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Aug. 1, 2023

E3: Ramzi Samara | Saudi Arabia in the VC Ecosystem, Finding Alpha in Emerging Managers, and AUM vs Returns in VC

E3: Ramzi Samara | Saudi Arabia in the VC Ecosystem, Finding Alpha in Emerging Managers, and AUM vs Returns in VC

David Weisburd sits down with Ramzi Samara, Co-Head of Private Funds (VC) at MASIC, one of the few family owned investment firms in Saudi Arabia that has a dedicated venture capital program.

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David Weisburd sits down with Ramzi Samara, Co-Head of Private Funds (VC) at MASIC, one of the few family owned investment firms in Saudi Arabia that has a dedicated venture capital program. Ramzi is also an active angel investor in early-stage startups in the US and MENA. In this conversation they discuss the vibrant dynamics of the region, Ramzi’s investing thesis and multi-year power-law driven strategy, and looking at passive vs active early-stage fund managers. If you’re ready to level-up your startup or fund with AngelList, visit www.angellist.com/tlp to get started.


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Run the Numbers is a weekly podcast about financial metrics and business models, designed for ambitious people operating tech startups. It's a collection of things host CJ Gustafson (CFO at Partstech and writer of Mostly Metrics) has learned and thought about in the trenches as a tech CFO. Subscribe to listen on the platform of your choice: https://link.chtbl.com/runthenumbers


TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) Episode preview

(01:45) How does VC view the market dynamics in Saudi Arabia?

(07:16) How should Venture Capitalists think about navigating MENA? How does Saudia Arabia differ from the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, etc.

(10:27) Ramzi’s investing thesis at MASIC

(14:15) Ramzi’s portfolio strategy

(15:56) Sponsor: AngelList

(19:12) Criteria for evaluating a fund

(21:41) Looking at passive vs. active fund managers

(27:41) Risks and downsides of investing in micro VCs

(29:12) How Ramzi thinks about concentration risk

(30:05) What VCs should know about MASIC as one of the earliest adopters of the venture capital asset system in Saudi Arabia


Social Media:

@dweisburd

@eriktorenberg

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramzissamara/


LINKS:

MASIC: https://masic.com.sa/


SPONSOR: AngelList

The Limited Partner Podcast is proudly sponsored by AngelList.


-If you’re in private markets, you’ll love AngelList’s new suite of software products.


-For private companies, thousands of startups from $4M to $4B in valuation have switched to AngelList for cap table management. It’s a modern, intelligent, equity management platform that offers equity issuance, employee stock plan management, 409A valuations, and more.


If you’re a founder or investor, you’ll know AngelList builds software that powers the startup economy. If you’re ready to level-up your startup or fund with AngelList, visit www.angellist.com/tlp to get started.


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Questions or topics you want us to discuss on The Limited Partner podcast? Email us at LPShow@turpentine.co