But the strategy required reimagining traditional venture capital portfolio construction. Abstract’s model focused on “relative ownership” rather than absolute ownership: If he could get 5% ownership in deals where Andreessen Horowitz got 15%, he might have one-third their ownership, but out of a fund that was one-fifteenth the size, his LPs got 5x... See more

As he absorbed what he could from Core, he began reverse-engineering his path to seed investing. He meticulously researched power law outcomes—companies worth more than $5 billion—and made a counterintuitive discovery: multi-stage venture firms were better at seed investing than dedicated seed funds.

“At the time, if you eliminated Uber and Roblox, ... See more