Lyndell Eakman spent 13 years at UTIMCO building their venture program and making early institutional investments in now-iconic firms like Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, and Foundry Group itself, giving him rare experience as both an LP who helped build multiple category-defining VC franchises and later as a GP. He was specifically recruited to design and lead Foundry Group Next, which formalized their dual role as both an LP in early-stage VC funds and a direct later-stage investor, creating a network of around 45 partner funds and 1900 network companies. Lyndell Eakman spent 13 years at UTIMCO building their venture program and making early institutional investments in now-iconic firms like Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, and Foundry Group itself, giving him rare experience as both an LP who helped build multiple category-defining VC franchises and later as a GP. He was specifically recruited to design and lead Foundry Group Next, which formalized their dual role as both an LP in early-stage VC funds and a direct later-stage investor, creating a network of around 45 partner funds and 1900 network companies.