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Sydecar empowers syndicate leads to manage their investments more effectively. Organize, manage, and engage your investor network effortlessly with Sydecar’s management and communication tools. Their platform also automates banking, compliance, contracts, tax, and reporting, freeing up syndicate leads to focus on securing deals and strengthening investor relations. Elevate your syndicate operations with Sydecar.

How We Closed 14 SPVs in One Month

We closed 14 SPVs in July—that's an 168 SPV annual run-rate in 2025 based on July (spoiler: we won't hit that). But having completed over 600 SPVs at CalmVC since inception, I constantly talk to investors struggling to put together even one SPV. And I get it—it's painful. Finding great deals, calling capital, managing founder timelines, moving quickly, answering endless LP questions, coordinating demos, putting together materials, keeping up to date on legal requirements... the list goes on.

But we're thankfully at the point where much of this runs on autopilot, enabling us to move quickly for founders and deploy capital at scale. Some of what we do is easy to replicate; some takes time to build. Let me break it down from hardest to easiest to replicate.

Quick plug: If you haven't already, feel free to back our syndicates here: 

• [Calm Ventures] (back here) and 

• [Riverside Ventures] (back here)

1. LP Networks (Hardest to Build for Most)

This is personally the hardest component in today's market. It's easy to get lots of LPs to look at deals and a handful to invest small amounts. If you're planning 5-10 deals annually, that might work—especially if you have existing networks, are a hustler, and/or know how to hack LP networks.

The reality: The old methods I relied on just don't work well anymore. We used to partner heavily with other syndicators for LPs, and we still do sometimes, but it doesn't move the needle. 

Today's LPs require closer relationship building—at least the ones that actually drive investment capacity. 

The math: We average 30-40 LPs per vehicle typically, but 70%+ of capital often comes from fewer than 5 of them. That's where we focus our effort—higher-value relationships that matter.

2. Deal Sourcing Channels (Moderate Difficulty)

There are plenty of ways to tap deal sourcing fairly easily. Start with demo days like Y Combinator, Techstars, etc.—some funds focus exclusively here. That was our big strategy early on, plus my existing network and asking for favors. It's incredible what rounds we got into just by asking friends for intros and vouches. I don't do that as much anymore because our deal flow is honestly overwhelming, but definitely take advantage of this approach.

Today's reality: The vast majority of our deal flow comes from the broader venture ecosystem—VCs with pro-rata, other syndicators, portfolio founder referrals, and our LPs themselves. 

The partnership game: In theory, being a good partner is simple—be easy to work with, trustworthy, think long-term, execute and provide value - people send us deals because we have an efficient process, work well with founders, raise meaningful capital (typically) and are trustworthy (we think long term with relationships). In practice, it's really hard. Finding people who do all of these well is rare. 

We have partners with insane deal flow we can't work with because they are not trustworthy, or vice versa—trustworthy but quality deal flow severely lacks. When you find great relationships, nurture them.

When deals fall apart: It's painful but inevitable. We recently raised millions for a founder who had to pause their round due to a family issue. It's tough to explain to LPs, but obviously understandable. The key is transparent, empathetic communication with all stakeholders when these situations arise.

3. Brand Building (Long-Term Investment)

There are short-term and long-term approaches. 

Short-term: If you consistently bring amazingly high-quality deals, building a syndicate brand is actually pretty easy. Bring unknown deals? You'll be ignored.

Long-term: Returns drive brand—nobody has great VC returns in one year. It takes years to build a track record as a successful startup picker. Capture this branding and you can do deals that would otherwise be overlooked by most LP bases (those without traditional signals). Once you get that brand, it typically has longevity.

4. Marketing Expertise (Learnable)

My investment banking background helped here, but you need to figure out how to write compelling investment memos, and while there’s best practices, there is definitely not a one size fits all to this. It's not rocket science, especially with AI tools, but some people never get it right. It's part art, part science, with no shortage of resources—join syndicates to see how they write, read Bessemer's public memos, Google compelling investment memo examples guides.

Memo templates and examples: Rather than reinventing the wheel, study proven frameworks. Bessemer Venture Partners has good public memos at: https://www.bvp.com/memos

The key: Understanding what LPs care about and making everything concise and accurate takes a few reps to master.

5. Understanding LP Interest (Market Timing)

Running deals weekly gives us as good a pulse on the retail SPV market as anyone. A good benchmark: whether the IPO window is open and crypto is booming (signals suggesting risk-on appetite). 2021? Very much yes. Today? Very much yes. 2022-2023? Definitely not.

Reading the room: You need to figure out what LPs respond to or you'll bang your head against the wall. This changes with market conditions and secular trends—AI innovation captures interest, crypto-friendly government increases web3 appetite, lack of liquidity pushes LPs later-stage. Some things stay relatively constant though, like having Sequoia lead a priced deal will provide a strong signal for your LPs irrespective of the environment. We have pulse through volume, but thoughtful reasoning on secular shifts and macro can get you there. Or just survey your LPs directly.

6. Optimizing Syndicate Process (Easiest to Systematize)

As mentioned, there are many stakeholders and moving pieces—sourcing, managing founder expectations, raising capital quickly. You need to figure out how to run an SPV process in a short window.

This mainly involves:

• Sourcing great opportunities 

• Putting together materials quickly

• Understanding what drives LP appetite (both materials and investment updates throughout the process)

• Knowing when to bring in other stakeholders to move faster

• Marketing posts and updates that maintain momentum

Step-by-step process: Source opportunity → conduct diligence → confirm allocation with company → fact-check key details and gather required documents (term sheet, financials, etc.) → create investment memo → launch SPV → update founder every few days → monitor closing timeline → coordinate with fund administrator (we use Sydecar and AngelList) when ready to close.

Legal and compliance: We automate most back-office work through Sydecar and AngelList, which handles securities law compliance, accreditation verification, and K-1 distribution. This saves enormous headaches. We occasionally bring in outside counsel for unique issues.

What breaks at scale: Mental bandwidth typically becomes the limiting factor. Managing 14+ SPVs simultaneously is intense—if your processes aren't tight, deals pile up quickly. If an SPV isn't tracking well despite your best efforts, communicate early with founders rather than letting issues fester. Set clear expectations upfront so everyone understands the process.

Common SPV-killers to watch out for: Information leaking (deal terms, valuations, or LP lists reaching competitors or other syndicators), moving too slowly (founders need commitments typically within 14 days), poor founder communication cadence (they need regular updates on LP progress, not radio silence), ethical missteps (misrepresenting facts), and factors outside your control like rounds falling apart or LPs ghosting after commitments.

Bottom line: Much of syndicate success comes down to systems, relationships, and market timing. Some pieces (like LP networks) take years to build properly. Others (like process optimization) can be systematized relatively quickly. Focus on what you can control, nurture the relationships that matter, and don't underestimate the power of just being someone people want to work with.

If you enjoyed this article, feel free to view our prior posts on adjacent topics 

• Why Syndicate Leads Don’t Survive 

• The Syndicate LP Churn Problem 

• What Really Drives Investment Interest in SPVs

Last Money in is Powered by Sydecar

Sydecar empowers syndicate leads to manage their investments more effectively. Organize, manage, and engage your investor network effortlessly with Sydecar’s management and communication tools. Their platform also automates banking, compliance, contracts, tax, and reporting, freeing up syndicate leads to focus on securing deals and strengthening investor relations. Elevate your syndicate operations with Sydecar.

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✍️ Written by Zachary and Alex