Carry
Also: Carried interest
The share of a fund's profits the GPs keep — classically 20% — after returning capital to LPs.
Carry, not fees, is where VCs are meant to get rich; it aligns them with the returns they generate for LPs.
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Get the real-world version of "Carry" drawn from hundreds of conversations with founders and investors.
Ask the Network →Episodes on Venture Capital
First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter · 31 August 2026
Trust Over Likability: How Charles Hudson Built a 450-Company Portfolio
First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter · 17 August 2026
Sidecars 101: Why Venture Funds Are Investing on the Side
First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter · 3 August 2026
Eric Ries on What Investors Get Wrong About Governance
Management fee
The annual fee (often ~2%) LPs pay GPs to operate the fund and pay salaries.
General partner (GP)
The partners who run a VC fund — they source deals, make investment decisions and sit on boards.
DPI / TVPI / IRR
Fund return measures — DPI is cash actually returned, TVPI includes paper value, IRR is the annualised rate.
Limited partner (LP)
The investors in a VC fund — super funds, family offices, endowments, wealthy individuals — whose money the GPs deploy.
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