#131 Michael Kim: Korean, Japanese & American upbringing + unpacking how Cendana Capital invests in VC funds around the world!

The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal

Michael Kim is the Founder and Managing Partner of Cendana Capital, a globally renowned "fund of funds", aka the investors behind Venture Capital funds. Cendana Capital are investors in many of the funds of our previous guests including Blackbird VC, Better Tomorrow Ventures and many more well-known funds in the US, Israel, Australia and India. Prior to Cendana, Michael was one of the original partners of Rustic Canyon Partners, a VC firm with $1B AUM. He was born in Morgantown, West Virginia and now lives in San Fransisco, USA.

In this episode #131 w Michael Kim, learn about:

His sunrise in Morgantown, West Virginia, in the US (a town of just 27,000 people), his cultural influences with his mum born and raised in Japan and Dad from Korea, with a family background in politics.

Michael shares how he explored a career in politics and then as he calls it had a “sea change” and went into banking, which then led to a role in a technology M&A team in San Fransisco and eventually Venture Capital.

We dive deep into his journey with Cendana Capital, an investment firm referred to as a fund of funds, meaning they are a fund that invests in other VC funds. We cover how he started, building track record and economics, their diligence process for new VCs they back, Investing globally, with Australia and Israel being some examples, thought process changes especially on ownership levels relative to fund size, seed vs pre seed funds, hall of fame LP’s and more.

🎉 And our 7-star events are back! Yes as many of you know — we are a special series of LIVE fireside conversations in May and June. Tickets are quickly selling out for event #2 with James Tynan, Partner at Squarepeg, get your ticket today HERE! 💥

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

(Timestamps below)

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02:45 - Where were you born and live now?

03:10 - What was your first job and now?

05:23 - High Flyer in Michael’s life

06:05 - Japanese and Korean influences

11:20 - Aspirations at age 18

13:56 - Sea Change from politics to banking

17:27 - Accelerating career and tech M&A role post Wharton MBA

19:56 - Building relationships with junior analysts, not just partners

21:37 - Working with the City of San Fransisco’s $12B pension fund

25:27 - Founding Cendana Capital and raising first fund

32:06 - Changing landscape in VC that allowed for seed funds

35:00 - Economics of a “fund of funds”

38:40 - Conviction in backing new and solo VC fund managers

45:42 - Investing in Israel, India, Australia, UK

47:45 - Thought process changes as an LP

55:10 - Australia and New Zealand startup ecosystem

56:50 - Learning journey building Cendana Capital

59:58 - Hall of fame LP’s

01:07:20 - Rapid fire

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