Growing the Pie Bigger in Venture Capital - Winter Mead, Founder & CEO at Coolwater

Operate Podcast

In this episode, I interviewed Winter Mead, founder and CEO of Coolwater Capital, an incubator/accelerator that helps launch and scale venture capital funds, as well as a fund to invest in them and community to support them.

This was a super fun, engaging and important conversation for emerging fund managers. He's met and worked with thousands of them!

Winter shares how the venture capital fundraising environment has shifted over the past few years, from an incredibly hot market in 2020-2021 to more challenging conditions in 2023. He remains optimistic for 2024 based on renewed LP interest and attractive valuation opportunities.

When asked if VC can drive value at scale, Winter argues it becomes more like growth investing, focused on larger, de-risked opportunities. The best VCs balance ambition with patience to invest at the right pace and scale.

On emerging manager success, Winter says early portfolio validation and liquidity events demonstrate traction, while regular LP reporting builds confidence and alignment. He emphasizes the importance of building out operations to prove institutional readiness.

Coolwater's mission is to incubate the next generation of net positive, founder-friendly VCs globally. Winter is excited about their back office program helping funds prepare for operational due diligence and their salon events that educate LPs on early-stage investing.

Winter believes success requires a flexible, long-term mindset. As he says, "If you believe the world is zero sum, then you've missed the point of venture."

Thanks to show sponsor, BankTech Ventures, as well.