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When I started the Emerging Manager Circle back in 2019, I had no intention of starting a “community”. My interest was simple – I needed help.
I saw others experiencing similar challenges in starting their firms and felt that we could help each other. Over the years, the group has morphed into something far beyond what I ever could have imagined and has taken on a life of its own.
With that, it’s only natural that some functions of this group should evolve beyond the purview of Equal to the broader community. Each year, our team reviews thousands of applicants from highly qualified GPs for a few hundred slots at our Summit. While we try to do the best job we can, the process is naturally imperfect. We try to make the process as objective as possible, but at the end of the day, we are only a single POV on the broader venture market – there are others that have not only different, but much more informed opinions than our own. Inevitably, it’s impossible to make everyone happy, but we want to provide the most equitable and fair way to run to provide access to emerging managers that we can. As our team debriefed from last year’s event, we realized something – we needed help.
This year, we are taking a major step forward in creating the inaugural EMC selection committee – a group of 40 of the industry’s most respected GPs and LPs to decide who will be admitted to this year’s event. As you can see from the graphic below, it’s a damn impressive group. This isn’t a cherry-picked list of our LPs or co-investors…it’s a peer nominated list of GPs/LPs who are the best out there. Many of these are current and former speakers who have been part of our community and understand how important this is. They aren’t just selecting for quality, but importance and contributions to the overall emerging manager community. We’re humbled and honored to have this group join and are certainly grateful for all their help!
As with all new experiments, I’m sure we’ll find improvement opportunities for future years, but I’m excited to make EMC something that extends beyond the bounds of Equal. That’s where TRUE community begins – when it’s not an act of self, but that of togetherness. Given the conditions emerging managers are facing in today’s market, I think we could all use togetherness more than ever before.
Lastly, if you haven’t applied make sure to get your application in as soon as you can. We’ll be admitting folks in waves over the next few months, so don’t miss out on your chance to join us at the biggest emerging manager event of the year!
— Rick