Revisiting Power Law VC Performance with David Clark
Revisiting Power Law VC Performance with David Clark  
Podcast: Origins - Inside Venture Capital, Hosted by a GP and an LP
Published On: Thu Feb 20 2025
Description: Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners, revisits her conversation from 2023 with David Clark, Investment Director at VenCap International plc. In this episode, she and co-host Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures, dive into David’s nearly four decades of experience in investing in some of the most established VC funds across the US, Europe, China and India. David shares historical figures on where to find performance in venture and his findings from a recently uncovered 30 year trove of data from 400+ funds with 15,000+ underlying portfolio companies. In this data set, he found that 50% of VC investments don’t actually return capital. So how does an LP unlock performance and find the enduring managers?Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partnersLearn more about OpenLP: openlp.vcLearn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vcLearn more about Top Tier Capital Partners: ttcp.comSubscribe to the OpenLP newsletter for a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, delivered straight to your inbox.CHAPTERS:0:00-Welcome to Origins2:46-30 Years of Data at VenCap6:10-Almost Always Working With Established Managers11:19-A Very High Breakage Rate Between Funds One & Two16:01-Figuring Out Who the Next Great Ones Are24:41-Having At Least One Company That Returns the Entire Fund31:26-Building an LP Program36:18-Building a Program Where DPI Matters42:06-Looking Back On Predictions for 202450:49-Looking for GPs to Get Ahead of the Curve