How I Invest with David Weisburd
E159:How a 24-Year-Old VC Landed Cendana Capital as a Limited Partner w/Paige Doherty
29 Apr 2025
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.
Full Episode
You have one of the top LPs on the planet, Sendana Capital, on your cap table as a 25-year-old VC. How did you accomplish this? three things that really differentiate behind Genius and myself as a GP. So the first is that we have a strong branding capability. I came into venture having a deep passion for educating the next generation of venture investors.
I read a children's book about venture capital, started one of the most shared venture podcasts, Seed to Harvest, and I've continued to execute on our brand, especially focusing on video for storytelling. The second is exceptional grit. For our first fund, which was a $5 million fund, probably touch base with 1,700 investors before closing on 120 LPs. And the third is disciplined execution.
So I'm an engineer by training, and the way I think about investing is very much from the first principles approach. You're extremely passionate about venture capital specifically, not about investing, but VC specifically. What makes you so passionate about venture capital? Today, I'm excited to welcome Paige Doherty, founding partner of Behind Genius, a top pre-seed and seed venture firm.
Paige, a Gen Z investor and author, shares how she raised her very first fund at the ripe young age of 22 and her second fund at 25 with prolific LPs, including Sindana Capital and David Sachs. We'll explore her unique investment thesis, focus on backing technical storytellers and applying AI to overlooked industries. Paige, welcome to the How I Invest podcast.
Thank you so much for having me, David. It's a pleasure to be here. Paige, you have one of the top LPs on the planet, Sendana Capital, on your cap table as a 25-year-old VC. How did you accomplish this?
Great question. Why does one of the top LPs in the world invest in a 24-year-old VC, which is how old I was when they invested? I think there's three things that really differentiate behind Genius and myself as a GP. So the first is that we have a strong branding capability. I came into venture having a deep passion for educating the next generation of venture investors.
So I've concentrated a lot on building a compelling brand. I wrote a children's book about venture capital, started one of the most shared venture podcasts, Seed to Harvest, and I've continued to execute on our brand, especially focusing on video-first storytelling. The second is exceptional grit.
For our first fund, which was a $5 million fund, probably touch base with 1,700 investors before closing on 120 LPs. And the third is disciplined execution. So I'm an engineer by training. And the way I think about investing is very much from a first principles approach. I think about container risk.
Like when we're investing in early stage companies, there's obviously a lot of risk at the earliest stages. So how do you construct and execute on a portfolio construction that allows you to take that risk? And so for us, we worked with Eric Wu, who used to be the head of Institutional Capital Angelus and has seen hundreds, if not thousands of funds play out over the years.
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