THE FUND STRATEGY SIMULATOR
Fund Manager!
In fund manager! Your job is to develop a fund strategy, raise LP funding, scout deal flow, invest in a portfolio of startups, generate successful exits and deliver stunning returns to your investors. Are you up for the task? Can you build a globally leading investment company? Are you a next-generation Fund Manager!?
Built on Real-life Funds
In Fund Manager! You step into the shoes of a new fund management team. You and your team will work through the same, real-life challenges any new team will face. Who are the best LPs for our fund? How do we compensate our venture partners? Which strategic advisors should we work with? Should we do follow-on? And how can we reach the 63X fund return Garry Tan at Initialized Capital achieved with Coinbase in his fund?
Build a world-class team
Your first challenge is building your investment thesis and aligning your team. Should you do pre-seed in Japan, Impact in Africa or Web3 in the US?
Are you a pre-seed, $150.000 per ticket or do you prefer to lead monster rounds to catch unicorns?
And how do you get your team up and running in record-short time?
Compete across funds
Just like in real life, there are plenty of hungry fund managers out there. IRRs, multiples, roadmaps to exit, and strategies for value creation all get thrown around in meetings and on TikTok.
But who can actually deliver the numbers? By year three you will start seeing the industry leaders – and the laggards. Which one are you?
Deliver stunning results
As you gain experience, you will start seeing new paths to value creation. Should you work with Jennifer Cho from Hong Kong’s Venture association or perhaps Israeli ex-Colonel Gohlan Neyr or maybe focus on the exit landscape instead?
Regardless, your overarching goal is all about delivering stunning results in your fund.
Experience Fund Manager
Completely Digital
Available Online…
Fund Manager! Digital is available 100% remotely and digitally.
The simulation can be delivered over two days or spread over three-day, five-day, or even multiple weeks-long programs.
…Or In Person
Use Fund Manager! for interactive, hands-on, and experiential teaching methods in your classroom. Have your students go hands-on with how to build a venture fund.
Well suited for Masters, MBA, Executive, or any range of corporate education programs.
Fund Manager! in 30 Sec
You are the founding team of a new investment company. Your goal is to raise a fund and invest in successful companies. You compete with other world-class on achieving the best fund performance.
Sounds easy?
Along the way, you will meet ups (Boom), downs (Bust), LPs, GPs, Strategic Dilemmas, Advisors, Venture Partners, Market News, Exits, Value Creation Strategies, Super LPs, and much more. You will be competing with (up to) five other funds, all set on finishing ahead of you.
How to win?
Develop a clear investment thesis and investment strategy. Raise LP financing, grow your deal flow pipeline, protect your fund economics, beware of bad deals, scale your portfolio, get the best exits, deliver a stunning IRR and fund multiples.
Good luck!
How to Win
You and your fund need to navigate the Fund Manager Triangle. You need a clear thesis, strategy and start building your fund. Having a great team will help! For the final win you are judged on your overall fund performance. Will the best fund win?
LIMITED PARTNERS
How will you find and secure the right LPs for your strategy?
DEALFLOW
How can you grow your dealflow pipeline to match your fund size and fund strategy?
EXIT STRATEGY
How will you work to get the best possible exits in your investment portfolio?
Choose Your Type of Fund
You can select a standard LP/GP fund, a family office or a corporate venture fund. Once you have made your choice, you set the strategy, direction and details.
Based on Real-life Funds
Fund Manager! Builds on insights and practices from 100’s of funds across the world. The real-life challenges will surface in the simulation for you to tackle.
Key Roles on Your Team
Each team will have between two and five participants on the fund’s team.
MANAGING PARTNER
The Managing Partner is overall responsible for the team and the fund’s performance. Make sure to develop your fund’s economic model, value creation style and exit plays.
FUNDRAISING DIRECTOR
The Fundraising Director leads all work towards Limited Partners and investors into the fund. Expect a lot of meetings and a lot of nos.
INVESTMENT DIRECTOR
You are charged with all investment decisions. Maybe you want to have an Investment Committee; maybe not.
DEALFLOW ANALYST
You are tasked with scouting, analyzing and tracking all relevant startups. You need to feed the Investment Director with brilliant cases and investment opportunities.
FUND MANAGER
The Fund Manager is running the day-to-day fund operations. Keep your eyes glued to the economic model, the cash liquidity, portfolio modelling, return modeling and overall fund reporting and performance. Busy lifestyle ahead.
What You Will Experience
You and your team are all emerging fund managers. You are setting up your first time fund. You will need to develop your investment thesis, fund strategy & fund economics. Next, you need to raise LP funding, invest in promising startups, generate exits and value and finally create monster returns for your investors.
What Is Your Investment Thesis?
Start by defining your investment thesis, your fund strategy, value creation strategy, financial model, fund economics, IC workflow and more.
Can You Raise LP Financing?
Meet 100’s of potential Limited Partners. Can you find the right mix of LP investors that fit your fund?
Can You Deliver Portfolio Growth and Exits?
Once you start investing, you also start supporting, scaling and developing your portfolio. Can you find just the right mix of Portfolio Growth and Exits?
Can You Deliver On Your Value Creation?
When you were just starting out you likely set yourself lofty targets? After years of work, now you need to deliver. Can you chase down Unicorns, Decacorns, and Dragons?
Outcomes
Fund Manager! Is a direct simulation of running a real-life fund.
Understand the full lifetime journey of a fund
Learn how to deal with investment thesis, LPs, deal flow and investments
Learn how to think in terms of ‘value creation’, ‘exits’ and ‘LP returns’
Practice your deal making skills, closely aligned to real-life venture funds
Master new tools for real life fund success
Grow your skills in venture capital and venture financing
Work with visual strategy canvases – developed exclusively for emerging fund managers
Fund Manager! Brings 20+ visual strategy frameworks to the table. From strategy, fund raising, value creation or Outcome canvases, we have developed a rich collection of visual tools – exclusively designed to help fund managers become successful.
My LP Map
Who are the Limited Partners you have your eyes on? How do you find just the right LPs for your fund? My LP Map is designed to help you accelerate your entire fund raising process.
First Time Fund Manager Map
The First Time Fund Manager Map helps you map out your strengths and weaknesses, then guide you in shaping the right fund strategy to match your strengths.
First Time Fund Strategy Map
The Fund Strategy Map helps the team map out the high-level strategy for the fund and uncover any traps or assumptions that could bring the initiative crashing down.
over 2/3rds fail….
When I ask my Silicon Valley friends that have an exit or done well for themselves what they’re considering next, the answer often comes back “I’m starting a fund”. I’ve seen many try and many fail. Starting a fund is difficult work and requires deep operational knowledge as well as financial expertise. There are books and reference material available but practical know-how and experience comes only with success or failure. This is why over 2/3rds of first-time funds typically fail – until now. Fund Manager is a very sophisticated and multi-varied simulation that realistically lays out the journey of building, running and exiting a fund. Finally, there is a tool that I would recommend to anyone looking to become a venture capitalist.
Rick Rasmussen
Advisor to global venture funds, Industry Fellow, Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology, UC Berkeley
Join our Fund Manager Bootcamp
22-24 Oct 2024 (3 days), 17:00 – 22:00 CEST
The Fund Manager! Bootcamp is a deeply immersive digital workshop on how to build and scale early-stage venture funds. The Bootcamp is built around the Fund Manager! simulation, but also goes beyond that with mini-lectures and advanced exercises content.