"Turpentine VC" | Venture Capital and Investing

E83: Chad Byers on Why Susa is a Purpose-Built Seed Specialist [Classic Interview]


Listen Later

This week on Turpentine VC, we’re sharing Erik Torenberg’s interview with Susa Venture’s Chad Byers, which originally aired in September 2023. Chad discusses the firm's journey, their fund structures, and their vision for specialized seed investing, emphasizing the importance of focus, discipline, and adapting to market dynamics.


— 


📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess  

🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse 


SPONSORS:

☁️Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is a single platform for your infrastructure, database, application development, and AI needs. OCI has four to eight times the bandwidth of other clouds and offers one consistent price. Oracle is offering to cut your cloud bill in half. See if your company qualifies at oracle.com/turpentine 


💥 Head to Squad to access global engineering without the headache and at a fraction of the cost: head to https://choosesquad.com/  and mention “Turpentine” to skip the waitlist.


LINKS:

Fund V Announcement: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/chadabyers_dear-founders-were-excited-to-announce-activity-7307890222753554432-JOLt


X / TWITTER:

@chadbyers

@SusaVentures

@eriktorenberg

@TurpentineVC


HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE:

  • Susa Ventures evolved from a $25M fund in 2013 to multiple funds under separate brands with distinct investment focuses.
  • The firm is purposely reorganizing into three distinct branded strategies for better founder experience and clarity.
  • Susa maintains fund size discipline, deliberately staying under $200M for seed investments to maintain quality.
  • They focus on five specific categories: FinTech, Healthcare, Logistics, B2B SaaS, and Infrastructure.
  • Their investment philosophy centers on concentrated bets with 35 companies per fund and higher ownership stakes.
  • Notable successes include Robinhood (which was passed on by 110 firms) and Flexport from their first fund.
  • The best portfolio companies typically needed the least help from investors.
  • Value-add strategy focuses on being helpful during "crux moments" rather than constant interference.
  • Investors should provide frameworks and historical data instead of specific operational advice.
  • Non-"hot" deals often produce better returns due to lower entry prices.
  • Specialist investors are increasingly winning over generalists in the venture landscape.
  • Chad predicts venture capital is bifurcating into large multi-stage asset managers and specialized firms.
  • The firm aims to "maximize value creation per dollar" rather than maximize assets under management.
  • Susa's goal is to become the #1 seed firm over the next decade through specialization.
  • Price discipline and high ownership focus remain central to their strategy going forward.
  • Venture capital is becoming more like other asset classes with potentially lower overall returns.
  • The industry's power law is intensifying with the top 5% of firms generating most returns.
  • There's increasing competition from former operators now working in venture capital.
  • ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    "Turpentine VC" | Venture Capital and InvestingBy Erik Torenberg

    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6

    4.6

    21 ratings


    More shows like "Turpentine VC" | Venture Capital and Investing

    View all
    a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

    a16z Podcast

    1,040 Listeners

    The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

    The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

    518 Listeners

    Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

    Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

    2,322 Listeners

    Y Combinator Startup Podcast by Y Combinator

    Y Combinator Startup Podcast

    222 Listeners

    Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast by Hugh MacArthur, Bain & Company

    Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast

    146 Listeners

    Bankless by Bankless

    Bankless

    1,025 Listeners

    All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

    All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

    9,236 Listeners

    Grit by Kleiner Perkins

    Grit

    190 Listeners

    Dwarkesh Podcast by Dwarkesh Patel

    Dwarkesh Podcast

    428 Listeners

    Venture Unlocked: The playbook for venture capital managers by Samir Kaji

    Venture Unlocked: The playbook for venture capital managers

    81 Listeners

    Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist by Joe Lonsdale

    Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist

    164 Listeners

    Unsupervised Learning by by Redpoint Ventures

    Unsupervised Learning

    50 Listeners

    BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley by BG2Pod

    BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley

    469 Listeners

    Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

    Prof G Markets

    1,175 Listeners

    Uncapped with Jack Altman by Alt Capital

    Uncapped with Jack Altman

    35 Listeners