2023 has been a year of both investing and fundraising for us here at Tenacious Ventures. And sitting on both sides of the table has highlighted to us just how much of the investing world is stuck in a black box. In general, we’ve found that this opacity can be a huge barrier, especially in an industry like agri-food– where venture funding hasn’t been a long-standing part of the ecosystem.  

So we’ve decided to shine a little more light in the investment box by asking two of our favorite LPs– or limited partners, who invest in venture capital funds– to join us for a conversation about how their job works. 

Today we’re joined by Eliza Jackson from Macdoch Ventures and Sara Balawajder from Builders Initiative to discuss how their vision for building investment portfolios is evolving and how it’s been informed by their experiences beyond the agtech sector. 

In this episode, Eliza and Sara speak about: 

• How an agtech fund investment gets from intro call to money in the bank
• Evaluating founders vs. General Partners and what product-market fit looks like for each 
• Impact-first vs. financial-first investing in agtech
• Where returns will come from in agtech
• What funders consider when presented with a non-Power Rule portfolio 

For a summary of the discussion (i.e., an edited transcript), check out this post.

Useful Links:

• Don’t go chasing (only) unicorns
• It’s not you, it’s me - fundraising personas
• Where will agtech exits and returns come from
• How Silicon Valley set agtech back a decade
• Is Silicon Valley still killing agtech?  
• We’re fundraising for Tenacious Ventures Fund II, out loud 

The information in this post is not investment advice or a recommendation to invest. It is general information only and does not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making an investment decision you should read the information memorandum and seek financial advice from a professional financial adviser. Whilst we believe Information is correct, no warranty of accuracy, reliability or completeness.