Platform and portfolio support
Platform and portfolio support for venture funds
The layer that decides whether an investment works. I help funds, accelerators and studios decide where hands-on support earns its cost, and build something repeatable for the rest.
Sound familiar?
Signs it's time
- Your platform team is busy, but you can't say what it changed.
- Founders ask for help the fund can't consistently deliver.
- Portfolio reporting is patchy, late and hard to compare.
- You are launching an accelerator, studio or new fund and need the model, terms and programme.
- LPs are asking how you add value beyond capital.
- Support depends on which partner a founder happens to know.
What I do
What's included
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Platform strategy
Where to focus support (talent, customers, go-to-market, fundraising) and what to leave to partners. The best platforms do a few things exceptionally well.
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Programme design
Accelerator and studio programmes: proposition, curriculum, mentors, investment process and commercial terms.
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Portfolio operating rhythm
Check-ins, KPIs and reporting that show what is actually happening inside the portfolio.
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Hands-on founder support
Senior help for priority companies at critical moments: go-to-market, positioning, operations and leadership.
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Partner and ecosystem network
Corporates, protocols, service providers and co-investors that founders can actually use.
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Measuring impact
Evidence for LPs that the platform changes outcomes, not just activity.
How it works
How an engagement runs
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Audit
Weeks 1 to 3
What the portfolio needs compared with what the platform delivers, from founder, partner and team interviews.
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Design
Weeks 3 to 6
Platform model, priorities, team, budget and KPIs.
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Launch
Next quarter
Stand up the programmes, partners and reporting.
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Run or hand over
Ongoing
Operate it with your team, or hand it to an in-house platform lead.
Who it's for
A good fit if you are
- Seed and early-stage funds building or resetting a platform team
- Accelerators, venture studios and corporate venture units
- Ecosystem funds and foundations supporting builders on their technology
Proof
Recent work
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Venture studio design
Input Output Group
Scoped out the venture studio vision and concept. Consulted with senior executives and ran a two-day workshop to prioritise existing incubatee companies.
Result: A new vision and operating model for the studio.
Why me
Operator, not adviser
- As COO of Outlier Ventures, designed and launched the Base Camp accelerator and repositioned the firm as an institutional-grade accelerator that attracted institutional LPs
- As CCO, led programmes, partnerships and marketing across nearly 400 portfolio companies, and owned partnership revenue with major technology foundations
- Built Outlier's founder-support offer for pre-seed and seed companies
- Accelerator of the Year, City AM Crypto AM Awards 2020; Blockchain Investor of the Year, The Europas 2019
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What does a VC platform team actually do?
Helps portfolio companies succeed beyond the cheque: typically talent, customer and partner introductions, go-to-market and fundraising support, and community. The best platform teams do a few of these exceptionally well rather than everything adequately.
Do you work directly with portfolio companies?
Yes. Many engagements combine designing the platform with hands-on support for a few priority companies, which also tests the model in practice.
Can you help us launch an accelerator?
Yes: proposition, programme, investment process, commercial terms and partner network. I designed and launched Outlier Ventures' Base Camp accelerator.
Working on something at the inflection point?
Let's talk about where you are and where you want to get to.