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Tom Duffy is a Director on the private markets team at TIFF Investment Management, an institutional investment firm founded over 35 years ago to serve nonprofit endowments and foundations. TIFF runs outsourced CIO and individual asset class strategies, with a 13-person private markets team and over three billion dollars in private market commitments across lower middle market private equity, micro-cap direct investments, small-cap secondaries, and an early-stage venture fund of funds program running since 1997.

Tom breaks down how TIFF selects venture managers, how it underwrites a first fund with no track record, how it gets exposure to AI without chasing the theme, and what it's actually doing about the DPI drought.

⭐ This episode is brought to you by Podcast10x - https://podcast10x.com

Key topics we cover:

- What TIFF looks for in an early-stage venture manager, and why focus beats coverage

- How to underwrite an emerging manager raising Fund I with no attributable track record

- Why judgment and partnership are the traits AI can't commoditize

- Investing in AI and crypto through specialists rather than chasing the narrative

- Why forcing exits to manufacture DPI is a worse outcome for LPs

Chapters:

(00:00) - Preview

(02:11) - The Origin Story and Mission of TIF

(04:26) - Differentiating on Fees in Investment Management

(05:29) - TIF's Private Market Strategies and Key Differentiators

(08:06) - The Profile of a VC Manager That TIF Backs

(10:40) - How TIF Evaluates and Underwrites Emerging Managers

(13:21) - The Single Most Important Trait of the Best Managers: Focus

(15:54) - Investing in AI and Crypto Without Chasing Themes

(19:15) - Portfolio Diversification and Exposure to the AI Theme

(21:07) - Managing the "DPI Crisis" and Liquidity in Private Markets

(25:37) - Exploring Opportunities Beyond Popular Sectors and Geographies

(27:00) - Rapid-Fire Round on TIF's Investment Thesis

(27:20) - Sectors and Regions of Investment

(27:38) - Allocation Between Emerging and Established Managers

(28:13) - Preferred Fund Stage (Early vs. Late)

(28:50) - Typical First-Time Check Size

(29:17) - How Listeners Can Get in Touch

(29:34) - Conclusion and Final Words

Connect with Tom Duffy:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-duffy-cfa-cfp/

TIFF - https://www.tiff.org

Connect with Prashant Choubey:

LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab

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VC10X website - https://vc10x.com

Disclaimer: Tom Duffy, CFA, CFP, is a Director, Private Markets at TIFF Investment Management. All views expressed by him on this podcast are solely his opinions and do not reflect the opinions of TIFF. You should not treat any opinions expressed by Tom as a specific endorsement to make a particular investment. References to any securities are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Any past performance discussed is not indicative of future results. Please keep in mind that investment in a fund entails a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss. Please note that TIFF does not endorse the ads featured in this podcast, and TIFF is not a sponsor of these ads.

#VentureCapital #LimitedPartners #EmergingManagers #PrivateMarkets #FundOfFunds #Endowments #DPI #VentureLiquidity #AIInvesting #VC10X

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