Olaf Sakkers is betting he can beat the emerging-manager squeeze

Olaf Sakkers has closed his debut venture capital fund after five years of fundraising, defying a difficult market for first-time managers. The fund, whose name and final size were not disclosed in the article, targets emerging managers facing a squeeze as institutional capital concentrates among established firms. Sakkers built his track record over five years of proving that difficult does not mean impossible for a first-time fund manager. The close matters because first-time funds have struggled to attract limited partners amid a broader venture downturn. What to watch next is whether Sakkers can translate the fundraise into investments and returns that position him for a second fund.