💥 Are We in a Venture Capital Bubble? LP Insider Reveals the Truth! 💥
In this episode of Nothing Ventured, host Aarish Shah sits down with Leyla Kunimoto, Seattle-based LP voice and co-founder of Accredited Investor Insights, for a brutally honest look inside the private markets.
Leila pulls back the curtain on what most investors get wrong about venture capital — why it’s not about quick cash flow, but about betting on bold ideas and world-changing stories.
🔥 What you’ll hear:
The real risks behind private equity and continuation vehicles
Why the U.S. still lacks regulatory standards for asset valuations
How to spot when the market’s in a bubble — or quietly deflating
The one thing that makes LPs actually pay attention: surgical precision in your thesis
If you want to understand where venture capital is headed — and how LPs really think — this is the episode you can’t afford to miss.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:00:31 - Overview of Today's Episode
00:01:28 - The Bubble in Private Markets
00:02:05 - Podcast Engagement Request
00:02:27 - Guest Welcome and Clarification
00:03:42 - Insights from an LP's Perspective
00:04:33 - Mispricing Risk in Private Markets
00:05:45 - VC's Unique Position in Private Markets
00:07:08 - The Push for DPI and Cash Flow
00:09:10 - Challenges for Smaller Investors in VC
00:11:09 - The Middle Market Squeeze
00:13:45 - Advantages of Larger VC Funds
00:15:09 - The Dilemma of Fund Size and Stage Focus
00:17:02 - Potential Solutions for Liquidity
00:19:02 - Continuation Vehicles and Their Impact
00:21:04 - LP Checklist for Continuation Vehicles
00:24:24 - Lack of Regulation in Asset Valuation
00:27:03 - Concerns with Continuation Vehicles
00:29:37 - The Future of the Bubble
00:33:01 - The Role of Private Credit
00:35:36 - The Impact of Interest Rates
00:37:19 - Potential for a Market Correction
00:39:39 - Differences from the 2008 Financial Crisis
00:41:45 - Lack of Transparency in Private Markets
00:44:19 - Default Rates in Private Equity and Credit
00:45:18 - What Gets Funded in 2025
00:47:08 - Importance of a Surgical Thesis
00:49:01 - Fund Manager and Thesis Fit
00:50:03 - Importance of Access in VC
Find Leyla Kunimoto online at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lkunimoto/
Twitter: https://x.com/LeylaKuni
Accredited Investor Insights: https://www.accreditedinsight.com/
This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.
Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/
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