Portfolio construction
How a fund decides cheque sizes, ownership targets and number of bets so the maths can return the fund.
It dictates investor behaviour — a fund needs each early bet to be capable of returning the whole fund on its own.
Hear it from people who've done it
Get the real-world version of "Portfolio construction" 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
Power law
The reality that a tiny number of investments return most of a fund — winners pay for everything else.
Ownership target
The percentage of a company a fund aims to own, driving how big a cheque it needs to write.
Follow-on
A fund investing again in a company it already backs, usually to defend ownership in a later round.
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