264. Starting a Fund w/ Life Savings, Why it Takes More than Just Performance to Find Success, and Sticking to Your Framework (Simeon Iheagwam)

Simeon Iheagwam of Noemis Ventures joins Nick to discuss Starting a Fund w/ Life Savings, Why it Takes More than Just Performance to Find Success, and Sticking to Your Framework. In this episode, we cover: Walk us through your background and path to VC What's the thesis at NOEMIS Ventures? What is your process for investing? Are there any must-haves? Like Brad Feld... you are syndication agnostic... don't care about who else is in the round and you're willing to be the first yes.  How do you get to conviction -- especially not having worked for a large VC fund? Where do you help your portfolio companies the most? In your words... why is it difficult to launch a fund as a diverse manager? What were some of the most unexpected and challenging aspects of launching a fund? Strangest question you've received from an LP? What's your approach to investing in diverse founders? You were recently highlighted by Grasshopper Bank and Left Tackle Capital as an extraordinary funder.  And I believe you joined their inaugural cohort called the Future Funders Institute?  We've seen a few different accelerator-like programs spin up, targeted at emerging GPs.  Tell us a bit about the program. 3 data points... Let's say you are approached to invest in a Fintech SaaS business with $5k MRR, and 20% MoM growth for the last 3 months. The catch is you can only ask for 3 data points to make your decision. What 3 questions do you ask for?