How VC success is truly measured

How VC success is truly measured

Author: Paige Soya September 25, 2025 Duration: 42:27

How do you know if you're actually a successful venture capitalist? It's harder to tell than you might think. In this episode, K Street Capital Managing Partner Paige Soya sits down with Henri Pierre-Jacques, Managing Partner of Harlem Capital, to dive deep into the metrics that really matter in venture capital - and why most of them have nothing to do with spreadsheets.

Henri shares the brutal realities of fund performance, including why only 16% of funds make it to Fund IV and how the 2021 vintage created one of the tightest performance bands in 20 years. But beyond the financial metrics like TVPI and DPI, we explore the operational indicators that successful VCs track daily: graduation rates, win ratios, cash efficiency, and the often-overlooked importance of deal access and founder relationships.


Behind every major innovation, there's usually a risky bet and a tense conversation that made it happen. High Stakes pulls back the curtain on those pivotal moments by focusing squarely on the world of early-stage venture capital. Instead of abstract theory, each conversation pairs a founder who has lived the grind with an investor who has backed the vision, creating a dynamic and often revealing dialogue. They tackle the specific trends and tough questions shaping the venture space right now, from evaluating a team's potential to navigating a market downturn. You'll hear the nuanced strategies, the candid mistakes, and the real-world compromises that define building and funding a company from the ground up. This podcast is built for anyone curious about the mechanics and human drama of startup investing, offering a genuine sense of how capital flows to ideas and what it truly takes to succeed. Tune in for unscripted perspectives that clarify how high-risk decisions are made and what both sides learn when the stakes are at their absolute highest.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 64

High Stakes
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