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LP Roundtable 2025/26 with Matt Curtolo & Anurag Chandra

· 58 min

Episode LP Roundtable 2025/26 with Matt Curtolo & Anurag Chandra

0:00 58:18

In the inaugural VC10X LP Roundtable, we bring together experienced allocators Matt Curtolo & Anurag Chandra to unpack the state of venture capital as we close out 2025 and look ahead to 2026.

⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com

Topics covered:

- How the recent Fed rate cut does and does not change venture capital

- Why DPI pressure has become the dominant LP concern

- Venture vs private credit and when the comparison actually matters

- Fundraising realities and why it now takes 18 to 30 months to raise a fund

- The changing role of secondaries, continuation funds, and engineered liquidity

- Why M&A, not IPOs, has historically driven most venture exits

- AI as a structural opportunity or capital concentration risk

- Generalist vs specialist funds and what real differentiation actually looks like

- Why some LPs are staying committed to venture despite short term underperformance

- The biggest mistakes allocators made in past cycles and what they won’t repeat

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Preview

(01:08) - Introduction to the LP Roundtable

(03:15) - The impact of the macro interest rate environment on venture capital.

(03:55) - The limited direct effect of interest rates on early-stage innovation.

(06:00) - How interest rates negatively impact SaaS company valuations and exits.

(09:35) - How "higher for longer" interest rates are changing LP expectations for returns.

(11:13) - The LP perspective: Balancing DPI, MOIC, and IRR in venture investing.

(14:09) - The role of the exit environment and secondaries in meeting DPI pressure.

(16:38) - The risks of LPs over-focusing on short-term DPI.

(18:44) - The emergence of the secondary market for later-stage companies.

(20:30) - Future outlook for the M&A and IPO markets as exit paths.

(21:02) - Why M&A is the historical bread and butter of venture exits, not IPOs.

(23:37) - Underestimating the potential scale of venture-backed exits in the new tech era.

(27:35) - How early-stage funds can engineer liquidity through secondary sales.

(29:24) - Gross vs. Net Returns: The difference between a good investor and a good fund manager.

(30:50) - Why is it so difficult to raise a VC fund today?

(31:45) - The fundraising bifurcation: Brand names vs. emerging managers.

(35:10) - Career risk and structural barriers for LPs investing in smaller funds.

(38:01) - Why institutions often prefer to invest in Fund III and beyond.

(40:38) - How can fund managers differentiate themselves? Generalist vs. specialist.

(41:46) - Differentiating as a "hustle fund" with a functional specialty (e.g., go-to-market).

(45:25) - It's not about being different, it's about being better: The importance of GP-thesis fit.

(48:08) - VCs should "take their own medicine" when pitching to LPs.

(49:17) - Outlook for 2026: Will the venture market get easier for funds and startups?

(50:05) - An optimistic outlook for 2026 driven by technological acceleration.

(55:18) - The growing importance of global and emerging markets in venture capital.

(55:45) - A closer look at India's booming IPO market and its contrast with the US.

(57:15) - Conclusion and final thoughts.

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Links to connect:

Matt Curtolo - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-curtolo-caia

Anurag Chandra - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anchandra

Prashant Choubey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab

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Transcript

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