In this episode, Karthik Reddy (Co-founder & Managing Partner, Blume Ventures) unpacks the real timing considerations behind secondary transactions in venture capital. From managing LP expectations to making trade-offs between liquidity and long-term upside, this is a deep dive into the why and when of secondaries.
In this episode:
Why secondaries before a $500M valuation are rare for institutional funds
How secondaries differ for angels, micro-VCs, and growth funds
What continuity vehicles and managed secondaries really involve
Why LPs push for partial returns between years 5–9
The tension between IRR discipline vs. long-term compounding
Karthik also explains the two main windows when large secondaries happen — at the midpoint of a fund’s life (for early breakouts) and near the end (to close the loop with LPs).