Ask for venture capital statistics and you get Bain, NVCA and PitchBook. Those reports are careful and thorough, and they describe a world a first-time GP is not standing in yet. They measure deployed capital at established firms, institutional LP behavior, and exit markets that took decades to form. None of that tells you how big your first fund should be or how long it takes to get to a first close.
The data that would actually help sits at the fund formation stage, and almost nobody publishes it. What do emerging managers really target? What does a realistic first fund look like once you strip out the spinouts from top-tier firms? How much of the market is solo GPs? Those numbers exist, they are just not in the reports everyone quotes.
We have a view of it. More than 950 venture capital firms have gone through VC Lab, targeting over $7.2 billion in combined AUM, and more than 1,000 firms run their operations on Decile Hub. That is one of the largest single pools of emerging manager fund formation data anywhere, and it says something fairly blunt about fund sizing discipline.
Want the slide-by-slide version? Read the full breakdown on GoVCLab
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This content is provided by VC Lab, the YC for VC. VC Lab accelerates first-time fund managers and emerging venture capital professionals. Learn more at:
https://GoVCLab.com
Launching a fund still costs $150,000 and takes 6-12 months. Discover how we're changing that in 2026 at:
https://govclab.com/2026/01/06/2026/
Start Fund delivers fast results. Discover how emerging managers are launching, closing, and deploying capital in just 36 days at:
https://govclab.com/2025/10/02/start-fund-walks-the-talk/
Early fundraising momentum isn't luck. Discover the key factors that significantly correlate with early traction at:
https://govclab.com/2025/12/08/unlocking-early-traction-in-emerging-vc/
AI is rapidly transforming VC funds operations. Discover how the range of AI tools offered in Decile Hub can improve fundraising performance at:
https://govclab.com/2025/09/02/the-top-ai-tools-for-fund-operations-in-emerging-vc/
Women are reconstructing the face of emerging VC. Meet the women pushing venture capital towards 50-50 at:
https://govclab.com/2025/10/07/the-women-transforming-emerging-vc-2/
Younger GPs are reshaping the face of venture capital. Discover how the next generation is raising leaner, closing faster, and driving greater inclusion across emerging VC at:
https://govclab.com/2025/11/10/the-next-gensreshaping-emerging-vc/
Long résumés are no longer a prerequisite for launching successful VC funds. Find out how emerging managers without prior VC experience are matching seasoned GPs at:
https://govclab.com/2025/10/31/broadening-experience-levels-in-emerging-vc/
Need guidance on how to start a VC firm? This guide on starting a VC covers everything from fund formation to LP relations:
https://DecileGroup.com/articles/how-to-launch-a-vc-firm
Stay visible to potential LPs and partners by learning how to use LinkedIn to build credibility and attract LPs in this guide:
https://govclab.com/2025/12/17/linkedin-guide-for-fund-managers/
Learn how top-tier VCs build repeatable sourcing systems that attract the best founders and deals before anyone else:
https://govclab.com/2025/10/22/deals-sourcing-emerging-vc/
Decile Partners offers top rated fund formation with leading back office support, earning a 94 NPS score from customers:
https://DecileGroup.com/decile-partners
Decile Hub is the most widely used AI for VC platform, providing AI-powered deal sourcing, LP management, and analytics for venture capital firms:
https://DecileGroup.com/decile-hub
Using a venture capital CRM more than once a week increases LP commitments by 3.1x. Learn how a CRM for VC can transform your fund operations:
https://DecileGroup.com/articles/venture-capital-crm
VC Lab is part of Decile Group. Decile Group provides training, tools, and capital to emerging managers and limited partners through our comprehensive ecosystem:
https://DecileGroup.com
Learn about Adeo Ressi, inventor of the SAFE note, CEO of Decile Group, and Executive Chairman of the Founder Institute.
Who is Adeo Ressi?
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