Renegade Partners' Co-Founders Learn What Happens When the Music Stops for Their Startup at Crunchtime

Renegade Partners’ co-founders are finding out.

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A Conversation with Renata Quintini and Roseanne Wincek

On this episode of Equity, we talk to Renata Quintini and Roseanne Wincek, the co-founders of Renegade Partners. They’ve seen it all in their careers, from launching their first fund during the COVID pandemic to navigating the economic rollercoaster that followed.

Renegade Partners’ Early Days

Quintini and Wincek launched their first fund in 2020, right before the shelter-in-place directives took effect. "We would joke that we had to build a house in quicksand for a bit," Quintini quipped. "But then the tech market started to rally towards the back end, things normalized. And then the bullishness came, and the pendulum swung the other way."

Their Investing Formula

Regardless of the volatility, Quintini and Wincek haven’t changed their investing formula. They start by pinpointing what the true value creators will be over time. From there, they opt to invest in cycles to take exposure away from market fluctuations, prioritize diversification, and seek out "durable businesses."

Durable Businesses

"If the music stops, what gets a chair?" Quintini asked and then answered, "Durable businesses in markets that matter." This strategy has continued with their second fund, Wincek noted.

Timing markets is impossible, right? So the only thing you can do is be consistent. — Roseanne Wincek

A Shift Away from Mega-Funds?

The pair noted on the podcast a trend away from mega-funds in favor of small- or medium-sized funds across the industry. "Frankly, these platforms are looking less and less like venture firms and more and more like BlackRock," Wincek said.

Later Wincek added, "Savvy founders understand that there’s a very different product sold from a small, focused venture firm than from a large platform."

The Rise of Smaller Funds

Both have noticed a rise in these smaller funds driven by the best general partners at these large monolith platforms who want to do traditional venture and spin out to go on their own.

Equity’s Take

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Full Episode Transcript

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About Kirsten Korosec

Kirsten Korosec is a reporter and editor who has covered the future of transportation from EVs and autonomous vehicles to urban air mobility and in-car tech for more than a decade. She is currently the transportation editor at TechCrunch and co-host of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. She is also co-founder and co-host of the podcast, "The Autonocast." She previously wrote for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review, and CBS Interactive.