20VC: From Kitchen Table to $134M Fund II; Raising Your First Time Fund: Lessons from 400 LP Meetings, How To Find New LPs, What Materials to Use, How To Get LPs To Commit, The Challenges on Minimum Check Sizes and GP Commits and more with Henri Pierre-Jacques, Managing Partner @ Harlem Capital

Henri Pierre-Jacques is Managing Partner of Harlem Capital, on a mission to change the face of entrepreneurship by investing in 1,000 diverse founders over the next 20 years. From a kitchen table with his Co-Founder, Jarrid, Henri has scaled Harlem in just a few years to their latest fund last year of $134M, well over-subscribed from their $100M target. Prior to Harlem, Henri was in Private Equity at ICV Partners, and before PE was an Investment Banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

1.) From Kitchen Table to $134M Fund:

• How did Henri make his way into venture having had the idea for Harlem at the kitchen table with his best friend?

• How did Henri use his angel investing strategically to position him to raise Fund I?

• How did Henri’s mindset change when making the transition from angel to VC?

2.) The First Fundraise: Harlem I

• How long did it take to raise the first fund? How many meetings did they have?

• What were the most common reasons LPs said no for the first fund?

• What were their biggest lessons around what potential LPs did and did not like?

• How does Henri advise new managers when it comes to meeting new LPs?

• How does Henri use past deal memos to serve as discussion material with LPs?

3.) Building the Firm: The Strategy:

• What was the portfolio construction for the first fund?

• How does Henri separate the world of funds into 3 distinct groups?

• How did they approach reserves management with the first funds? What are some of Henri’s biggest lessons when it comes to effective reserves management?

• How does Henri assess his own relationship to price and ownership? How does that change with fund size?

• What are some very important nuances that Henri does not believe many managers think about?

4.) It Is Time For Change:

• Specifically, what are Harlem street doing to ensure the next generation of investors is much more diverse? How do they leverage their intern program to achieve this?

• What would Henri like to see change in the world of LPs when it comes to allocating to more diverse managers?

• What legacy does Henri want to leave with Harlem? What will be a success for Henri?

Items Mentioned in Today’s Episode with Henri Pierre-Jacques:

Henri’s Most Recent Investment: Mueshi