Inside Super Returns: How the Biggest Investors Pick Venture Funds

Win $2,000 in credits with the Day One Network — take our 2-minute audience survey before 30 June: dayone.fm/surveyEpisode SummaryWhat happens when hundreds of the world’s biggest capital allocators get together behind closed doors to talk about venture, private equity, and where the next $30B is going? Maxine found out firsthand at Super Returns Asia, where she chaired the LP–GP relations stage.In this episode, Cheryl turns the tables and grills Maxine on everything she learned, from why India and Japan are suddenly hot, to why Southeast Asia is struggling, and why Australia didn’t even make the winners or losers list.They break down how institutional investors really think about funds, what “look-through ownership” means for angels and VCs alike, and why co-investing has LPs hot under the collar. Maxine also shares how family offices are thriving in the current market, what mega-funds like a16z’s $30B raise mean for everyone else, and why building long-term LP relationships is the only real way to get “super returns.”Time Stamps01:00 – What Super Returns is, and why it matters for VCs and angels06:43 – The LP landscape explained: super funds, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices10:40 – Winners and losers in APAC: India, China, Japan… but not Australia18:00 – Why Australia needs a better “brand story” to attract capital19:54 – Hot topic: co-investing and why LPs love it23:39 – Look-through ownership: why everyone’s just trying to own the outliers26:43 – Why emerging managers are struggling in today’s fundraising market33:49 – Family offices having “the time of their lives” in this cycle34:23 – Mega-funds, evergreen funds, and the $30B a16z raise39:30 – Will Sequoia and a16z ever lose their dominance?42:19 – Why APAC liquidity markets matter more than ever45:30 – The question nobody asked at Super Returns49:22 – How to actually build LP relationships that work53:55 – Maxine’s big takeaway: putting Australia on the winners listSponsors:First Cheque is supported by our wonderful sponsors:Deel: Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, and get visas handled fast, so you stay focused on scaling. Deel takes care of onboarding, HR, IT, EOR, benefits, and compliance, so your team can grow without borders.It’s why more than 40,000 fast-growing companies trust Deel to move fast.Visit https://www.deel.com/dayone___Pear Tree: Pear Tree helps Australian and New Zealand founders build high-performing offshore teams without the agency middleman.As local hiring becomes more expensive and harder to fill, many operators are turning to offshore talent across engineering, development, marketing, accounting and operations at a fraction of local salary costs.The offshore horror stories you hear usually aren’t a talent problem. They’re the result of outsourcing agencies that overcharge clients while underpaying staff. Pear Tree takes a different approach through a direct, transparent model where your team is paid fairly, fully compliant, and focused entirely on your business.As part of the Day One community, you’ll receive a free team audit to identify where offshore talent could move the needle in your business, plus 20% off your first hire. Learn more at http://dayone.fm/peartreeFirst Cheque is part of Day One.Day One helps founders and startup operators make better business decisions more often. To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new First Cheque episodes and upcoming shows.Mentioned in this episode:Deel x PX_Script 1This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrpSpotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/