Taking the LP Seat in VC – And It’s Not as Comfortable as You Might Think – 0100 Weekly Brief
Hello again!
We often talk about how challenging it is to be a GP in fundraising mode, but we rarely acknowledge that it’s also a tough environment for LPs. As global markets face geopolitical tensions, valuation pressures, and shifting macroeconomic conditions, LPs are actively rethinking how and where they deploy capital.
In this edition of 0100 Weekly, we bring you two contrasting LP perspectives. On one side, the British Business Bank—the largest VC LP in the UK—invests with a clear geographic mandate aligned with its mission to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the country. On the other hand, VenCap, a global fund of funds, backs top-tier venture capital managers across the U.S. and Europe.
Funds of funds, such as VenCap, are facing an especially tough climate. According to PitchBook, global private market fundraising fell nearly 20% year over year in 2024, and only $341 billion was raised in Q1 2025, a steep drop from the $500–600 billion per quarter seen during the peak years of 2021–2022 (though, admittedly, those levels were unsustainable outliers). In this constrained capital environment, FoFs are competing not only with direct venture funds but also with secondaries and large institutional platforms.
With fewer LP dollars in circulation and fundraising cycles growing longer across the board, FoFs are being forced to make difficult prioritization decisions, even as compelling opportunities continue to emerge.
🎧 A conversation with Tony Greenham from the British Business Bank - from our podcast, where we explore how public institutions can act as anchors for innovation, championing ESG integration and promoting long-term resilience.
🎧 Insights from David Clark of VenCap - we unpack the “fund size myth” and why true venture success is more about fit, ownership, and backing the top 1% than chasing scale.
🎧 Podcast Spotlight | Driving Sustainability in Venture
It’s no secret that public capital plays a key role in shaping the future of venture investing, especially when the goal is long-term impact. In this episode of 0100 Impact Talks, we sit down with Tony Greenham, Managing Director of Sustainability at the British Business Bank, to explore how public institutions can drive both innovation and resilience across the VC landscape.
Tony brings over two decades of experience in sustainable finance, from policy research to senior roles in private banking. At the British Business Bank, he now leads sustainability strategy across all investment activities, with a sharp focus on aligning ESG expectations with real-world growth.
In this episode, Tony talks about the Bank’s role as an anchor LP, often the first or final investor that helps unlock rounds, and how that unlocks growth capital for emerging fund managers and startups in the UK and Europe.
Key insights from the episode:
The anchor effect – Why being the first (or last) investor in a fund can make all the difference, and how the Bank is helping diversify the VC ecosystem across Europe.
Tailored ESG in venture – Early-stage funds and startups need proportional ESG expectations—Tony explains how rigid public market frameworks don’t always fit.
Defense & dual-use tech – With global security needs rising, the Bank is backing critical innovation without abandoning impact principles.
From greenwashing to genuine transition – It’s not about finding perfect companies—it’s about backing those with a plan to improve.
Why language matters – ESG may be politically charged, but the core ideas are resilience, sustainability, and long-term value.
📝 Expert Round-up | Breaking the Fund Size Myth
In venture capital, one idea just won’t go away: that bigger funds mean better performance. In this episode of 0100 Impact Talks, we sit down with David Clark, Chief Investment Officer at VenCap International, to debunk that belief—and explore what really drives long-term success in VC.
With nearly four decades of investing behind them, VenCap has a sharp eye for top-tier managers. David shares why LPs should stop obsessing over fund size and instead focus on a manager’s ability to consistently back the top 1% of companies and generate fund-returning outcomes.
He also unpacks some of the most misunderstood signals in VC performance, from flawed public datasets to the real meaning behind the power law, and what LPs should look for when selecting resilient managers in today’s bifurcating market.
Key insights from the episode:
Fund size ≠ performance – It’s not about whether a fund is small or large, but whether it’s right-sized for the ownership strategy and expected exits.
Fund-returning outcomes matter most – Over 90% of VenCap’s top-performing funds had at least one investment that returned the entire fund.
Emerging managers need early support – He argues public capital should back Fund I and II managers, but step away by Fund IV and beyond.
Generalist over specialist – VenCap bets on the best managers, not the hottest sectors. Let the GPs find the breakout companies—no matter the theme.
Long-term consistency over short-term timing – Venture is a 15-year game. The best LPs stay committed across cycles and resist the temptation to time the market.
📉 The LP Perspective at 0100 International: What Risk & Return Mean for LPs and GPs Today
We’re pleased to announce a special panel at the upcoming 0100 International conference in Milan, which will address how private market investors navigate risk, return, and responsibility.
The session, titled “International LP Perspectives — Navigating Risk, Returns, and Responsibility in a Shifting Private Equity Landscape,” will dive into how institutional investors are adapting to economic uncertainty, evolving ESG mandates, and new expectations around transparency and alignment with GPs.
Joining the discussion are:
Cesare Buzzi Ferraris, Managing Director, SwanCap – Cesare has led SwanCap’s Italian investment activities since 2013, following senior roles at UniCredit in both Corporate Finance and Principal Investments. With a strong background in capital markets and an MSc in Finance from London Business School, he brings deep experience in pan-European private equity.
Ray Ang, Executive Director, External Investing Group, Goldman Sachs - Based in London, Ray focuses on European private equity co-investments across various sectors. He previously held senior investment roles at Mubadala and Cinven, specializing in healthcare and industrials. Ray holds degrees from the University of Cambridge and the London Business School.
More speakers to be announced soon!
🌍 Across the Ecosystem | News & Useful Resources for You
We’re not the only ones paying close attention to how LPs are rethinking venture capital in today’s environment. The conversation around long-term performance, manager selection, and capital discipline is taking center stage across the private markets landscape.
Here’s a spotlight on other key insights and resources from across the ecosystem:
🗞️ News | The most active LPs in Europe
A new analysis from Sifted dives into Europe’s most active LPs, showing us which institutions have been backing VCs most consistently over the past decade.
As European venture fundraising dropped to €21B in 2024, LP sentiment is beginning to rebound; 29% say they’re more interested in backing European VC now than a year ago, according to Atomico.
📚 Report | European VC Valuations Report
New data from PitchBook highlights ongoing valuation dispersion and cautious optimism in the early-stage European venture market.
In Q1 2025, median pre-seed valuations rose to €2.4M, up from €2.2M in 2024. Despite macroeconomic headwinds, deal sizes also ticked upward, with median pre-seed rounds increasing to €0.7M from €0.6M at the end of last year.
These trends indicate a broader recalibration across private markets, as capital continues to flow but with more selective deployment and an emphasis on fundamentals, particularly at the seed and pre-seed levels.