Looking to change the world for the better through technology, investing & partnerships. MD @ LGT Capital Partners. ✍️ at @Open_LP , Co-host Origins Podcast 🎤
Personal news update! … I’m joining the venture platform at LGT Capital Partners.
It’s been nearly 15 years since I joined @NinoMarakovic at @SapphireVC to help build @SapphirePrtnrs - and hard to believe our working relationship started another 15 years before that at Morgan Stanley waayyy back in 1994.
Since that time, it’s been the privilege of a lifetime to work alongside him, and to help build what Sapphire Partners has become.
I’m incredibly proud of the team, the relationships, and the managers we’ve had the chance to partner with along the way. That’s always been the most meaningful part.
I’m lucky to be making this move alongside @LauraLPThompson , @natewcl , Dan Clayton, Vittorio Reynoso-Avila, and Anna Jacoby.
This wasn’t an easy decision, but over time it became clear this was the right step—for our team, for Sapphire, for LGT, and for the managers we support.
The opportunity came together naturally through our long relationship with @TKtwitster and the LGT team. I’ve known Thomas for over a decade and have always respected his thoughtful approach to venture.
At a high level, this is about alignment and continuing to build—just at greater scale. We’re not changing what we do, just expanding where and how we do it.
What made Sapphire so special to me, though, was always the people—the ones who made the work meaningful every day.
While I won’t be in the same place day to day, this isn’t a goodbye—just a different way of working together.
Grateful to everyone at Sapphire who made the past 15 years so meaningful 💙
I’m taking a short break before starting at LGT on April 15—spending some time with my son before he heads off to college this Fall. A big transition for both of us. 🤲
Looking forward to what’s ahead. 💫✨
🚨 Just 3 IPOs could determine the future of VC.
According to @PitchBook, North American VC AUM could reach $2T by 2030. A key variable: anticipated IPOs from @SpaceX, @OpenAI & @AnthropicAI.
3 companies that could raise as much as all US VC-backed IPOs over the past decade combined. A liquidity event this massive could restore LP confidence and restart the flow of capital back into venture.
📊 Read the report:
https://t.co/49d8ptf0Nx
1/ Venture investing is often framed as a strategy game, but it’s just as much an exercise in emotional calibration. And who you have behind you matters.
@nchirls & I unpack a new framing “cynical optimism” in the new Origins minisode.
My🔑Takeaway 👇
https://t.co/LYvn0XMlUp
3/ The job isn’t simply cheering mgrs on.
It’s helping them get down the field as successfully as possible, while being honest ab cycles, risks, timing, & changing market realities.
The best long-term partnerships create space for both conviction and realism.
~19 min listen⬇️
🔷 The best investors pair optimism w realism, understanding both the upside & the risks.
🔷 LPs are increasingly focused on liquidity & DPI, reflecting growing scrutiny around private market valuations.
🔷 Great venture mgrs deeply understand their competitive landscape rather than simply following market narratives.
🔷 Building a firm should reflect who you are as an investor, not just what the market says a venture platform should look like.
🔷 Long-term conviction comes from truly knowing your partners, esp during periods of uncertainty, because “you can’t borrow conviction in times of stress.”
https://t.co/zP4VdtARPM
“Knowing thyself is probably the number one thing I would attribute to all of the best investors I’ve met.”
Couldn’t agree more, Nicholas Csicsko - TY for joining @nchirls & I on Origins!
This episode jam packed w LP 💎s, my favorite below ⬇️⬇️⬇️
I love an unconventional path to venture because it usually means wisdom and independent thinking the industry doesn't know it needs. Nicholas epitomizes this and I loved his thoughtful POV on the landscape at large.
Episode out now, give it a listen!
https://t.co/cCL0jr5aqv
🧵How does a Juilliard-trained classical musician wind up managing a $6B endowment at a church in Manhattan older than the United States itself?
That's the story of our fascinating Origins guest: Nicholas Csicsko, MD of Investments, Trinity Church Wall Street 👇
3/ Key takes from this episode:
👉 Whether excess capital is eroding venture’s illiquidity premium
👉 The disconnect between private & public market valuations
👉 Why “cynical optimism” matters in venture
👉 Whether VC firms are scaling in ways that actually make sense
👉 Why venture could become much more interesting again soon