We’re thrilled to bring you my recent talk with Jeff Clavier of Uncork Capital, one of the early trailblazers of the emerging manager community. Jeff started investing in seed full time all the way back in 2004 well before the Micro-VC moniker was even conceived (back then we called them Super Angels). Today the firm is one of the most active seed funds in the market with over $500MM in AUM and having invested in companies such as Poshmark, Fitbit, Eventbrite, and Molekule. In this episode is a broad conversation covering the history of VC, raising in a downturn, his thoughts on the hardest things about building the firm, and trends that are influencing the future of venture. A message from our sponsor Frank, Rimerman + Co.’s history is closely intertwined with that of Silicon Valley. With humble beginnings similar to so many start-ups, Frank, Rimerman was formed with a desire to serve the entrepreneurial and venture communities of the Valley and the determination to think outside-the-box. Frank Rimerman works with almost 500 VC groups from over 20 states across the USA with 350 fund groups during their first year of existence, making them one of the leading providers in the country to emerging managers. Frank, Rimerman + Co, Passion Works Here. www.frankrimerman.com In this episode we discuss the following topics: 01:54    Jeff’s start as an investor with $250k of his own capital, and his first investment 03:01    The decision to start a fund with third party capital 06:10    Fundraising in the global financial crisis of 2008 09:01    The strategy shift in fund III and the questions it raised from LPs 12:10    Why Uncork has kept funds smaller thus far 16:45    Thoughts on the service provider model VC’s need to embrace 19:16    Building a multi-generational firm with brand recognition 21:36    How to attract high-quality talent 23:46    The day-to-day challenges of running a firm 25:56    Maintaining culture with remote work 30:56    The future of VC after the pandemic 34:48    The amount of firms and innovation in the market today and what it means 39:24    How the future is so hard to predict 40:38    The best advice he’s gotten as a VC 42:51    His biggest miss and the lesson he learned from it 46:19    The advice he would give to a new manager Mentioned In This Episode: Uncork Capital We’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Jeff! Follow @SamirKaji and give your insight and questions using the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop a direct message on Twitter. Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency Get on the email list at ventureunlocked.substack.com