# The Solo GP Playbook: Zal Bilimoria on Fundraising, Portfolio Strategy, and Founder Relationships

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/venture-unlocked-the-playbook-for-venture-capital-managers-2990261/the-solo-gp-playbook-zal-bilimoria-on-fundraising-portfolio-strategy-and-founder-relationships
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/venture-unlocked-the-playbook-for-venture-capital-managers-2990261/the-solo-gp-playbook-zal-bilimoria-on-fundraising-portfolio-strategy-and-founder-relationships.md
Podcast: [Venture Unlocked: The playbook for venture capital managers](https://stenobird.com/podcast/venture-unlocked-the-playbook-for-venture-capital-managers-2990261)
Published: 2025-02-19T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://ventureunlocked.substack.com/p/solo-gp-success-how-zal-bilimoria
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/156922376/e18f15a2ef9be3bf33bcb640cca891fe.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/venture-unlocked-the-playbook-for-venture-capital-managers-2990261/episodes/the-solo-gp-playbook-zal-bilimoria-on-fundraising-portfolio-strategy-and-founder-relationships
Duration seconds: 2847

## Resource

Follow me @SamirKaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We recently had the pleasure of hosting Zal Bilimoria , Co-Founder of Refactor Capital . Zal has had a fascinating career from building products at Microsoft, Google, Netflix, and LinkedIn to making the leap into being a VC. His story is one of relentless curiosity and a deep passion for technology, something that started early in his life while working in his family’s computer business. In our discussion, Zal walked us through his transition from product management to venture, his time at Andreessen Horowitz , and what ultimately led him to launch Refactor Capital . As a solo GP , he’s taken a unique approach to investing, navigating the challenges of fundraising while staying laser-focused on backing founders tackling complex, high-impact problems. We covered everything from the evolution of his investing philosophy to the importance of founder relationships and how he thinks about the future of life sciences and technology. About Zal Bilimoria Zal Bilimoria is the Founding Partner of Refactor Capital , a venture firm investing at the intersection of life sciences, technology, and sustainability . With a background in both software and healthcare , Zal brings a unique domain expertise and lens to investing. Before launching Refactor, originally with his partner David Lee, he was a partner at Andreessen Horowitz , where he focused on emerging technologies. This was a fun conversation—if you're interested in what it takes to build a venture firm from scratch, how product thinking translates into investing, or where the future of innovation is headed , this episode is a must-listen. Timestamps: Topics in this conversation include: * Zal's Early Life a…

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