A General Partner (GP) is the person or entity that manages a VC fund — sourcing deals, making investment decisions, supporting portfolio companies, and managing relationships with LPs.

What GPs actually do

1. Sourcing: Building deal flow through network, inbound, intro reps, and thematic research.
2. Diligence: Technical, commercial, legal, financial evaluation.
3. Investment Committee: Internal decision-making on which deals to fund.
4. Negotiation: Term sheet, co-investors, board composition, investor rights.
5. Portfolio support: Recruiting, GTM advice, follow-on support, exit preparation.
6. Fund operations: Capital calls, portfolio reporting, LP communications.
7. LP relations: Annual meetings, LPAC, one-off queries, fundraising new funds.

GP economics

• Management fee: ~2% annually on committed capital (or net invested capital after investment period).
• Carry: ~20% of net profits after LP preferred return (often 8%).
• GP commit: Personal capital commitment of 1–3% of fund size.
• Catch-up provisions: Often 100% catch-up to GP after LPs earn the hurdle.
• Claw-back: LPs can recover carry if later losses offset earlier gains.

The GP career ladder

• Analyst / Associate: 1–5 years. Sourcing and diligence support.
• Principal / Senior Associate: Deeper diligence and sometimes sponsor deals.
• Partner: Full investment decision authority and carry.
• Managing Partner / Founding Partner: Fund governance, LP relationships, GP commit.

What separates top-quartile GPs

1. Differentiated sourcing: Can they see deals others can’t?
2. Founder feedback: Do founders actually want them in their next round?
3. Follow-on discipline: Do they double down on winners or spray reserves?
4. LP trust: Are LPs re-upping, and by how much?
5. Exit outcomes: DPI, not TVPI.

Emerging manager vs established GP

• Emerging managers (Fund I–III): Harder to raise LP capital; compete on thesis differentiation, scrappy sourcing, and direct founder relationships.
• Established GPs (Fund IV+): Bigger fund sizes, platform teams, more LP optionality, potentially less founder intimacy.

Common GP pitfalls

1. Fund size drift — raising too large a fund for the strategy.
2. Team turnover — LPs re-diligence when partners leave.
3. Style drift — chasing sectors outside of demonstrated competence.
4. Overreserving or underreserving — follow-on strategy mistakes.
5. Weak portfolio support — promising operational help that doesn’t materialize.

Practical takeaway

1. Aspiring GPs: Build a verifiable track record (angel, scout, operator) before launching Fund I.
2. Founders: Pick the partner, not just the firm — your primary GP relationship defines support quality.
3. LPs: Evaluate the top 3 individual GPs’ tenure and alignment, not just the firm’s brand.

Further reading

• NVCA model legal documents: https://nvca.org/model-legal-documents/