#29 Build your fund like a SaaS company

Most fund managers still treat their fund like a financial instrument - raise capital → deploy capital → return it → raise again.

But the best performing funds today, especially at the emerging end of the spectrum, are changing the paradigm. They treat their fund like a business. A product, even. 

This shift in perspective gives rise to a whole lot of innovation, increases margins, and makes it easier to close future funds.

Your LPs are customers

Let’s be honest. If you were running a SaaS company, would you:

• Communicate irregularly and then expect customers to renew?

• Send key performance updates in PDF format via…email attachments?

• Rely on end-of-quarter meetings as your only feedback loop?

Of course not. And yet, many funds are still run on emails, spreadsheets, and a charge-first model. 

Participating in your fund should be easy, valuable and predictable for LPs - just like how great software earns renewals. Funds should be no different. 

Funds have customer metrics too

Standout SaaS companies optimise:

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

• Lifetime value (LTV)

• Net promoter score (NPS)

• Retention

Running a top fund requires the same mindset:

• How much did it cost you (in time, travel, team hours) to land a new LP?

• What’s the lifetime value of that LP over multiple fund cycles?

• Would they back you again - or refer you? 

Beyond performance, it’s also about the experience of being in your ecosystem.

Your operational stack is a competitive advantage

Automations are cheaper to implement than ever before. A clunky backend will soon become unacceptable for LPs. 

If you weren’t the fund manager - would you invest in your current fund experience?

Think like a product manager

Our job as a GP isn’t just to pick the right companies. It’s to build the right operating system - one that enables capital to move quickly and with minimal friction.  

The funds that outperform in the decade ahead will:

• Support founders more systematically

• Build leverage through better infrastructure 

• Enable high-performing teams to do high-impact work

• Deliver an outstanding experience for LPs

In short: think more like a Founder to get Unicorn ROI. 

About me

I’ve spent over a decade as a corporate strategist and operator, and I’m now GP of a cross-border fund and Founder of ReubenAI — the AI-native platform redefining how capital is deployed. 

I write Strategy Sketch to help fund managers, investors, and founders think more strategically in an era of noise, speed, and signal overload.

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