The Fund Everyone Will Wish They Backed

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Earnest and Alexa welcome Trish Spurlin, Investments Director at Babson College. Trish shares how an unconventional path from accounting and startup finance led her to manage Babson College’s endowment. She explains how Babson built its venture portfolio gradually, why consistent partnerships and patient manager selection matter more than chasing hot returns, and how the team evaluates funds for fit, execution, and potential. The conversation also explores the realities of venture liquidity, the endowment’s approach to AI exposure, and opportunities in areas such as consumer, physical products, and in-person experiences. Highlights from this week’s conversation include: Trish’s Unconventional Path to Managing the Endowment (0:43) The Babson Endowment’s History and Investment Committee Structure (6:17) How Babson Built Its Venture Portfolio Gradually (9:56) The Role of Investment Committee Experience and Trust (12:24) Advice for Smaller Endowments Investing in Venture (15:55) Learning to Underwrite Venture Fund Managers (18:03) LP Diligence and Fund Succession Planning (21:20) Babson’s Current Portfolio and Buyout Allocation (30:17) How Babson Evaluates Managers and Portfolio Fit (33:12) Finding the Next Generation of Venture Managers (39:44) Venture Liquidity, SpaceX, and Portfolio Reallocation (44:10) AI Concentration and Exploring “Anti-AI” Sectors (49:25) Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks (52:43) The Babson College Endowment has built one of the most differentiated venture-focused portfolios in higher education. Originally launched in 2009 through a highly engaged alumni network, the program has evolved into a concentrated, relationship-driven private equity strategy with a strong emphasis on venture capital and emerging managers. Today, Babson’s endowment combines institutional discipline with an entrepreneurial mindset, partnering closely with boutique, partner-led firms across venture and growth equity while maintaining a long-term focus on alpha generation, innovation, and enduring GP relationships. Sidley Austin LLP is a premier global law firm with a dedicated Venture Funds practice, advising top venture capital firms, institutional investors, and private equity sponsors on fund formation, investment structuring, and regulatory compliance. With deep expertise across private markets, Sidley provides strategic legal counsel to help funds scale effectively. Learn more at sidley.com. Swimming with Allocators is a podcast that dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. Each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies. The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this podcast are for general informational purposes only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices