Ed Zimmerman from First Close Partners on building a fund of funds, investing in over 150 venture managers, and championing diversity in venture capital.
🎤 THIS WEEK ON BEYOND THE CAP TABLE: Jen has a candid and thoughtful conversation with Ed Zimmerman, venture lawyer at Lowenstein Sandler and Co-founder of First Close Partners, a fund of funds investing in underrepresented fund managers. Ed is a venture veteran who has spent his career supporting and championing founders and funders. He chairs Lowenstein Sandler’s Emerging Companies & Venture Capital practice (fka, The Tech Group), which he and Anthony Pergola co-founded in the 1990s. Ed has been a growth company, startup and venture/M&A lawyer for 30 years.
In this episode, we touch on:
💡 How to approach building a diverse network with an open and prepared mind
📘 Why he started angel investing and what he has learned about investing from sitting on the legal side of VC
❤️ His personal motivation for championing social justice and diversity, and how he brings that unique perspective to venture capital
🎤 …and so much more.
You can listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe to Beyond the Cap Table so that you never miss an episode and keep the conversation going here and with your networks!
To learn more about First Close Partners, click here.
Catch up on Season Two:
Jen has been joined by experts for riveting conversations on the state of and how to impact the future of venture. See below for highlights and links to listen!
Brittney Riley Gavini, venture investor at Pivotal Ventures (Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
Allison Baum Gates from SemperVirens (Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
Priyanka Jain from Evvy (Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
Jeremiah Gordon from CapitalG (Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
Charles Hudson from Precursor Ventures (Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
Mariela Salas from SomosVC (Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
Roxanne Petraeus of Ethena (Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
Shannon O’Leary from the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation (Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
Sonia Kastner of Pano AI (Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
Claude Grunitzky from Equity Alliance (Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
You can find Beyond the Cap Table on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts!