[Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry] – Episode [REPLAY] Ali Hamed - Novel Asset Investing (EP.40)
Release Date: July 7, 2025
Host: Ted Seides
Guest: Ali Hamed, Co-founder of Coventure and Managing Partner of Coventure VC Fund

Introduction

In episode 40 of "Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry," host Ted Seides welcomes Ali Hamed, the dynamic 26-year-old co-founder of Coventure and Managing Partner of the Coventure VC Fund. Coventure is distinguished by its innovative approach to identifying and investing in novel assets born from the convergence of technology and finance. Through this in-depth conversation, Ali shares his entrepreneurial journey, investment philosophies, and insights into emerging asset classes that are reshaping the institutional investment landscape.

Ali Hamed's Background and Journey to Coventure

Ali begins by recounting his early life in Southern California, where baseball was a prominent path to a four-year college education. His prowess on the baseball field at Cornell University was cut short due to a back injury, which prompted him to pivot towards startups and entrepreneurship.

Ali Hamed [02:15]: "I realized that I was just going to be better at startups and it wasn't worth continuing to pursue [baseball]."

Ali's entrepreneurial spirit ignited during his freshman year when he launched his first startup, immersing himself in a community of engineers and technologists. This environment fostered an obsessive dedication similar to that found in athletic training, a trait that Ali seamlessly transferred to his investment strategies.

Ali Hamed [02:58]: "The mindset of being an athlete where you become incredibly, incredibly obsessive about the sport is similar in startups or similar in technology."

After experiencing a financial setback with his initial startup, Ali encountered Michael Sloan, a CFO from a major private equity firm, who offered mentorship and support. This pivotal moment reinforced Ali's commitment to entrepreneurship over conventional career paths like investment banking or consulting.

Founding of Coventure & Investment Philosophy

Ted guides the conversation toward the founding of Coventure. Ali describes Coventure as an alternative asset manager dedicated to building funds in newly created asset classes driven by technological advancements.

Ali Hamed [11:22]: "Coventure is an alternative asset manager. We look to build funds in asset classes that have newly existed because of new technology."

Coventure operates across three primary domains:

1. Pre-Seed Venture Capital Fund
2. Direct Lending Fund
3. Crypto Asset Business

Ali emphasizes Coventure's unique ability to underwrite and invest in assets that traditional investors often overlook, leveraging their technical expertise and deep understanding of capital markets to identify "unpriced assets."

Novel Asset Classes and Examples

Produce Pay

One of Coventure's flagship investments is Produce Pay, founded by Pablo, a fourth-generation farmer in Mexico. Produce Pay addresses the cash flow challenges farmers face during short harvest seasons by financing their produce on consignment at below-market prices in exchange for equity.

Ali Hamed [12:57]: "Their default rate is de minimis. And it's just become an incredibly, incredibly high quality financial product."

This innovative model not only supports farmers but also creates a new category of financial product that traditional lenders typically ignore, offering Coventure a high-yield investment with minimal risk.

Alternative Lending Platforms

Coventure also invests in alternative lending platforms that transcend traditional banking products. These platforms leverage technology to create new credit products that offer higher yields without increasing risk, addressing previously unmanageable short-term lending needs.

Ali Hamed [18:27]: "We try very hard not just to find mispriced assets, but rather unpriced assets. And that for us was exactly what Purdy's Pay was originating."

By developing unique lending products, Coventure taps into markets where traditional lenders are unable or unwilling to operate, ensuring high returns through innovative financial structuring.

Airbnb Accounts

Another novel investment area for Coventure is the valuation of Airbnb accounts. Ali explains that Airbnb accounts, built on strong reviews and operational excellence, represent digital assets with inherent equity value, despite not being traditionally traded.

Ali Hamed [21:53]: "You have property owners, you have property managers, and you have brands. You're going to start seeing recognition similar to traditional hotel logos."

This approach anticipates the evolution of the Airbnb ecosystem into a structured market comparable to traditional hospitality sectors, unlocking value in digital asset ownership.

Secfi’s Stock Option Lending

Coventure also partners with Secfi, a platform that lends against private company employees' stock options. This service provides liquidity and tax advantages to employees, addressing a significant gap in traditional finance.

Ali Hamed [22:57]: "We think it's an unpriced asset. We think it's something that's new."

Secfi’s innovative model allows employees to exercise options early, benefiting from capital gain tax rates and providing Coventure with high-yield investment opportunities backed by asset security.

Crypto Asset Investing Strategy

Ali delves into Coventure's venture into crypto assets, detailing their approach as a cap-weighted index fund encompassing top crypto assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Zcash, Dash, and Monero. The fund is rebalanced bi-weekly to maintain diversification, security, and cost-efficiency.

Ali Hamed [28:32]: "Our goal is really just to provide diversified exposure, a cheaper product and a more secure product."

