References, building a list that is ready before anyone asks for it

The two lists this appendix asks for

• A professional reference list, covering deal references, people who worked directly with the GP on specific transactions, and prior employer contacts who can speak to the GP's professional history.
• An LP reference list from any prior fund or vehicle, with authorization from each named LP explicitly noted before they are listed, since a reference cannot be contacted without it.

What "pre-briefed" actually means

A reference who receives a cold call from an unfamiliar allocator, with no warning it was coming, gives a shorter, more guarded answer than one who has been told in advance that a call may come, what the fund is raising, and what kind of questions to expect. Briefing a reference is not about scripting their answer. It is about making sure they are not caught off guard, which measurably changes how substantive and specific their response actually is.

What allocators actually ask referenced parties

Reference calls tend to probe two things beyond general character: whether the GP's account of a specific deal or decision matches what the reference independently remembers, and whether the GP behaves consistently under pressure, meaning during a difficult fundraise, a portfolio company crisis, or a partnership disagreement, not only when things are going well. A reference list that includes at least one person who saw the GP through a hard moment, not only enthusiastic supporters, tends to read as more credible than a uniformly glowing list.

Press coverage and the background check authorization

This appendix also covers press coverage and third-party recognition, assembled as a factual record rather than a curated highlight reel, and a background check authorization form, a standard procedural item most first-time managers have simply never been asked for before and should not be surprised by.