Fund managers
How can a generalist venture fund prepare a reference process for LPs?
a generalist venture fund: Prepare references who can speak to specific relevant work, with their permission and without scripting an endorsement.
Prepare references who can speak to specific relevant work, with their permission and without scripting an endorsement. Different people observe sourcing, judgment, collaboration, support, and reporting. Clarify what each reference actually knows.
Start with the decision
Create a reference map by question and relationship. Confirm permission, timing, and the information that may be discussed. Leave room for mixed feedback and avoid treating the process as a collection of universally positive testimonials.
The illustrative scenario
This is an educational workbook. The company or fund and all numerical inputs below are fictional. They are not ADIN results, customer claims, market benchmarks, or a forecast.
The fictional fund invests across several sectors at a consistent stage. Its pitch emphasizes founder selection and a wide network rather than a single domain. Different deal teams provide different forms of expertise.
Sector variety does not explain how the manager develops conviction outside familiar areas. Ask how specialist evidence enters a decision and how the same standard is maintained across deals.
Turn the scenario into an evidence decision
Consider a review of a generalist venture fund in which a confident explanation arrives before the supporting records. Start with the first question in the table. Write down what an answer would change: the next interview, the experiment's scope, a request for specialist review, or a decision to wait. A question without a consequence can produce a longer document while adding little understanding.
Next, inspect the record named in the table and record its date, owner, permission boundary, and limitations. Review decision memos from contrasting sectors, specialist reference processes, investment committee responsibilities, and the complete portfolio. Include cases where missing expertise led to a pass. If the record contradicts the explanation, preserve both accounts and ask which definition, period, or workflow differs. Do not silently select the version that makes the opportunity look strongest.
Finish with a conditional statement: if the specified evidence supports the claim under these conditions, take the named next step; otherwise investigate the unresolved question. A candid reference process can help LPs understand both strengths and limitations. It should not suggest that a prior employer, founder, or investor guarantees the new fund's performance or endorses every claim. This worked exercise is about the decision process. It does not assert that a fictional company has met a real diligence standard or that a template can authorize an investment.
| Item | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Decision question | What did the person observe? |
| Case-specific constraint | Sector variety does not explain how the manager develops conviction outside familiar areas. Ask how specialist evidence enters a decision and how the same standard is maintained across deals. |
| Record to inspect | Review decision memos from contrasting sectors, specialist reference processes, investment committee responsibilities, and the complete portfolio. Include cases where missing expertise led to a pass. |
| Comparison to preserve | Compare the promised generalist process with specific, observable decisions. Avoid substituting a broad opportunity set for a coherent method of selection and support. |
| Unresolved case question | Who checks unfamiliar domain claims? |
Use this worksheet
Answer the questions with a source, date, owner, and next action. Mark an unknown as unknown. Use public or permissioned information and involve a qualified specialist when a question requires expertise beyond the team’s competence.
- What did the person observe?
- Which question can they answer?
- Is permission confirmed?
- What relationship may bias the view?
- Which capability lacks a reference?
Questions specific to this scenario
- Who checks unfamiliar domain claims?
- Which standard is consistent across sectors?
- How are contradictory specialist views resolved?
Review decision memos from contrasting sectors, specialist reference processes, investment committee responsibilities, and the complete portfolio. Include cases where missing expertise led to a pass.
A concrete next test
Compare permissioned decision records from two unfamiliar sectors. Ask how the manager obtained specialist evidence and resolved disagreement in each. A consistent process should explain both the chosen investments and the situations where limited expertise prevented a confident decision.
Interpret the result
A candid reference process can help LPs understand both strengths and limitations. It should not suggest that a prior employer, founder, or investor guarantees the new fund's performance or endorses every claim.
Compare the promised generalist process with specific, observable decisions. Avoid substituting a broad opportunity set for a coherent method of selection and support.
Sources and method
These primary resources provide background for the concepts. The fictional scenario, calculations, and worksheet are ADIN educational examples; the sources do not report or validate those invented results. Reviewed October 11, 2026.