Craig D'Cruze from Inverted Ventures

Craig D'Cruze is the COO at Inverted Ventures.

Takeaways

• Breaking into venture.
• Building dealflow and relationships.
• Starting with some LP investments and moving to direct.
• Family Office dynamics and their interest in tech.
• Value add from Inverted's POV.
• Challenges of raising a fund.
• The focus on Western Canada.
• Follow on investments.
• More liquidity and smaller exits are needed in the ecosystem to attract more capital.

Chapters

00:00 Breaking into the Venture Space

03:54 Finding Deal Flow and Building Relationships

05:40 Investing as a Family Office

07:50 Strategies for Getting Involved in Tech Investments

08:15 Navigating the Space: Strategy and Execution

11:01 Being a Value-Add Investor

14:18 Pattern Matching in Founders

17:26 The Importance of Geography in Investing

20:07 Follow-On Investments and Fundraising Strategy

22:49 Common Challenges in the Western Canadian Ecosystem

24:42 LP Conversations and the Need for Liquidity

27:13 Dealing with Hard Times and Staying Balanced

29:43 Looking Forward: Goals and Aspirations

35:03 Closing Thoughts: Building a Strong Ecosystem

43:15 Journey of an Entrepreneur

Keywords

venture capital, relationships, founders, investors, Western Canada, liquidity, exits, family offices, fundraising