Leyla Kunimoto: Private Markets from the LP Seat

About This Episode

💥 Are We in a Venture Capital Bubble? LP Insider Reveals the Truth! 💥

In this episode of Nothing Ventured, host Aarish Shah sits down with Leyla Kunimoto, Seattle-based LP voice and co-founder of Accredited Investor Insights, for a brutally honest look inside the private markets.

Leila pulls back the curtain on what most investors get wrong about venture capital — why it’s not about quick cash flow, but about betting on bold ideas and world-changing stories.

🔥 What you’ll hear:

The real risks behind private equity and continuation vehicles

Why the U.S. still lacks regulatory standards for asset valuations

How to spot when the market’s in a bubble — or quietly deflating

The one thing that makes LPs actually pay attention: surgical precision in your thesis

If you want to understand where venture capital is headed — and how LPs really think — this is the episode you can’t afford to miss.

Timestamps:
00:00:00 – Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:00:31 – Overview of Today's Episode
00:01:28 – The Bubble in Private Markets
00:02:05 – Podcast Engagement Request
00:02:27 – Guest Welcome and Clarification
00:03:42 – Insights from an LP's Perspective
00:04:33 – Mispricing Risk in Private Markets
00:05:45 – VC's Unique Position in Private Markets
00:07:08 – The Push for DPI and Cash Flow
00:09:10 – Challenges for Smaller Investors in VC
00:11:09 – The Middle Market Squeeze
00:13:45 – Advantages of Larger VC Funds
00:15:09 – The Dilemma of Fund Size and Stage Focus
00:17:02 – Potential Solutions for Liquidity
00:19:02 – Continuation Vehicles and Their Impact
00:21:04 – LP Checklist for Continuation Vehicles
00:24:24 – Lack of Regulation in Asset Valuation
00:27:03 – Concerns with Continuation Vehicles
00:29:37 – The Future of the Bubble
00:33:01 – The Role of Private Credit
00:35:36 – The Impact of Interest Rates
00:37:19 – Potential for a Market Correction
00:39:39 – Differences from the 2008 Financial Crisis
00:41:45 – Lack of Transparency in Private Markets
00:44:19 – Default Rates in Private Equity and Credit
00:45:18 – What Gets Funded in 2025
00:47:08 – Importance of a Surgical Thesis
00:49:01 – Fund Manager and Thesis Fit
00:50:03 – Importance of Access in VC

Find Leyla Kunimoto online at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lkunimoto/
Twitter: https://x.com/LeylaKuni
Accredited Investor Insights: https://www.accreditedinsight.com/

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.
Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

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