Ali explains that a market-cap-weighted strategy ensures stability and liquidity, as larger market cap assets like Bitcoin offer greater security and ease of trading compared to smaller, more volatile tokens.

Ali Hamed [29:33]: "Market capitalization ended up being a leading indicator that those will likely all be the case."

Ali categorizes crypto assets into:

1. Store-Value Tokens: Bitcoin exemplifies this category with its portability and acceptability.
2. Utility Tokens: Designed to enhance platform functionality, these tokens can incentivize user engagement and content creation.

Ali Hamed [34:26]: "Tokens motivate people to be better participants of the platform."

Deal Sourcing and Fund Structure

Coventure sources its investment deals through an extensive network of over 180 Limited Partners (LPs), including entrepreneurs, former executives from banks and private equity firms, and other venture capitalists. This network facilitates access to high-quality, unconventional investment opportunities.

Ali Hamed [24:14]: "We're like the home of misfit toys now for a lot of these people, as long as they're high yielding misfit toys."

By maintaining a diversified investment approach across venture, lending, and crypto, Coventure creates synergies that enhance their ability to underwrite and manage various asset classes effectively.

Views on Venture Capital and Future Trends

Ali provides a critical analysis of the current venture capital landscape, highlighting the uniformity in expected returns and cost of capital across different investment strategies. He argues that venture firms should tailor their cost of capital based on their specific theses rather than adhering to standard expectations like a 3x IRR.

Ali Hamed [43:51]: "Every single VC fund is supposed to produce a 3x return, regardless of the year, regardless of the management team, regardless of the strategy. And I think that's completely ridiculous."

Ali envisions a future where top-tier venture firms leverage their proven track records to invest at higher valuations with lower required returns, differentiating themselves through specialized strategies and maintaining disciplined fund sizes.

Ali Hamed [50:22]: "What we're doing is we're setting up an SPV. We're allowing our investors from a past portfolio to either sell their position into the SPV or hold onto the company by rebuying into the SPV at no price."

He also addresses the challenges in seed investing, particularly the growing illiquidity and the need for innovative solutions like Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to provide liquidity options for early-stage investors.

Life Lessons and Personal Insights

In the closing segment, Ali shares personal anecdotes and lessons that have shaped his professional approach:

• Favorite Sports Moment: Ali recounts a standout moment in high school baseball where he hit a false positive home run, drawing a parallel to venture investments focusing on long-term success rather than single successes.

Ali Hamed [56:19]: "It's a great false positive. And if I were to try to relate it to investing, like, picking a VC who has a one hit wonder might actually not be the right approach."

• Parental Teachings: He credits his mother’s empathy and his father’s advice on surrounding himself with idea-driven friends for shaping his disciplined and innovative approach to lending and investing.

Ali Hamed [58:11]: "My dad said, you'll end up realizing that some of your friends spend all their time talking about things, and the other subset of your friends end up spending all their time talking about ideas."

• Information Consumption: Ali emphasizes the importance of consuming diverse, paid content to avoid filter bubbles and ensure high-quality information intake.

Ali Hamed [58:59]: "I'm paying for the content or I'm going through a paywall. So I know the writer is concerned about how I feel and the quality of the content that I'm receiving, because it's most likely to be accurate."

• Advice to Younger Self: He advises patience and focusing on personal growth rather than comparing himself to peers, highlighting the randomness of life events and the importance of maintaining a disciplined investment strategy.

Ali Hamed [60:25]: "Be patient. You should not stretch on your risk profile to try to catch up. Play your own race with other managers."

Conclusion

Ted Seides concludes the episode by acknowledging Ali Hamed's profound insights into novel asset investing and Coventure's pioneering role in discovering and capitalizing on unpriced financial opportunities. Ali's multifaceted approach, blending traditional venture capital with alternative lending and crypto asset management, exemplifies innovative thinking and adaptability in the evolving institutional investment landscape.

Notable Quotes:

• Entrepreneurial Mindset:

  "[...] being an athlete where you become incredibly, incredibly obsessive about the sport is similar in startups or similar in technology." ([02:58])

• Investment Philosophy:

  "We try very hard not just to find mispriced assets, but rather unpriced assets." ([18:27])

• Crypto Strategy:

  "Our goal is really just to provide diversified exposure, a cheaper product and a more secure product." ([28:32])

• Venture Capital Critique:

  "Every single VC fund is supposed to produce a 3x return, regardless of the year, regardless of the management team, regardless of the strategy. And I think that's completely ridiculous." ([43:51])

• Personal Advice:

  "Be patient. You should not stretch on your risk profile to try to catch up. Play your own race with other managers." ([60:25])

This episode offers a wealth of knowledge for investors looking to understand innovative investment strategies and explore emerging asset classes that have the potential to redefine traditional financial paradigms.

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