WTT: You Can't See Everything

The new documentary about Elizabeth Holmes and a candid conversation with a successful investment manager got me thinking about how we discover the truth. In this What Ted's Thinking, You Can't See Everything, I explore how the questions allocators ask can shape the answers they receive, and how our search for certainty can get in the way of understanding.     Read Ted's blog here.     Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Aydin Senkut is the Founder of Felicis, a venture capital firm he founded 20 years ago that invests in seed and Series A companies, now out of a billion-dollar fund.   Aydin joined me on the show five years ago, and we followed that conversation with what's changed for Felicis, high growth companies, and the venture industry.   AlphaSense free trial for Capital Allocators listeners.   Learn more about Juniper Square here.   Learn More Follow Ted on X at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list (https://capitalallocators.com/) Access Transcript with Premium Membership (https://capitalallocators.com/signup)   Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Aydin Senkut is the Founder and Managing Partner of Felicis Ventures, a $2 billion early stage venture firm that invests in founders building iconic companies that transcend geographic and industry boundaries. Its success has placed Aydin on the Forbes Midas List for the past 8 years. Our conversation covers Aydin's early exposure to entrepreneurship and international business, experience as the first international product manager at Google, and transition into angel investing and founding Felicis. We discuss his investment philosophy, proactive sourcing, and doing whatever it takes to join the cap table and support founders. We close with Aydin's perspective on competition in the venture capital industry.   Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership     Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠)

Vik Uppal is the Founder and CIO of Mavik Capital Management, a $2 billion flexible special situations investment firm grounded in commercial real estate and hard assets that operates through a credit lens. Vik began developing properties as a teenager and after a difficult experience during the financial crisis, moved to New York to begin a career as a professional investor.   Our conversation covers Vik's path from developer to distressed investor and the principles he built Mavik around: stable capital, alignment, flexibility, and finding opportunities where capital is scarce. We discuss filtering a wide funnel for ideas, creating downside protection, identifying opportunities in commercial real estate, avoiding the AI infrastructure boom, and growing an investment business without losing its edge.   Learn More Follow Ted on X at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list (https://capitalallocators.com/) Access Transcript with Premium Membership (https://capitalallocators.com/signup)   Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Zack McGuire is Senior Managing Director of Investments at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.   Zack's career spans Citigroup, Emory University, the University of Georgia Foundation, and the Maine Public Employees Retirement System before joining Children's three and a half years ago.   His responsibilities extend well beyond investing into team leadership, overseeing the investment process, and strategic initiatives across the broader healthcare system.   Our conversation covers how an institution's capital base shapes its investment strategy, CHOA's thematic approach to portfolio construction, empowering a team of generalists, and leveraging investment relationships to support the broader institution.   Zack brings humility, curiosity, and conviction to his work, grounded in a belief that resonates deeply with us at Capital Allocators: one of the best ways to compound capital is to compound relationships.     AlphaSense free trial for Capital Allocators listeners.   Learn more about Juniper Square here.   Learn More Follow Ted on X at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list (https://capitalallocators.com/) Access Transcript with Premium Membership (https://capitalallocators.com/signup)   Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

My guest on today's show is Scott Ramsower, Head of Private Equity Funds at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, where a 27-person team manages $33 billion in private equity for the $250 billion pension plan. Scott started his LP career at AlpInvest and joined Texas Teachers sixteen years ago, when the private equity program was six people and $7 billion. He also chairs the board of ILPA.     Our conversation covers Scott's path from equity research to the LP seat and the growth of the Texas Teachers program. We then turn to continuation vehicles and the reasons LPs have grown wary of them, from conflicted pricing and misaligned economics to the loss of the right tail. We close with zombie funds, retail capital in private equity, and how a slower exit market is changing the way LPs underwrite their GPs.     AlphaSense free trial for Capital Allocators listeners.     Learn more about Juniper Square here.     Learn More Follow Ted on X at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list (https://capitalallocators.com/) Access Transcript with Premium Membership (https://capitalallocators.com/signup)     Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Ben Harrison is President of Industries at Intapp, a leading provider of software solutions to professional and financial services firms. Ben first joined me three years ago to discuss DealCloud, Intapp's platform serving the private capital community. Since then, Intapp has nearly tripled in size, and the rapid development of AI has created an entirely new opportunity for the business.     Our conversation explores what Ben calls "firm AI" — moving beyond using AI to conduct research, build models, or create presentations to deploying agents that draw on a firm's institutional memory and execute its workflows.     We discuss how AI is changing sourcing and origination, fundraising, deal lifecycle management, and the staffing of investment firms. We also cover the critical importance of governance and security, lessons from the combination of DealCloud and Intapp, and Ben's perspective on the next leg of growth for the business.     Learn More Follow Ted on X at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership   Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

This Sponsored Insight features Ben Harrison, Founder and Co-President of DealCloud, our sponsor for Season 3 of Private Equity Deals.     Ben discusses how DealCloud's vertical software supports alternative investment professionals through deal sourcing, relationship and pipeline management, and workflow efficiencies.     We are incredibly grateful of DealCloud for sponsoring Private Equity Deals, and we are eager to highlight their value to the alternative investment community.     Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership     Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠)

My guest on today's show is Tracy Britt Cool, co-founder of Kanbrick, a long-term investment partnership that provides owners of family-owned, midsized businesses with a differentiated option from traditional private equity.     Tracy launched the business after spending ten years at Berkshire Hathaway as one of Warren Buffett's few deputies. She started out of business school as a financial assistant to Buffett, served as Chair of several Berkshire portfolio companies, and later became CEO of Pampered Chef.     Our conversation covers Tracy's journey, including lessons from Buffett and the value of operating experience. We turn to the application of those lessons at Kanbrick across its strategy, sourcing, deal dynamics, operational improvements, and long-term holding periods, all supported by the firm's creation of a community of 4,000 executives who share best practices in hiring, operations, excellence, and growth.   AlphaSense free trial for Capital Allocators listeners here.   Learn more about Juniper Square here.   Learn More Follow Ted on X at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list (https://capitalallocators.com/) Access Transcript with Premium Membership (https://capitalallocators.com/signup)   Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)    

Our next guest on the Senior Decision Makers series is Erlina Yeo Terwelp, a Managing Director at Columbia Investment Management Company, where she oversees the endowment's private markets portfolio.   Erlina's path spans investment banking, private equity, growth equity, and family office investing before she joined Columbia nearly a decade ago. Our conversation covers her evolution as an allocator, how she thinks about manager selection and portfolio construction, the growing role of leadership and team development in her seat, and her perspective on generalist versus specialist team models after working within both.   Erlina is candid, thoughtful, and funny — with a deep commitment to intellectual honesty, an openness to changing her mind, and a willingness to continually put herself in situations that force her to grow.   Learn more about Juniper Square here.     Learn More Follow Ted on X at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership   Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)