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About the guest:
In this week’s episode, we sit down with Jim Curry, Co-founder of BuildGroup, the operator who helped scale Rackspace to $2 billion in revenue with just $25 million in funding. He joins us to dismantle the traditional Venture Capital model and make the case for "Patient Capital."
Here are the 4 key insights from the conversation:
1. The "10-Year Fund" Trap
Most founders don't realize that traditional VC funds have structural issues—specifically, the 10-year fund cycle. Investors are often under pressure to return capital to their LPs by a specific date, regardless of whether it’s the right time for your company to exit.
The Rackspace Lesson: Rackspace was forced to IPO in August 2008 (right before the financial crisis) not because they needed cash—they had over $100M on the balance sheet and were profitable—but because their early investors’ 10-year funds were expiring and needed liquidity.
2. Getting Off the "Fundraising Treadmill"
Once you take outside money, you are essentially "on a clock," usually with a 5-year window to exit or raise again.
The Dilution Danger: Jim shares a story of a founder who reached IPO owning less than 1% of his own company because of excessive fundraising cycles.
The Fix: Raise less than you think you need. BuildGroup actively advises companies to raise smaller rounds (e.g., $10M instead of $25M) to force capital efficiency and protect the cap table.
3. A New Model: Patient Capital
Jim launched BuildGroup to solve the misalignment of the VC model.
The Structure: A $330 million fund backed 100% by family offices.
No Expiration Date: Unlike traditional VC, BuildGroup has no 10-year cap. They can hold an investment for "two weeks or two thousand years," allowing for true alignment with long-term compounding.
Tax Efficiency: Family offices prefer long holding periods to avoid tax hits on distributions, making them naturally more patient than institutional endowments.
4. The "Operator First" Mindset
BuildGroup targets B2B SaaS companies ($3M–$8M revenue) but diligences them like a Private Equity firm.
They focus heavily on operations and customer use cases rather than just chasing "200% growth" metrics.
The Goal: To be the only active investor on the cap table, eliminating the friction of conflicting advice from multiple investors.
🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how to build a durable business that survives the bubble.
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