Ventures Fund I
(by Zach Ellis)
◾️ $57M Lunar Ventures Fund II
(by Dr. Elad Verbin, Mick Halsband, and Luis Shemtov)
◾️ $200M Factorial Funds Fund II
(by Sol Bier)
◾️ $20M Gilgamesh Ventures Fund II
(by Miguel Armaza and Andrew Endicott)
◾️ $80M Scribble Ventures Fund III
(by Elizabeth Weil)
◾️$45M Creator Ventures Fund II
(by Sasha Kaletsky and Caspar Lee)
◾️ $20M Schema Ventures Fund I
(by Aarthi Ramamurthy)
◾️ $52M Character Capital Fund II
(by John Zeratsky, Jake Knapp, and Eli Blee-Goldman)
◾️ $50M A100x Ventures Fund II
(by Nisa Amoils and Sal Ternullo)
◾️ €7M Wave Ventures Fund III
(by Antonia Eneh)
◾️ $54M Dynamo Ventures Fund III
(by Santosh Sankar)
◾️ $26M Immad Akhund’s Fund I
(by Immad Akhund)
◾️ $25M VentureIsrael Fund II
(by Rafael Gold and Gadi Isaev)
◾️ $28M Verb Ventures Fund II
(by Alexander Chikunov and Igor Burlakov)
◾️ $84M Marathon Venture Capital Fund III
(by Panos Papadopoulos)
◾️ $190M AI Fund II
(by Andrew Ng)
◾️ $13.5M Symphonic Capital Fund I
(by Sydney Thomas)
◾️ $125M RockawayX Fund II
(by Viktor Fischer)
◾️ $222M Dao 5 Fund II
(by Tekin Salimi)
Personal Notes ❤️
◾️ My firm R136 Ventures back Airwallex in its $300M Series F round. We invested alongside incredible partners including Square Peg, DST Global, Lone Pine Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Visa Ventures, and more.
◾️ My first portfolio company IPO just happened! R136’ portfolio company eToro goes public on NASDAQ. After shelving its 2021 SPAC plans, eToro has officially gone public raising $620M at a $4.2B valuation.
◾️ I took a road trip from Chicago through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana – exploring authentic small-town America and hiking the incredible Alum Cave Trail in Smoky Mountains.
What's Coming in The Next Episode?
Newsletter recap and key highlights
Fireside chats with emerging fund managers
Upcoming GP and LP events this month
Video snippets and behind-the-scenes content
What would you like to see? I'd love to hear your ideas – just hit reply and let me know what would be most valuable to you.