Top Lessons From Slice Podcast Season 2

Another 12 episodes later, and season 2 of the Slice podcast has come to a close.

We started Slice with a simple intention: create a space where emerging managers could speak plainly about their strategy, their doubts, their lessons, and the behind-the-scenes mechanics of building a firm. Real conversations about what it means to start a fund in this moment.

Somewhere between the stories of first checks and fundraises, a pattern began to emerge. The managers who stick with you aren’t just chasing alpha. They’re designing institutions that look different from the last generation. Smaller (most of the time <$20M), leaner, sharper. Ones that know exactly who they’re for and just as importantly, who they’re not.

They’re building with constraint and turning that constraint into a competitive edge.

This season, the recurring theme: stay small to stay dangerous.

As Fabri put it: “Don’t go bigger. Start small. Stay small. Play in the cracks, the nooks, the crannies, where the big funds simply can’t follow. It’s structurally impossible for them to compete. That’s where you win.”

Small funds don’t have to become big funds. In fact, many shouldn’t. The game changes. The edge dulls. The returns compress. One $200M outcome might return a $20M fund 10x. That same outcome barely registers in a $300M vehicle.

It’s not just about portfolio construction. It’s about firm construction. Who you raise from matters. Who you make money for matters. It shapes how you operate, how you’re perceived, what you’re allowed to do.

We believe something structural is shifting in early-stage venture. The old playbook of ”raise big, spend fast, go wide” doesn’t work anymore. We’re in the post-ZIRP, AI-native era. Capital efficiency isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a survival skill.

As rounds get smaller, check sizes compress, and founders delay dilution, the managers best positioned to win are the ones who can move fast, cut tight checks, and spot talent before it’s consensus. You don’t do that with a $150M seed fund. You do it with $15-20M, first-check fund, and a map of the edges where opportunity lives.

A sincere thank you to our guests: Eric Slesinger, Cameron Porter, Nick Tippmann, Ethan Austin, Cam Crowder, Santosh Sankar, Ivan Montoya, Madeline Darcy, Chris Wake and Lili Rogowsky, Ben Orthlieb and Romain Serman, Dakota McKenzie, and Will Lehmann.

Thank you for trusting us with your story. For sharing the hard parts, not just the wins. For showing up not as a brand, but as a builder.

We’ll be back soon with season 3. Until then, H.A.G.S!!

Full episode below, or on Spotify / Apple Podcasts