Beezer Clarkson, MD at Sapphire Ventures, on reimagining the role of the LP in venture

Seed to Scale

Beezer Clarkson is the Managing Director at Sapphire Ventures, leading Sapphire Partners‘ investments in venture funds domestically and internationally. Beezer began her career in financial services over 20 years ago and has held various direct and indirect venture investment roles, including Draper Fisher Jurvetson Global Network, which then had $7 billion under management across 16 venture funds worldwide, as well as operational roles in software business development.

In this episode, Beezer speaks with Eniac Partner Nihal Mehta on the genesis of OpenLP, a community effort she spearheaded to foster greater understanding in the entrepreneur-to-LP tech ecosystem, as well as the fundamental role of an LP in venture, their relationship to partners and how they want to ensure they are bringing value to the funds beyond just capital.

Beezer also discusses the recent string of IPOs and her perspective on how it impacts the ecosystem, as well as how staying private longer impacts employees and how equity/liquidity is viewed.

She also gives advice to funds just starting out - what she looks for, expectations and opportunities.

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