The European VC (EUVC)
E703 | Max Bray and Juliet Bailin, Kindred Capital VC: LP Conviction, $15B Funds & The Venture Barbell
The European VC (EUVC)
•February 27, 2026•37 min
0
The European VC (EUVC)•Feb 27, 2026
Why It Matters
Understanding LP sentiment and the evolving fund structures is crucial for founders, investors, and emerging managers navigating a market where capital is increasingly selective. The episode offers timely insights into how better governance, transparency, and specialized skill‑sets can restore confidence and sustain venture as a long‑term asset class.
Key Takeaways
- •LPs shifting to liquidity‑focused assets amid market uncertainty
- •Venture returns require long horizons; timing vintages is futile
- •Governance improves when GPs form trusted, sophisticated LP advisory committees
- •European VC ecosystem lacks deep‑cycle LP experience compared to US
Pulse Analysis
The episode opens with a stark contrast between Andreessen Horowitz’s $15 billion raise and the current fundraising slowdown, highlighting how LP conviction is being tested. Max Bray describes first‑time fund managers struggling to secure capital despite strong angel track records, as many family offices and corporates retreat toward more liquid or shorter‑term investments. This shift underscores the fundamental truth that venture capital’s payoff horizon spans a decade or more, and attempts to time vintages consistently underperform historical data.
Juliet Bailin expands on the sophistication gap among limited partners. She notes that while some institutional LPs—pension funds, endowments, and seasoned fund‑of‑funds—understand the necessity of allocating through cycles, a sizable portion of family offices lack transparency into deal sourcing, pricing, and liquidity decisions, fueling frustration. The conversation stresses the importance of robust governance structures, such as LP advisory committees composed of experienced investors, to provide real‑time feedback and enhance trust between GPs and their backers.
Finally, the hosts explore structural challenges unique to the venture ecosystem, especially in Europe where the pool of LPs with multi‑cycle experience remains shallow. They argue for specialized support systems—fund‑modeling academies, dedicated back‑office teams, and clear role delineation for solo GPs—to prevent overextension and improve fund performance. By separating investment expertise from administrative and compliance functions, emerging managers can focus on sourcing high‑quality founders while delivering the disciplined liquidity management LPs demand. This holistic approach aims to restore confidence and sustain venture capital’s long‑term value proposition.
Episode Description
What exactly are LPs buying when they allocate to venture today and do they still believe in it?
In this episode, Andreas sits down with Max Bray and Juliet Bailin, both Venture Partners at Kindred Capital VC to unpack what’s really happening beneath the fundraising headlines.
Max brings the raw perspective of trying to raise a first-time fund in 2025 with unicorn-founder GPs, strong angel track records, and still struggling to secure second meetings.
Juliet brings the sharper counterpoint: LP frustration isn’t always ignorance. Sometimes it’s a rational response to how venture has been practiced, especially around transparency, liquidity discipline, and the unrealistic expectation that a GP should be world-class at everything.
This is a conversation about:
LP behavior in uncertain cycles
The myth of the “full-stack investor”
Why solo GP economics are brutal
Whether software still needs venture
And why the fund model is splitting at the extremes
Not hot takes. Not doom.
Just honest mechanics.
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What’s Covered:
01:04 Max’s 2025 fundraising reality: even strong “on-paper” stories struggle to get second calls
03:46 LP rotation: capital moving toward liquidity, security, and shorter-duration bets
05:08 LP frustration: transparency gaps + liquidity decision-making
07:09 LPACs as sparring partners, not governance theatre
09:31 Europe’s structural issue: too few LPs and GPs have lived full cycles
12:47 The “full-stack investor” myth: investing + fund management + compliance + IR
14:46 Solo GP economics: why 2/20 breaks at the small end
26:08 The barbell thesis: platforms on one end, specialists on the other
27:56 Software defensibility compression in the AI era
30:24 Will AI decentralize outcomes — or centralize them further?
33:10 The rise of AI roll-ups and alternative capital models
35:19 The “middle-market squeeze” — real or overhyped?
39:34 What founders actually care about when choosing a fund
Show Notes
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