Bay Partners (B)

In December 2012, Salil Deshpande has rejoined Bay Partners (Bay), which had been restructured following the 2010 departures of three of its general partners. Life was good for Deshpande: his firm had distributed roughly $1 billion to its limited partners (LPs) over the past 18 months as four of its portfolio companies filed for IPOs and four more were acquired; several of Bay's exits through acquisitions were from Deshpande's seed investments; Bay's LPs were ecstatic with Bay's turnaround; and the office atmosphere was upbeat and fun. Now was a logical time to begin fundraising for the next fund, Bay XII. Although several Bay XI LPs were encouraging Deshpande to raise a new fund under the Bay Partners' banner, Deshpande wondered if that was realistic, and even desirable, given the firm's tumultuous history over the last seven years. Other Bay XI LPs and some other potential investors were urging Deshpande to raise a smaller, solo fund. Recruiters and venture firms also regularly contacted Deshpande "to see where his head was at."