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Evaluating a venture capital fund goes beyond reading the pitch deck. For Limited Partners (LPs), true due diligence means scrutinising the financial model, questioning internal valuations, and spotting hidden conflicts of interest.

In Part 2 of our deep dive into VC investing, Justin Lim, Managing Partner at Nexea Ventures, returns to share his view on fund assessment. He explains how to "stress test" a fund's financial model, why consistency is the biggest indicator of a manager's character, and why DPI matters, but also the role of paper gains and IRRs.

We discuss:

How to "stress test" a VC fund's financial model and assumptions.
Why LPs must look beyond paper-based IRR and focus on cash returns (DPI).
The red flags of inconsistency: assessing a fund manager's true character.
Why portfolio valuations are often subjective and how to challenge them.
Identifying conflicts of interest like "front running" and hidden favors.
Justin’s Book Recommendations for Investors:
Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke
The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver
Competing Against Luck by Clayton Christensen
The Caesar's Palace Coup by Sujeet Indap and Max Frumes
Superforecasting by Philip Tetlock

93:{"program":"1062","podcast_id":"33991","tags":"Australian dollar, commodities, BHP Billiton, Emerging Markets, Australia","hide_sponsor":"0","podcast_time":"1471820820","current_timestamp":1764577255997} 97:T4ca,

As 2025 comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect, and reset. But a true annual review goes beyond just listing resolutions, it requires deep introspection to uncover the painful lessons, celebrate the wins, and set a clear, strategic path for the year ahead.

Jeevan Sahadevan, Founder of Leverage Labs, returns for his annual tradition