Oct 20, 2024
As many know, Equal’s journey as an Emerging Manager has not been a straight forward one. I left my job at Lightbank in 2018 with zero knowledge of raising a fund or managing LP relationships. I had delivered returns for my prior fund and felt confident there was a gap in the market for our product, but I vastly underestimated the challenges ahead. I’ve unveiled some of those challenges and will choose to keep others private to my inner circle, but the process of starting and sustaining Equal remains one of the most trying experiences of my life.
Almost three years ago, Equal published Lessons from Plaid for a Future Energy Unicorn, outlining a vision for the future of energy data. In the piece, we proposed the need for a platform that could unlock data hidden across siloed devices and stakeholders. Since developing this thesis, we’ve gained deeper conviction that we are at the cusp of energy’s “Digital Moment.”
Oct 8, 2024
As we (and others) have written about in recent months, the venture market is experiencing some systemic challenges that have the potential to depress returns for some time. Simply put, there is too much capital seeking too few opportunities, particularly at the seed stage. Multi-stage firms have eliminated pricing discipline at seed stage and the proliferation of seed firms has made the task of investing at this stage as competitive as it’s ever been, leading me to believe that indexed seed investing in today’s environment will produce poor returns.
Oct 1, 2024
1 day, 5 keynotes, 30 speakers, 400 attendees, and an astounding 4,500 people on the waitlist. The second annual Climate Capital Summit hosted by Equal Ventures is officially in the books!
Sep 26, 2024
“Bridging the Digital Divide” What does that actually mean? We reference this term a lot and it's a metaphor that speaks to me. As I think of crossing a chasm, that requires a bridge to the other side (unless your Evil Knievel). The terrain on one side of that chasm can be very different from the other, making it essential for the bridge to level the variance between these seemingly opposing bodies for any one to reach the other side safely.