If you're raising a first fund, or thinking about it, this session is a direct look at what's actually happening in the VC fundraising market right now. In a recent VC Lab webinar, Kelly Schricker of Decile Group sat down with Mike Suprovici, the company's Head of Acceleration, to unpack why LP capital is flowing into emerging funds at record pace and what new and aspiring fund managers should do about it. It's built for first time managers, ecosystem leaders, and anyone weighing whether now is the moment to launch.
Watch the full session here:
The VC Fundraising Market Is Hot, and Summer Didn't Slow It Down
Suprovici opened with the numbers behind the session's premise. May was Decile Group's second highest fundraising month in four years, at 2.2x what May of the previous year delivered. The past four months alone ranked among the top five for fundraising volume in four years, with month over month growth running as high as 1.9x. And critically, none of it is slowing down, even in the middle of summer, which is traditionally the sleepiest stretch of the fundraising calendar in the northern hemisphere.
That's exactly why taking your foot off the gas right now is a mistake. As Suprovici put it, "We're just seeing a crazy influx, like crazy influx, of LP capital coming into funds and it's a really good time to capitalize on that."
The online narrative tells a different story, and Suprovici addressed that head on. Commentary on X and LinkedIn focuses on mega funds and paints a grim picture for emerging managers. But that data reflects the old school venture industry. A new asset class is forming underneath it: tens of thousands of new VCs are expected to launch over the next two to three years to meet startup demand that's growing 10 to 20x. These funds are smaller, more nimble, and concentrated at pre-seed and seed, and a whole new set of limited partners is backing them.
What's Driving Capital Into Emerging Funds
Several forces are converging on the VC fundraising market at once. AI is letting founders do more with less, which favors small funds writing small checks. Inflation has effectively expanded the accredited investor pool. An intergenerational wealth transfer is underway at the family office level, putting younger, technology oriented decision makers in charge of allocations. And backing a specialist emerging fund has become one of the most efficient ways for someone to have an impact on a cause they care about, whether that's healthcare, deep tech, or anything else, while still pursuing strong returns.
The barrier to entry has also collapsed. Suprovici pointed to Decile Group's Start Fund product: where a manager once needed to raise $5 to $10 million just for the economics to work, a fund can now launch with $200,000, $300,000, or even $150,000. Smaller commitments can come in, and more people can enter the asset class.
Small funds carry real structural advantages too. A $100,000 to $500,000 check is non-threatening, so bigger investors who need ownership don't block you from cap tables. Small funds spread bets across more companies, move faster on decisions, and can return the entire fund through a secondary transaction as early as Series B. It's no accident that, per Suprovici, 90 percent of the funds getting commitments in 2026 are under $15 million.
Trust Comes Before the Pitch
The most repeated theme of the session was trust. Even in a hot VC fundraising market, a fund commitment is a 10 to 15 year relationship, and the standard 18 to 24 month fundraising window isn't enough time to build that trust with strangers. That's why first funds are raised mostly from people who already know you, not necessarily family, but former colleagues and collaborators who've watched you do great work.
Suprovici's practical advice: audit your network now. "People always have more trusted relationships than they think," he said. That college roommate you were close with may now be an accredited investor working in your space. Start with a catch up call, and don't pitch anything. From there, network effects take over. Your first close LPs build deeper trust as you invest, come into later closes, and introduce their own trusted networks.
Thought leadership accelerates all of this. Whether it's posting on social, writing a newsletter, or running webinars, find your niche and start building an audience so that when you eventually share your thesis, it's not the first time anyone's heard about you and your corner of the startup world.
Why Summer Is Relationship Building Season
Rather than a dead zone, Suprovici argued summer is one of the best times to build LP relationships. Casual gatherings, barbecues, small dinners, and low key networking events are everywhere, and they're ideal settings to start or rekindle relationships without any pressure.
There's also a competitive angle. Most would-be managers are chilling right now, which means the ones who keep working bubble to the top of inboxes far more easily. And with schools starting earlier, the fall crunch arrives sooner than people expect. His closing charge to anyone mid-raise in this VC fundraising market: "Just go hard right now."
Who Succeeds, and Where They're Raising
Asked about the profile of a successful manager, Suprovici resisted rigid archetypes but noted that nearly everyone who pursues this seriously is an ecosystem leader, board member, advisor, angel investor, or accelerator leader. Nobody has a real track record, not even famous spinouts, since the track record belongs to the firm. What matters is showing you're uniquely qualified to execute your specific thesis, then correlating your background with what you invest in.
The opportunity is global. More than 60 percent of the funds VC Lab has helped launch are outside the United States, and roughly 65 percent of the LPs backing those funds are outside the US too. Most of these funds are set up in Delaware while investing locally, and emerging markets often carry more alpha precisely because they need skilled managers to do the diligence.
On the practical questions: GP commits are averaging around 1 percent, LP appetite is overwhelmingly early stage, and minimum viable fund sizes are $150,000 for a Start Fund or roughly $2.5 to $3 million for a traditional fund structure.
Underneath it all, Suprovici was blunt about what this business actually is. "This whole industry is about network and access. It's a network business." Financial engineering can be outsourced to back office providers; taste, judgment, and access can't.
What the VC Fundraising Market Rewards: Execution
The VC Lab funnel makes the doing-over-learning philosophy concrete. Each cohort draws 2,000 to 3,000 applications, roughly 300 are selected, and 50 to 70 funds finish the program with real LP commitments and a close underway. The program checks for actual commitments at every milestone, and managers who complete it typically reach a first close in roughly four months, versus 12 or more for managers outside the program, if they get there at all.
The message for anyone watching this VC fundraising market from the sidelines was unambiguous: the barriers that once required a decade long apprenticeship at a large firm are gone, the demand for pre-seed and seed capital is badly underserved, and there's no better time to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a track record to raise a first fund? No. Suprovici was emphatic that nobody launching a first fund has a real track record, since even spinout partners usually can't claim attribution for their firm's results. Instead, show you're uniquely qualified to execute your thesis through your advisory work, community, or deal flow access.
What GP commit are LPs expecting from emerging managers? Around 1 percent of the fund size is the current average.
What's the minimum viable fund size? $150,000 for a Start Fund. For a traditional fund, roughly $2.5 to $3 million, since you're carrying three entities plus filings and legal costs at that point.
Can you successfully raise a fund outside the US? Yes. Over 60 percent of the funds VC Lab has helped launch are based outside the United States, typically structured in Delaware and investing on a localized thesis, and about 65 percent of their LPs are outside the US as well.
Get Started With VC Lab
VC Lab has helped launch more than 900 VC funds across 80 plus countries, and the free 16 week accelerator is designed to get you to a first close on your first fund. If you've already closed fund one, Emerging Institute picks up from there, helping managers go from fund one to fund two and fund three and raise institutional capital. You can explore all the free programs, including Venture Institute, LP Institute, and Start Fund, on the programs overview, and applications for the next VC Lab cohort are open now. As Kelly Schricker put it, get that application in. You can always say no later, but the biggest step is getting started.
Watch the full session here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuHrKqPKiUI