Charles Hudson from Precursor Ventures on how to build and scale a VC fund from the ground up, what makes founders successful, and how investors can actually move the needle for their portfolio

This is an episode of January Ventures’ Beyond the Cap Table podcast, hosted by Jennifer Neundorfer. We aim to demystify the various parts of venture capital and highlight founders, funders, and other game changers who are building new networks and enabling the new establishment in the startup and venture world. Listen to the show wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode, we interview Charles Hudson, Founder and and Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures. Charles is a seasoned GP, a leader in the VC ecosystem, a champion of early stage founders, and one of the most productive people in venture. Whether you’re a founder, GP, or LP, there is so much to learn from Charles. Listen in as Charles discusses:

• How he built Precursor from the ground up and transitioned from an emerging to established fund
• The secrets to landing top LPs for an "unconventional" strategy
• How to qualify investors, whether you’re a founder or a GP
• The characteristics that make early stage founders successful
• Why VCs must build trust and avoiding judgment to actually move the needle for portfolio companies
• What questions early stage founders (and their investors) can ask themselves before raising the next round of capital
• Productivity hacks to scale yourself and your impact
• What he views as the biggest change to the VC industry in the past 5 years

Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures, an early­ stage venture capital firm focused on investing in the first institutional round of investment for the most promising software and hardware companies. He invests in people over product at the earliest stage of their entrepreneurial journey. Under his leadership, Precursor Ventures has raised four funds and has over $175 million under management. He has invested in more than 375 companies and has supported more than 400 founders, including the teams behind Clearco, Juniper Square, The Athletic, Incredible Health, Carrot, and Pair Eyewear. Prior to founding Precursor Ventures, Charles was a Partner at Uncork Capital where he focused on identifying investment opportunities in mobile infrastructure, mobile applications, and marketplaces and supporting their portfolio companies on business and corporate development matters. He was also the Co­Founder and CEO of Bionic Panda Games, an Android-­focused mobile games startup based in San Francisco, CA. Charles is an active member of the VC community. Charles is the 2023-2024 Chair of the NVCA Board of Directors, is a board member at Venture Forward, is on the investment committee for Screendoor, and recently joined Path Ahead Ventures Advisory Board. He is also an advisor and mentor to a number of emerging managers. Charles holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Stanford University.