IVP’s Eric Liaw on the firm’s giant new fund, that Klarna kerfuffle, and why looks can be deceiving when it comes to firm succession
When IVP precocious announced the closing of its 18th fund, I called Eric Liaw, a longtime wide spouse with the growth-stage firm, to inquire a fewer questions. For starters, wringing $1.6 cardinal successful superior commitments from its investors close present would look a batch much challenging than garnering commitments during the frothier days of 2021, erstwhile IVP announced a $1.8 cardinal vehicle.
I besides wondered astir succession astatine IVP, whose galore bets see Figma and Robinhood, and whose laminitis and earlier investors inactive loom ample astatine the steadfast – some figuratively and literally. A caller Fortune story noted that pictures of steadfast laminitis Reid Dennis stay scattered “in each sorts of places passim IVP’s San Francisco office.” Meanwhile, pictures of Todd Chaffee, Norm Fogelsong and Sandy Miller – erstwhile wide partners who are present “advisory partners” – are mixed successful with the firm’s wide partners connected the firm’s website, which, visually astatine least, makes little country for the existent generation.
Not last, I wanted to speech with Liaw astir Klarna, a portfolio institution that made headlines past period erstwhile a behind-the-scenes disagreement implicit who should beryllium connected its committee spilled into nationalist view. Here’s portion of our chat, edited for magnitude and clarity. You tin perceive to the longer speech arsenic a podcast here.
Congratulations connected your caller fund. Now you tin unbend for a mates of months! Was the fundraising process immoderate much oregon little hard this clip fixed the market?
It’s truly been a choppy play throughout. If you truly rewind the clock, backmost successful 2018 erstwhile we raised our sixteenth fund, it was a “normal” environment. We raised a somewhat bigger 1 successful 2021, which was not a mean environment. One happening we’re gladsome we didn’t bash was rise an excessive magnitude of superior comparative to our strategy, and past deploy it each precise quickly, which different folks successful our manufacture did. So [we’ve been] beauteous consistent.
Did you instrumentality immoderate wealth from Saudi Arabia? Doing truthful has go much acceptable, much widespread. I’m wondering if [Public Investment Fund] is simply a caller oregon existing LP.
We don’t typically remark connected our LP base, but we don’t person superior from that region.
Speaking of regions, you were successful the Bay Area for years. You person 2 degrees from Stanford. You’re present successful London. When and wherefore did you marque that move?
We moved astir 8 months ago. I’ve really been successful the Bay Area since I was 18, erstwhile I came to St...
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