E159:How a 24-Year-Old VC Landed Cendana Capital as a Limited Partner w/Paige Doherty

Apr 29, 2025

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INSIGHT

Lessons From Billion-Dollar Exits

Large exits often come from companies with small customer bases paying high prices.
Founders reaching billion-dollar exits are usually unique representatives of their colleges, showing diverse origins.

ADVICE

Use Cold Email Outreach

Cold email is a highly effective way to break into venture capital and get responses from top investors.
Writing a cold outreach workshop publicly helps others learn how to craft successful outreach.

ANECDOTE

Choosing Solo GP Path

Paige opted to build her own firm even when offered a role at a top fund due to desire for autonomy.
She values quick conviction and nimble decision-making without bureaucracy.

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Paige Finn Doherty, Founding Partner of Behind Genius Ventures, joins the How I Invest podcast to share how she built one of the most distinctive brands in early-stage venture capital — all before turning 25. Paige talks about the power of content and community, how her engineering background shaped her investing style, and why being deliberate about media strategy can transform access to top founders and LPs. She also breaks down her investment thesis around AI in overlooked industries, the importance of institutional-grade operations from day one, and what it really takes to build a lasting venture firm.

Highlights:

How Paige landed Sandana Capital as a cornerstone LP at just 24 years old
The "substance and vibes" approach to getting LPs to say yes
How media scaled her reach with both founders and investors
Behind Genius Ventures’ investment theses: "technical storytellers" and "clipboard companies"
What founders of billion-dollar companies have in common
Building a resilient brand through storytelling, community, and consistency
Why Behind Genius invests in embodied AI and AI agents
How Paige thinks about sourcing deals from TikTok to co-investor networks
Best practices for building a strong brand as an emerging manager on Twitter (now X)
Why investing in institutional-grade back office systems from day one matters
The vision for Behind Genius' next phase: high-production visual storytelling

Guest Bio: Paige Finn Doherty is the Founding Partner of Behind Genius Ventures, a venture firm she launched at 22 years old to back early-stage technical storytellers building in overlooked industries. She’s the author of Seed to Harvest, a children's book about venture capital, and the host of the Seed to Harvest podcast. Paige is known for her deep conviction in building brands, fostering community, and bringing an engineering mindset to portfolio construction. Through her thought leadership, content, and investing, she’s shaping the next generation of venture capital.

Our Podcast now receives more than 300,000 downloads a month. Are you interested in sponsoring an episode? Please email David Weisburd at david@weisburdcapital.com

We’d like to thank @Republic for sponsoring this episode!

#VentureCapital #VC #Startups #OpenLP #AssetManagement

Sponsor: Republic is the leading global investment platform making premier private market opportunities accessible to all investors. With over $3 billion deployed across its network of investment platforms, funds, and affiliated firms, Republic opens the door to new asset classes typically reserved for institutional investors such as—private equity, venture capital, and even sports teams and your favorite film producers.

All securities, including the Hamilton Lane’s Private Infrastructure Fund, are offered through affiliate Republic Broker-Dealer, OpenDeal Broker LLC Member FINRA & SiPC. All securities come with specific risks not limited to a total loss of your investment. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Please review the risks specific to this investment on the HLPIF deal page hosted on http://republic.com/hlpif.

Stay Connected: X / Twitter: David Weisburd: @dweisburd Twitter: https://x.com/paigefinnn

LinkedIn: David Weisburd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd/ Paige Doherty: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paigedoherty/

Links: Seed to Harvest the Book: https://www.amazon.com/Seed-Harvest-Explanation-Venture-Capital/dp/0578906457/ Behind Genius Ventures: https://www.behindgeniusventures.com/ Behind Genius Podcast / Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsbv-4bWVXIqPQAp2BCf8Q The Technical Storyteller: https://www.behindgeniusventures.com/post/technical-storyteller What it Takes (Billion Dollar Exit): https://www.behindgeniusventures.com/post/what-it-takes-1 Clipboard companies: https://www.behindgeniusventures.com/post/clipboard Cold Outreach: https://paigefinndoherty.com/2020/03/25/a-cold-outreach-workshop/ Fortune Fund II Launch: https://fortune.com/2024/04/23/behind-genius-ventures-raises-second-fund-8-million/ Term Sheets Viral Thread: https://x.com/paigefinnn/status/1255208492312358912

Questions or topics you want us to discuss on How I Invest? Email us at david@wesiburdcapital.com.

(0:00) Introduction and guest overview (0:55) Paige's passion for venture capital and Behind Genius Ventures' differentiators (4:08) Securing top LPs and media strategy for branding and deal flow (10:39) Sponsor: Republic partnership with Hamilton Lane (11:05) Taking a stand in venture capital and advice for diverse figures (15:54) Solo GP vs. joining a top fund and value add to portfolio companies (20:12) Thesis on AI in antiquated industries and sourcing strategy evolution (26:17) Building a brand on Twitter: Strategies for VCs (30:13) Institutional service providers, LP relations, and future storytelling plans (35:03) Closing remarks and gratitude