"Venture is a Who Business, Not a What Business" | JD Montgomery

“One thing that is unique to private equity and venture capital is persistence is a little easier because of the brand. ‘They did good deals, so therefore, the good deals come to find you.’ If you were in a long-only private equity shop or hedge fund, Amazon is not going to come find you because you invested in Shopify.” — JD MontgomeryJD Montgomery leads the Family Office division at Canterbury Consulting and is a seasoned advisor with nearly four decades of experience serving prominent families with a focus on strategy, organization and measurement. Based in Newport Beach, he serves a select group of multi-generational families and helps them navigate the complexities of wealth, purpose, and legacy. Mr. Montgomery partners with his clients to help them optimize the allocation of their resources across generations. Over the years, Mr. Montgomery has developed a deep network of relationships in the venture capital industry. He has helped his clients gain meaningful exposure to venture funds and direct investments and develop relationships with leading innovators and investors globally. He is a Managing Director, shareholder, and board member at Canterbury Consulting. He graduated from Stanford University and holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation.You can find JD on his socials here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jd-montgomery-6161341b/OUTLINE:[00:00] Intro[02:18] The "some day" exercise[11:12] Why does JD do "some day" every 6 months?[12:33] JD's life line[16:44] When JD is 85 years old...[18:05] JD's relationship with fatherhood despite the trauma[22:40] Annual dad report cards[25:33] Intentionality with GPs[28:41] How to avoid one-hit wonders[33:43] How to transfer self-esteem[36:05] How do you get GPs off of their talk track?[37:36] Non-obvious things JD looks for in GPs[41:43] Is selling 0.2X DPI in the first 4 years meaningful?[44:27] Should you recycle capital or deploy out of the next fund?[46:34] Why did JD choose to work with families?[48:07] "Never eat alone"[51:34] How does JD think about time allocation?[55:06] How many new GPs does JD meet with?[59:07] How did JD pass on then back Founders Fund?[1:03:22] The difference between unexplored gold veins and rotting trash[1:08:13] Mayan Mocha at Austin's Picnik[1:08:58] JD's secret street taco recipe[1:11:09] JD's reminder that we're still in the good ol' days[1:13:20] Post-credit scene: No garlic and onionsFollow David Zhou for more Superclusters content:For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclustersFollow David Zhou's blog: https://cupofzhou.comFollow Superclusters on X: https://x.com/SuperclustersLP