
E229: Inside Industry Ventures: The $8 Billion Firm Backing 650 Venture Funds
How does an $8B venture platform turn a 650-fund network into a repeatable co-investing edge? In this episode, Jonathan Roosevelt, Managing Director at Industry Ventures, explains how the firm evolved from a pioneer in venture secondaries into a platform combining secondaries, co-investments (directs), fund-of-funds, and tech buyout—with AUM “a little over $8B” and 25+ years in market. We break down why Series A/B/C co-investing requires a different lens than seed, how believability guides which GPs get a “stamp” for later-stage deals, and why customer calls are ground truth when underwriting mid-stage businesses. Jonathan also shares how asymmetric information and inflection points create true co-invest alpha—and when to ignore comps for N-of-1 companies.
Highlights:
- $8B platform: Secondaries, co-invests, fund-of-funds, tech buyout
- 650-fund network: ~250 primaries, ~400 via LP secondaries
- Co-invest engine: 100% sourced from seed/early GP relationships
- Seed vs. mid-stage: PMF stories vs. durable unit economics
- Believability lens: Repeatable process before a later-stage “stamp”
- Ground truth: Independent customer diligence over CEO references
- Asymmetry & inflection: Board insights at turning points drive edge
- Do the unscalable: Sector depth, real customer intros, hands-on help
- N-of-1 underwriting: Backcast valuation from end-state outcomes
Guest Bio:
Jonathan Roosevelt is a Managing Director at Industry Ventures, where he focuses on originating, valuing, and managing primary fund commitments, early secondary LP stakes, and direct company investments within the firm’s Direct & Partnership Holdings strategies. Previously a Venture Partner at Industry Ventures (2017), he was promoted to Managing Director in 2019; earlier, he founded and led companies, was an early employee/VP of Sales at SoFi, and invested as an angel in Fitbit. He holds an MBA and BA from Harvard.
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Transcript
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