E167: The Hardest Questions Limited Partners Ask GPs w/Stepstone’s Hunter Somerville
Hunter Somerville helps allocate billions of dollars across venture capital at StepStone—and he’s one of the most thoughtful LPs I’ve ever met. In this episode of How I Invest, Hunter gives us a rare look into how top institutional investors evaluate funds, pick managers, and underwrite spinouts before they even happen. We go deep on what separates the best emerging managers from the rest, how LPs think about performance before DPI, and why some GPs win repeatedly while others fade. Hunter also shares his own personal playbook—from how he manages his time to the biggest lessons he’s learned over two decades in venture. If you're raising a fund, building a firm, or just curious about how top LPs think, this one is a must-listen.
Highlights:
- The biggest myths about emerging managers—and what actually gets them funded
- Why DPI and TVPI can be misleading, and how great LPs evaluate funds pre-liquidity
- What LPs really think about spinouts—and how they prepare for them in advance
- How to stand out as a fund manager (hint: it’s not just about performance)
- Hunter’s framework for attribution, sourcing, and “right to win”
- What makes an LP want to be your first check—and why StepStone often plays that role
- Behind the scenes of StepStone’s secondaries, direct investing, and micro growth strategy
- How Hunter structures his calendar for maximum leverage—and why he believes in being “obsessively systematized”
-- Guest Bio: Hunter Somerville is a Partner at StepStone Group, one of the largest institutional investors in venture and growth equity. He leads investments across hundreds of funds, directs, and secondaries, and helps back many of the best emerging and established managers in the world. Hunter is known for his deep pattern recognition, clarity of thought, and a relentless work ethic that shows in everything he does.
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-- Stay Connected: X / Twitter: David Weisburd: @dweisburd
LinkedIn: David Weisburd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd/ Hunter Somerville:https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunter-somerville-2a24117/
Links StepStone Group: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stepstone-group/
-- Questions or topics you want us to discuss on How I Invest? Email us at [email protected].
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Transcript
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