Emerging Manager Mastermind
Six emerging managers just spent three months getting sharper, calmer, and more effective as GPs. In a space built on trust, not noise. Cohort 1 is complete. Cohort 2 is launching in September and applications are now open.
Apply for Next CohortA trusted board of peers + facilitators who've sat on every side of the table: VC, LP and founder.
A small, hand-picked circle of emerging managers who meet bi-weekly to get sharper, calmer, and more effective as GPs, without the noise, posturing, or competitiveness of public VC communities.
This is not a transactional networking group. The value lies in clear thinking, better decisions, and not feeling like you're building your fund alone. A reference group where shared realities replace pitching and decision-making quality compounds.
For First & Second-Time Fund Builders
Solo GPs and emerging managers raising Fund I–II who are ready to sharpen their edge.
Hungry for Clarity
Seeking strategic focus, emotional grounding, and tactical support for your fund journey.
Open & Coachable
Ready to contribute, willing to be challenged, and committed to candor and transparency.
Looking for "Your People"
Real peers, who actually get what building a fund from scratch takes. The start of a network you'll lean on for years, not just three months.
Everything You Need to Build with Confidence
Bi-Weekly Mastermind Sessions
Structured, facilitated 90-minute conversations designed to break through your biggest challenges.
- Sharpening your LP strategy and fund narrative
- Navigating hard conversations inside the fund
- Portfolio construction that fits your fund size
- Strengthening confidence, identity, and resilience as a GP
- Working through team and partner dynamics
- Getting governance and carry structure right early
- Aligning interests with your LPs
Insights into what LPs worry about, but don't say out loud.
What institutional LPs actually check before they say yes.
The governance and carry conversations most GPs don't have until it's too late.
Hot Seat Coaching
Every member gets dedicated sessions focused on their specific challenges. Think of it as a confidential personal IC or Advisory Board, without hierarchy or politics, to sharpen judgment and reveal blind spots.
- Investor relations or fundraising bottlenecks
- Fund narrative sharpening
- Managing team dynamics challenges
- High-stakes decisions
Private Peer Circle
A small, closed group (8 max) curated for trust, chemistry, and shared ambition. A reference group where shared realities replace pitching and decision-making quality compounds.
1:1 Executive Coaching
Two individual 60-minute sessions one-on-one with one of the Executive Coaches on any objective that is meaningful to you.
Zero-BS Environment
No pitching. No status games. No "looking good." Real VC operators pushing each other forward in a space safe enough to be honest.
Stop Building Your Fund Alone
- You get peers who actually understand the emerging manager struggle.
- You get a space safe enough to be completely honest.
- You get sharper, faster, with less stress.
- You stop building your fund alone, without losing control.
- You get a confidential personal Advisory Board without politics or hierarchy.
Why Not Everyone Gets In
This only works if people can speak freely, and that requires confidentiality and zero competitive overlap.
- Confidentiality is non-negotiable
- No direct fund competition (geo, strategy)
- A shared commitment to candor, transparency and contribution
- Willingness to be challenged
- We do not include people looking to pitch, recruit or build a brand
Led by Practitioners, Not Theorists
Anieke Lamers
A VC with 15+ years of venture capital experience and the founder of The VC Coach. She has facilitated multiple peer mastermind groups, both online and offline, and has seen firsthand how structured peer coaching can accelerate growth, clarity, and confidence for emerging managers. Anieke combines deep VC expertise with a human-centered coaching approach, creating a space where GPs can tackle strategic, operational, and personal challenges openly, and leave with practical insights, accountability, and a trusted network of peers.
Liliana Negrila
Coach & Facilitator
Liliana Negrila spent five years at the European Investment Fund as an LP investing in VC funds. She now advises emerging managers on securing institutional funding, as part of Pitch Me First.
In parallel, she coaches entrepreneurs and investors on stepping into leadership with conviction, improving communication, managing the pressures of fundraising, and building a culture of trust and growth.
Additional guest facilitators
Select former and active LPs and ecosystem leaders will join specific sessions. Guest facilitators have worked with or at leading European institutions, including organizations such as the EIF. Speakers will be announced closer to the program start.
Everything Included
A complete program designed for meaningful transformation, with no hidden fees and no upsells.
- Bi-weekly peer mastermind sessions
- Inspiration sessions & workshops
- 1:1 executive coaching
- On-call async support
- Private peer circle access
Cohort 1 is complete • Apply to reserve your spot in the next cohort
*Scholarships available upon application.
Ready to Find Your People?
Cohort 1 is complete, and the results speak for themselves. Applications for Cohort 2 are open: 8 spots, starting Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
Apply for Next Cohort (opens in a new tab)