Episode 47 - Talent Is Everywhere, Capital Isn't with Bedy Yang of 500 Global

👋 Hey Listener!

We're really excited to be bringing to you today our conversation with Bedy Yang at 500 Global. As always, if you've got any questions, feedback, guest ideas, or just want to say hey, don't hesitate to shoot us a message at podcast@goingvc.com.

Bedy Yang has spent 15 years helping 500 Global grow from an accelerator running lots of little bets into a $2.2B multi-stage platform with 30+ unicorns. She joins JJ and Asad to talk about investing outside-in, what first-time managers get wrong about LPs, and where AI alpha actually concentrates.

Sections

• Origin story — Growing up Chinese-Brazilian with roots in Taiwan, and how a global network became an accidental path into venture
• The seat at the table — The Startup to Startup dinner that crystallized her "talent is everywhere" conviction
• 500's evolution — From one fund to regional funds with partners on the ground, and why local expertise was the unlock
• What she's had to unlearn — Over-modeling market outcomes (the Nubank lesson), and trusting founders to figure it out
• VC Unlocked — Why 500 built a training program, what they screen for in participants, and the "permission" effect on first-time managers
• What first-timers misunderstand about LPs — Institutional capital takes years; your first close is usually closer to home than you think
• Fund two — Why the second raise is the hard one, and what makes LPs re-up before returns land
• Emerging markets misconceptions — Separating markets big enough to win alone from those that must go global on day one
• Underappreciated regions — Eastern Europe and Central Asia, sitting between East and West
• Sovereign and government capital — The Sanabil work with PIF, right-sizing a first fund, and doubling it halfway through
• AI — Why infrastructure alpha stays concentrated in Silicon Valley, where the rest of the world can win, and the 18-month window for nations
• Closing advice + book — There's no perfect time to raise, and The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt