Common VC Mistakes: Hype and Portfolio Construction

Courtney and Carter Reum, Co-Founders of M13, join Sourcery for a deep dive into building one of LA’s most prized early-stage venture firms.

With $1.9B AUM across three funds, 200+ direct investments, 54 exits, and 15 unicorns seeded or backed at Series A, M13 has built a reputation for pairing venture math with hands-on execution. Portfolio investments include companies like Lyft, Pinterest, Ring, Bonobos, Matterport, Shake Shack, Solana, and emerging leaders like Rho, Prepared, OpenFX, Arena Club and Niural AI.  The firm is ranked Top 20 globally in the HEC-Dow Jones Venture Capital Performance Ranking and was named one of TIME’s Top 100 US VCs for 2025.

M13 targets 30–35 core investments per fund, aims for ~20% ownership, and structures its portfolio around power-law outcomes — not incremental 3x bets. Over the last three years, companies behind M13-led rounds have raised ~$800M in follow-on capital, reached Series B ~30% faster, and at ~25% higher valuations than the median.

We cover:

• Why M13 targets 20% ownership

• How they generate alpha in a hype-driven AI market

• The second and third wave of AI opportunities

• Portfolio construction & power law math

• Stablecoins and the future of money

• LA’s evolving tech ecosystem

• Talent wars in the AI era

• Founder execution vs idea quality

• Biohacking, longevity, and performance

• Lessons from pro sports, Goldman Sachs & culture

“M13 is one of the brightest star clusters in the northern sky. It’s full of remarkable individual stars. But when those stars come together, they create something that’s truly greater than the sum of its parts. That’s the M13 advantage.”

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Courtney Reum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyreum 

Carter Reum: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carterreum

Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea 

Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy

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(00:00) Welcome to the Pod House: M13’s LA Origins

(01:10) $1.9B AUM & 54 Exits — What M13 Focuses on Now

(02:20) Early Wins: Ring, Lyft, Pinterest & 15 Unicorns

(04:10) Alpha vs Multi-Stage Capital — Two Sports of VC

(06:00) Avoiding AI Hype & Sticking to Venture Math

(08:40) Why M13 Increased Ownership to 20%