Emerging Manager Q&A: Nick Davidov about $75M DVC AI Fund I
Husband-wife duo replaced their analysts with AI and raised a $75M fund. I asked Nick 10 questions about how they did it
Hey folks,
This is Pavel, and I’m excited to introduce a new format we’ve been wanting to launch for a while: Fireside Chats with Emerging Fund Managers.
In this series, we sit down with the most interesting emerging managers who recently closed new funds and ask them 10 rapid-fire questions about their fundraising journey – uncovering the strategies, insights, and lessons that helped them get to close.
We’ve already published a few episodes featuring $15M Nascent VC, $41M Essence VC and $32M Sugar Free Capital on LinkedIn and X. Now we’re bringing the series to Substack, starting with Davidovs Venture Collective (DVC).
About The Firm
DVC is a community-powered VC firm backing Series A/B AI startups, founded by Marina and Nick – serial entrepreneurs who previously built Cherry Labs, Gagarin Capital, and iTech Capital.
After seeing traditional VC structure break down, they launched DVC in 2021 with 50 LPs and a radical thesis: fire all analysts, build proprietary AI agents to automate deal flow, and empower 170+ founder-LPs from OpenAI, Google, Meta, Tesla, and SpaceX to source deals and support portfolio companies.
The model worked. Their seed fund backed 120+ AI startups including Perplexity (now a decacorn), chipmaker Etched, Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab, and Higgsfield AI (which hit $100M ARR in under a year).
Now they’re scaling with DVC AI Fund I, cutting $1M-$5M checks at Series A/B with notable LPs such as Mike Arrington (Arrington Capital), Denis Yarats (Perplexity), Andrew F. (Wrike), and Oleg Shchegolev (Semrush).
Here is our fireside chat:
What is your fund’s superpower in one sentence?
Definitely the community – 190 technical engineers, founders, and angels are an extension of our team that gives us the resources of a mega-fund without its overhead.
How long did the active fundraising process take?
About 9 months.
Did anybody help you during fundraising: existing LPs, fellow GPs, placement agents?
We tried working with placement agents a bit, but it’s a time sink with no results. Most of the capital came through our own network and existing LPs.
How many LPs are in the final cap table, and what’s their breakdown?
61: 5 institutional, the rest are also founders of tech companies and angel investors.
What was the fastest check – time from first call to signed subscription?
About 1 hour.
What were the top 3 reasons LPs said “NO”?
We’ve heard a bunch of funny ones, but mostly it’s about people’s personal liquidity strategy, we’re upfront that VC will lock their liquidity for many years and it’s not a fit for some despite potentially better returns.
What were the top 3 signals that an LP was truly interested in your fund?
Community, co-investment opportunities, and track record.
What did LPs actually pay close attention to during fundraising?
Many haven’t even touched our data room, it was purely a connection on a personal level – “I trust these guys and their approach makes sense”.
What’s the biggest mistake fund managers make when fundraising?
Not setting deadlines.
What advice would you give to your future self and to other emerging managers about fundraising?
It’s going to be MUCH harder in the beginning than you think and MUCH easier in the end than you think.
Learn more about $75M DVC AI Fund I: Business Insider
Who do you want me to interview in the next episode?
I’d love to hear your ideas – hit reply below.