VC Secrets: Focus on Your Top 1-2 Winners! #shorts

Name: VC Secrets: Focus on Your Top 1-2 Winners! #shorts
Uploaded: 2025-12-14T10:46:30+00:00
Duration: 1 min 13 s
Channel: Jason M. Lemkin
Description: Venture capital returns come from a tiny number of winners. Thrive's big OpenAI bet created a halo effect that boosted the firm's reputation and deal…

14 Dec 2025 · 1 min

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1:13

Venture capital returns come from a tiny number of winners. Thrive's big OpenAI bet created a halo effect that boosted the firm's reputation and deal flow. VCs and founders should focus energy on the one or two deals that actually matter.

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The one thing that is kind of interesting to it is it's a reminder, and this can be a little soul-crushing as a founder, there's like only a couple deals that matter to VCs. So when you, you'll see a VC stay on a board for 20 years and you'll see them always hanging out with this one CEO. And Thrive has a lot of winners, right? But this is a big winner, right? And so anything you can do to go deeper with those founders on your one or two winners, it's just It's power law on steroids. But I think it's a part about going as deep with your winner as humanly possible. Still going deep on your winners.
The whole trick in venture is we try and pretend we matter, but in our hearts, we know our best companies matter. And the best marketing you can do is get as close as possible to your biggest deals. And Thrive, to give them huge credit, put a bunch of money in to OpenAI in that, I think it was a $70 billion round. And were there for Sam in the great fiasco of 2 years ago. So my guess is he's pretty darn loyal. And this is a chance for them to get a halo effect as they are on this initiative. But it's a huge halo effect because, you know, as your last speaker said, you know, you go in with the OpenAI moniker and you get some real attention. So it's awesome for Thrive.