General Partners (GPs) prioritize speed and certainty when allocating co-investment opportunities. LPs who build a reputation for fast, reliable decision-making can punch far above their weight, gaining access to deals disproportionate to their fund commitment size.

The old VC mindset of "let your winners run" and waiting for an IPO is gone. Today's GPs must act as fiduciaries by creating liquidity plans, proactively orchestrating secondary sales, and navigating complex buyout deals with partial rollovers to generate returns for LPs.

Many fund managers approach capital raising by broadcasting their own "unique" story. However, the most successful ones operate like great listeners, first seeking to understand the specific needs and constraints of the Limited Partner (LP) and then aligning their value proposition accordingly.

The strength of a GP-LP relationship isn't measured by co-invest rights or fee breaks. It's demonstrated when a GP offers valuable advice or connections that improve the LP's overall portfolio, even when there's no direct financial gain for the GP. This uncompensated help is the hallmark of true partnership.

New investors should prioritize building a network that aligns with their fund's specific investment thesis. Generic networking is inefficient; focus on cultivating relationships with individuals who fit the fund's "ideal customer profile" to generate high-quality deal flow, as 80% of funded deals can come from this source.

An LP with prior experience as a GP has a distinct advantage in accessing top-tier funds. They understand what GPs value in an LP—responsiveness, transparency, long-term thinking, and trust. By acting as "the LP they wanted to work with," they build deeper relationships and gain an edge over LPs who have never been on the other side of the table.

In today's crowded market, the key PE differentiator is no longer financial engineering but the ability to identify and cultivate relationships with target companies months or years before a sale process. This provides the necessary time for deep diligence and strategic planning.

The most potent source of new, truly cutting-edge investment opportunities isn't inbound emails or demo days, but rather the networks of the exceptional founders and scientists you've already backed. These individuals are at the frontier and can identify the next wave of talent.

Most VCs "gather" by networking broadly. QED advocates for "hunting": identifying a single, high-conviction company and relentlessly pursuing an investment. This shifts the mindset from passively waiting for inbound leads to proactively targeting the absolute best opportunities long before a formal fundraise begins.